High speed printer with stain preventing member between alternately spaced hammers

Claim 1

A printing apparatus comprising: a motor; a character drum connected to said motor for rotation thereby and having a surface provided with columns each having characters thereon and supplied with ink; a group of main hammers disposed opposite the drum surface; means operatively connected to said motor for feeding printing paper between said group of main hammers and said drum surface, by the rotational force of the motor; a group of intermediate hammers disposed between said group of main hammers and the character drum on a one hammer-to-two columns basis, said hammers disposed opposite alternate columns of characters; stain preventing means disposed between said character drum and said paper, said stain preventing means having portions in said print line which overlie the alternate columns of characters on said character drum at positions between said hammers, whereby said stain preventing means shield the columns on said character drum adjacent a column bearing a character to be printed by actuation of an intermediate hammer; and means operatively connected to said motor for shifting integrally said group of intermediate hammers and said stain preventing means by one column to facilitate printing along a line at each column on printing paper adjacent said drum surface upon actuation of said group of main hammers.