B41F PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES (manifolding devices or office printing machines B41L)
Introduced: September 1968
Description
B41F encompasses mechanical and electromechanical apparatus for applying ink or other marking substances to substrates during printing operations. This subclass covers printing presses of various types, including letterpress, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, and screen printing machines, as well as their essential components such as inking systems, feed mechanisms, and impression devices. The classification includes both traditional sheet-fed and web-fed press designs, along with auxiliary equipment directly integrated into the printing process. Related printing technologies using different application methods—such as digital printing, inkjet, or electrostatic printing—are classified elsewhere (B41J and other sections).
Title
Titles differ between systems:
IPC: PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
CPC: PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES (manifolding devices or office printing machines B41L)
Full Title
Full titles differ between systems:
PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES (manifolding devices or office printing machines B41L)
Additional Content IPC
Glossary
Printing The production of printed material by the application of ink or colour to a substrate (print media), typically paper. Offset print or offset printing using an intermediate element, most commonly a blanket cylinder, for transfer in one step of the whole inked print image on the printing element, most commonly on a printing plate, onto the surface of the substrate to be printed upon Rotary machines using at least one printing plate in cylindrical form Forme form formes A printing component, usually a block or plate used to apply ink to the print media
Limiting references
Apparatus or devices for printing for office or other commercial purposes
IPC and CPC are identically structured here. All 20 subcodes exist in both systems.
7 shared codes have differing titles between IPC and CPC.
Child Classifications
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- B41F 1/00 Platen presses, i.e. presses in which printing is effected by at least one essentially-flat pressure-applying member co-operating with a flat type-bed IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 11/00 Rotary presses or machines having forme cylinders carrying a plurality of printing surfaces, or for performing letterpress, lithographic, or intaglio processes selectively or in combination IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 17/00 Printing apparatus or machines of special types or for particular purposes, not otherwise provided for +6 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 19/00 Apparatus or machines for carrying out printing operations combined with other operations +4 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 21/00 Devices for conveying sheets through printing apparatus or machines (through platen presses B41F1/28) +1 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 22/00 Means preventing smudging of machine parts or printed articles (B41F23/00 takes precedence) since 1995 +1 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 23/00 Devices for treating the surfaces of sheets, webs, or other articles in connection with printing +3 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 25/00 Devices for pressing sheets or webs against cylinders, e.g. for smoothing purposes IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 27/00 Devices for attaching printing elements or formes to supports (attaching by chemical means B41N6/00) +1 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 3/00 Cylinder presses, i.e. presses essentially comprising at least one cylinder co-operating with at least one flat type-bed IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 30/00 Devices for attaching coverings or make-ready devices; Guiding devices for coverings (make-ready devices B41N6/00) since 1990 IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 31/00 Inking arrangements or devices (inking units for platen presses B41F1/40; inking units for cylinder presses B41F3/81) +6 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41F 33/00 Indicating, counting, warning, control or safety devices (arrangements of counting devices in platen presses B41F1/00 in cylinder presses B41F3/84; ink supply or metering devices B41F31/02) +9 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
Top Applicants
Top Applicants (IPC)
Class B41,2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 14,672
- CANON 14,153
- RICOH COMPANY 8,049
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION JP 8,044
- HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY US 7,312
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES 6,887
- KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS 5,463
- CANON JP 5,001
- KONICA MINOLTA CORPORATION 4,512
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES JP 3,681
Top Applicants (CPC)
Class B41,2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 8,446
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION JP 8,438
- HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY US 7,828
- CANON JP 5,419
- CANON 4,156
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES JP 3,763
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES 2,779
- RICOH COMPANY JP 2,717
- FUJIFILM JP 2,423
- RICOH COMPANY 1,739