Abstract: To align the patterns at the joint during splicing the pattern printed inner liners, an automatic inner liner splicing and pattern alignment system was designed for a YB48 hard packer. The system consists of a splicing device including a splicing plate and a cutter, a clamping mechanism and a color mark sensor. The PID control algorithm of the magnetic remanence brake in the inner liner conveying system is modified to flexibly control the braking force on the inner liner bobbin, and make the packer quickly enter the steady running after the splicing request is triggered. When the color mark on the inner liner from the exhausting bobbin is captured by the sensor and, after a phase delay, coincident with the color mark on the inner liner of the standby bobbin, the inner liners on the splicing plate are clamped firmly by the clamping mechanism and complete automatic inner liner splicing and pattern alignment. The designed system was tested with "Liqun" brand cigarettes in Hangzhou Cigarette Factory. The results showed that: 1) After the application of the designed system, the machine stop due to inner liner splicing was eliminated contrast to that by manual splicing of 15 times per shift, and the total downtime reduced by 7.5 min per shift. 2) The splicing error of the designed system was in the range of -3-5 mm, far less than the allowable error of ±10 mm. This technology supports the promotion of production efficiency of personalized cigarette products.