Direct-to-Shape (DTS) Rotary Inkjet & Conical UV Printing Vector Guide

Engineering prepress, polar fan unwrapping formulas, inkjet drop compensation, and multi-layer vector preparation for rotary container decoration.

1. Rotary Inkjet Kinematics for Cylinders & Cones

Direct-to-Shape (DTS) digital UV printing revolutionizes container decoration by eliminating screens, pad cliché tooling, and pressure-sensitive labels. High-speed synchronized rotary mandrels spin cylindrical cans, cosmetic bottles, and tapered tumblers beneath stationary or scanning piezoelectric printheads (e.g., Ricoh Gen5/Gen6, Konica Minolta 1024i, Kyocera KJ4A).

2. Mathematical Conical Warping & Prepress Vector Rules

Printing onto tapered containers without geometric pre-distortion leads to severe "smile" curving and vertical trapezoidal distortion. SpotItLive converts rectangular brand artwork into mathematically exact conical fan sectors:

• Top Arc Radius ($R_{\text{top}}$): $R_{\text{top}} = \frac{D_{\text{top}} H_{\text{slant}}}{D_{\text{top}} - D_{\text{bot}}}$.
• Subtense Arc Sweep ($\theta$): $\theta = 180^\circ \cdot \frac{D_{\text{top}} - D_{\text{bot}}}{H_{\text{slant}}}$.
• White Underbase Choke: Inward choking of $-0.15\text{ mm}$ ($-4\text{ to }-6\text{ px}$ at 720 DPI) to prevent bright white halos on clear acrylic or colored powder-coated drinkware.
• Rotary 360° Seam Overlap: Micro-feathered gradient seam blending ($0.2\text{--}0.5\text{ mm}$) to hide the rotational start/stop joint.