Sheet-material associating – Associating or disassociating – With control indicia
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-07
2004-07-27
Eickholt, Eugene H. (Department: 2854)
Sheet-material associating
Associating or disassociating
With control indicia
C270S001010, C270S001020, C101S485000, C101S228000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06767011
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the merging and collating of multiple continuous webs or plies of stationery. In particular this invention relates to a method of collating different plies with variable data or images printed thereon so as to form a multiple-ply printed product. Although specifically described with reference to a personalised or individually addressed mailer, the term multiple-ply printed product is intended to include multiple ply product such as but not limited to raffle ticket books, computer manuals printed in variable data applications, the production of books, mail packages and direct mail pieces
BACKGROUND ART
Within the printing industry it is well known to collate webs of paper with different material printed thereon to form a finished complete product. Such collation includes the production of business form, books, magazines or newspapers. While accurate collation is necessary in order to ensure that the pages are in the correct sequence, the matter which is printed on each web is non-variable so that the process is much easier. For example, if there is a mistake or misalignment, in overlaying a web containing pages 1 to 8 over the web containing pages 9 to 16, the first web can simply be advanced until page 1 is reached again, and collation can proceed. The matter printed on each page 1 is identical However, such realignment would not be possible when collating webs with variable data printed thereon, because each set of pages to be collated must contain variable data which is related in some way, e.g. page 1 might be a sheet or separable envelope with an individual's address which must be correctly collated with webs containing sheets to be separated which also include pre-printed data relating to the same individual.
Another application for this process would be in collating bank statements printed on separate pages, where there is a second and third continuation page, which must be collated with the top page showing the customer's name and address. Under a present process, the pages may be printed in sequence by the computer on continuous stationery, with a bar-code or other identifier printed at the top. In the collating machine, which separates the pages, the run will actually stop when the bar-code indicates that the next page will be a continuation page or pages. These are collated and then the run continues. Most of the statements might be single page statements. This might apply more so to credit card statements.
Another application would be the collation by Life Insurance and Pension companies of annual policy statements for individuals who have more than one policy with the particular company. At present, separate statements are sent to each individual policy holder for each individual policy resulting in multiple mailings to the same person from the same company. There is a need for supplying a single statement of the different policies with summary information on one sheet, with separate sheets on the current value on maturity, or annual bonuses added, for each individual policy, to be collated and sent to the individual policy holder in one mailing.
Another product is the free insert mailer, as for example described in my international patent application WO-A-9321022. In general, removal of a tear-off stub portion along one side of the mailer allows free withdrawal of the inner ply or plies which are not otherwise attached to the assembly. A basic free insert mailer may comprise front and back outer plies which comprise the envelope, and inner plies comprising, for example, business forms. The inner plies may, for example, be die cut or chipped on two sides so that glue lines running transverse of the web to join the outer plies do not attach the inner plies, which are normally glued longitudinally along a fourth side to attach to the stub portion.
It will be appreciated that the multiple ply assembly is constructed from a plurality of webs which are normally pre-printed and subjected to successive and various transverse and longitudinal chipping, gluing, slitting and perforating steps during collation. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,827, variable information may be applied to the inner plies by a suitable imprinting apparatus which may be transferred through carbonised paper, either formed as part of the under side of one of the envelope plies or as a separate sheet or from the reaction of an impression made on the two adjacent sheets. The envelope assembly is assembled on-line; printed, collated, adhered, cross perforated and folded on a collator, and then taken off-line where the envelopes are addressed.
Specifically in the production of personalised mailers a major problem exists in the efficient and accurate collation of a multi-piece mailer. Each ply must be correctly aligned, with a related ply from another web of paper, at different stages. This problem is not too difficult if there are a sufficient number of pages for the quantity required to be printed on a single reel. At the start of production the operator manually aligns each web, wherein each ply that is going to form the mailer is positioned at a specific place on a collating machine such that when the mailer is formed all related plies are correctly superimposed upon each other and positioned within the mailer. The operation is much more difficult where there is a requirement for a number of reels, thus involving the joining of a fresh reel to the end of a finished reel. Furthermore, if each reel has variable data, such as names and addresses, printed on it, with the data on one reel related to the data on the other reels; as is the case with a multi-ply personalised mailer, the requirement for accurate, exact and efficient collating is imperative and which up to now has been difficult to guarantee.
As indicated above this accurate collation of different webs is also applicable to different printing fields such as for example utility bills, mailshots etc. Although varying solutions have been suggested for this collation, problems exist with the starting and stopping of the collating machine with the drying of glue and inefficient adhesion of related plies.
There is an obvious requirement for a method and apparatus for the efficient collation of multiple webs of related stationery so as to form a complete product. The accurate and exact collation need is specifically relevant to any personalised or variable data product. There is especially a need for the in-line personalisation of mailers; a method that provides for the placing of variable data, such as names and addresses, on individual webs, and the collation of these related webs in a accurate and exact manner so as to create a multi-ply product that is personalised on two or more plies. One way to achieve this is to utilise multiple imaging systems in-line at the collating machine, the personalisation is however limited to the number of imaging heads at the collating machine and can be very expensive for multiple personalised pages.
One example of this use of multiple imaging heads is U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,639, which addresses the problem of forming a multiple part printed product with variable data on one or more parts by using an in-line camera within the collating procedure to verify that the collated plies are correct. It also describes the use of imaging systems within the collating procedure to apply the variable data. This in-line imaging system requires an independent imager for each web that is being applied with variable data.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,089 provides an improved system to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,639 in that a supplemental data processing system is provided to existing systems for matching and verifying that the collated plies are combined accurately. This system allows for the performance of additional steps such as the triggering of labelling and batching external to the matching and verification system.
Similarly to that described above, U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,055 addresses the problems associated with collation of multi-plies by incorporating a verification system into
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