1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for silk screen printing on fabrics and particularly to a machine which is capable of printing multi-color repetitive patterns or designs on a plurality of articles with high precision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently known multiple station silk screen printers include automated rotary tables having fabrics secured in platens which are moved around from station to station with a squeegee applying different colors through successive screens at each position. Heat may be applied at one station for drying the ink patterns, or the articles may be removed and passed through a separate heating chamber. A second type of multi-station printer, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,826, utilizes a supporting frame having moving upper and lower horizontal tracks carrying platens with articles which are automatically fed through loading, printing and end heating stations in a linear continuous operation. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,106,890 and 2,846,946 show similar longitudinal conveyor printing machines with devices for automatically moving a squeegee across a screen to apply different colors to work pieces at successive positions. The difficulty in achieving accurate registration when printing a pattern having a plurality of colors is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,500, which utilizes registration marks and photoelectric detectihg devices. Rotary, as well as longitudinal continuous feed printers, require phase adjustment mechanisms to obtain the necessary precision.