Rotary printing machine i.e. off set printing machine, for printing sheets, has grippers for conveying sheet through machine, where distance of grippers in gripper group is smaller than distance of grippers of adjacent groups

The machine has printing units (2-5) arranged in series, and grippers (36, 38, 39, 41) for conveying a sheet (37) through a machine. The grippers rotate printing cylinders (7-10) and transfer drums (27-32). The grippers are arranged transverse to a conveying direction (48) of the sheet of gripper groups, where distance of the grippers in one the group is smaller than a distance of the grippers of adjacent groups. Grippers of the transfer drum are arranged between the grippers in the group during a transfer of the sheet from the printing cylinder to the transfer drum.