Patent ID: 8388246

Claim:
A web handling module for horizontally transporting a web under a printer having at least one print head, comprising: a housing having an opening; a support plate sealingly coupled to the housing to cover the opening and form a plenum, the support plate having a plurality of apertures configured to allow air to pass through the plurality of apertures; an air vent coupled to the housing to communicate with the plenum, the air vent being coupled to an air handler that is configured to generate a negative air pressure inside the plenum; a porous belt wound about the support plate and the housing to form a continuous loop about the support plate and the housing, the porous belt covering only a portion of an area of the support plate and an area of the support plate not covered by the porous belt includes a plurality of apertures, the porous belt enabling the negative air pressure within the plenum to couple a moving web to the porous belt and move the porous belt over the support plate to rotate the porous belt about the support plate and the housing without relative motion occurring between the web and the porous belt; and a sealing cover dimensioned to cover only the uncovered area of the support plate, the sealing cover being configured to prevent air from entering the plenum through the plurality of apertures present in the uncovered area of the support plate, the sealing cover being made of a resilient, non-porous material.