The present invention relates to a paper feed device for use with a rotary press for printing newspapers.
With a conventional rotary press, a flat belt formed with a slit is passed through the machine in a loop along a path most frequently used (such as the monochromatic printing course). A roll of printing paper provided in a paper feed unit of the press is unrolled so that its leading end is inserted into the slit in the flat belt. The flat belt is driven by a guide roller in the press or by a separate small motor. By moving the flat belt, the printing paper can be fed to a predetermined position in the press.
It is necessary to change the paper feed path in accordance with a change in the printing mode, e.g. from monochromatic printing to multicolor printing, or a change in the number of pages of the papers to be printed. But with this type of prior art press, more than one paper feed path can not be provided beforehand between each paper feed unit and each printing unit. Thus such a change in the paper feed path must be done manually and requires a large amount of time and labor.