In the modern digital age we tend to think of the printing press as something old fashioned and outdated like the fax or the mini-disc player, but the printing press is used in many aspects of modern life from books to instruction manuals to use by dates on packaging. The printing press was fundamental in modelling the western world as we know it and is something that will continue to be an important feature for many years to come.

The printing press has a long history with the earliest press in the world being attributed to German inventor Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, which revolutionised the literate world. However, until the introduction of the first electronic press printed material was a slow, rather exclusive product.

This didn’t happen until 1834 when Thomas Davenport of Vermont, US invented the first battery-powered electric motor. This was the first time an electric motor had enough power to run a small-scale printing press. Davenport decided to showcase the possibilities of this electric powered press by printing a newspaper in 1840 called ‘The Electro-Magnet, and Mechanics Intelligencer’, the first newspapers printed using electricity.

Fast forward 188 years to 2022 and the motor-powered printing press is still in operation and electric DC motors and gear motors are now utilised throughout the printing industry in a variety of applications. DC motors are particularly suited as it is possible to finely control torque and tension across varying speed ranges as well as a number of other benefits including:

• High torque output
• High power density
• Greater stability
• Smooth and quiet running
• Durable and efficient
• Compact designs
• Cost-effective

DC motors are also incredibly robust and require minimum maintenance meaning reduced cost and down time. DC motors are used for a variety of machines and are considered the backbone of most presses. There are multiple applications where DC motors can be used including:

• Reel feeds – Reel feeds which enable printing on the roll rather than sheet form are generally powered by DC motors. To ensure constant wrap the torque control is varied and requires a very precise and accurate motor.
• Printing and converting machines – These require reliable, continuous control and multiple speed variations which is provided by a DC motor.
• Print Couple Drives – Digital DC drives control the main print axes of offset printing machines. These require accurate speed control, and the digital DC drives are able to offer the high bandwidth and regenerative control required.
• Folders and collators – The majority of high-speed presses have at least one folder, which folds the printed pages. These are then run through collators to produce a completed book or newspaper (for example). Both folders and collators use DC motors.

Many printing applications use servo motors as they are highly efficient and precise and run far more smoothly than a stepper motor. However, for many servo motor applications a Parvalux DC brushless motor can be used as an alternative and allows the equipment to print onto unusual and challenging substrates, adjust for errors and to reduce overall wastage, as well as being able to facilitate the introduction of automation into the press.

As print technology has developed, so has the requirement for innovative geared motor drive system designs. Parvalux supplies the printing industry in its many and varied forms.

We produce custom geared motors for manufacturers of equipment used to produce repeatable samples of paints and surface coatings (such as paint colour charts), systems that print directly onto food products and fruit labelling equipment.

Our latest BLx42 motor is designed for the print machinery industry, for more information on the BLx42 range search our website.