This disclosure relates generally to systems for the preparation of printed items. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems for print products, where the preparation for each print product varies in accordance with selected values of pre-determined parameters.
Many print jobs prepared by modern print shops must be printed as multiple print runs due to differing specifications for each of the print runs. For example, the print job may require the use of different paper stocks for the different print run, or that portions of the print job be printed in black and white while other portions of the print job be printed in color. Completion of the print job therefore requires that the printed pages from the several print runs must be separated from printed pages for other print runs, matching those printed pages to the print job, collating the printed pages and packaging the print job for delivery to the customer.
The tasks recited above may each include a number of sub-tasks. For example, each print run requires supplying a set of printing instructions intended for printing a particular portion of the print job document to the printer device and then printing the document portion in accordance with the supplied sets of printing instructions. A number of mutually different processing instructions may be supplied to a station of an apparatus for assembling print jobs, which processing instructions are each associated with particular sets of the sets of printing instructions.
In one conventional method, documents are printed and further processed in accordance with specific processing instructions associated with those printed documents, without the necessity of providing the documents with special indicia for controlling the further processing of those documents.
Because the printed documents are not scanned in order to read the associated processing instructions, however, the possibility exists that due to errors in the printing of the documents or in the transport of printed documents from the printer to the station, instead of an intended document, another document, which has been printed before or after the intended document and differs therefrom, is processed in accordance with the processing instructions associated with the intended document or in combination with other documents associated with the intended document. Such errors can occur, for instance, in that a document jams or in that a double sheet is supplied to the printer.
As a result of such errors, it is possible, for instance, that a set of personalized documents lacks a last document, which is then included in the next set, intended for a different addressee. It is also possible, for instance, that a bank statement is added to a letter which is addressed to a person other than the person to whose bank account the statement relates. It will be clear that these are extremely undesired consequences. In this connection, it is particularly disadvantageous that an error may have an effect on the assembly of subsequent postal items without this being noticed
In another conventional method, documents are provided with special marks that represent codes associated with processing instructions that are stored in a memory. Each time a document is supplied to the assembling apparatus, the special marks of that document are read. In response to the code represented by the special mark as read the processing instructions corresponding with that code are read from the memory and the document is processed accordingly. Although the special marks are relatively small in comparison with special marks directly representing processing instructions, it is necessary, in determining the lay-out of the documents, to leave some space clear for the special marks, which requires additional coordination. A so-called bled-off printing is often impossible. Further such special marks disturb the appearance of documents and give the document an impersonal character.
There is provided a verification system for printed products comprising at least one printing device including at least one paper source supplying paper having an electronic data storage device attached to each piece of paper. Each electronic data storage device has identification information stored therein. The system also comprises a quality control reader device adapted to sense the identification information stored in the electronic data storage devices of a completed print job.
The printing device also includes a reader device adapted to sense the identification information stored in the electronic data storage devices.
The verification system further comprises a computer in communication with the printing device, the printing device reader device, the inserter system, and the quality control reader device.
The verification system further comprises an inserter system receiving pages output from the printing device, a sorting device in communication with the computer, and a transport device for conveying pages output by the inserter system to the sorting device. The quality control reader device is disposed proximate to the transport device.
The verification system further comprises a holding area to receive output comprising incomplete or mixed print jobs from the sorting device and a system output area adapted to receive output comprising complete and correct print jobs from the sorting device.
The inserter system may include a reader device in communication with the computer, to sense the identification information stored in the electronic data storage devices.
The computer comprises a database including a page count of the number of pages of each print job received by the at least one printing device and the identification information of each piece of paper utilized by the at least one printing device to print each print job. The computer also comprises a verification operating system to control the printing device, the inserter system, the sorting device and the transport device.
There is also provided a method of controlling the quality of print jobs comprising multiple pages. The method comprises printing each page of the print job with a printing device, associating identification information stored within an electronic data storage device attached to each printed page with the print job, assembling all of the printed pages of the print job, reading identification information stored within the electronic data storage device attached to each of the assembled printed pages, and comparing the identification information of the assembled printed pages to the identification information of the printed pages associated with the print job to determine if the print job is complete and correct.
The method further comprises creating a record in a database stored in a computer for each print job. Associating identification information comprises reading identification information stored within the electronic data storage device attached to each of the printed pages with a reader device associated with the printing device and storing the identification information of each printed page in a field of the print job record in the database.
Assembling all of the printed pages of the print job comprises transporting each page of the print job from the printing device to an inserter system, matching the pages received by the inserter system to the print job, and collating the pages of the print job to form a completed print job.
Reading identification information stored within the electronic data storage device attached to each of the assembled printed pages comprises transporting the completed print job from the inserter system to a sorting device, passing the completed print job within a range of a quality control reader device while transporting the completed print job, and reading the identification information stored in the electronic data storage device of each page of completed print job.
Comparing the identification information of the assembled pages comprises comparing the identification information sensed by the quality control reader device for every page of the completed print job to the identification information stored in the print job record. If the identification information sensed by the quality control reader device does not include all of the identification information stored in the print job record or if the identification information sensed by the quality control reader device includes identification information that is not stored in the print job record, the completed print job is directed to a holding area. If the identification information sensed by the quality control reader device includes all of the identification information stored in the print job record and the identification information sensed by the quality control reader device does not include identification information that is not stored in the print job record, the completed print job is directed to a system output area.
Assembling all of the printed pages of the print job may comprise conveying each page of the print job from the printing device to the inserter system, reading the identification information stored in the electronic data storage device of each page received by the inserter system with a reader device associated with the inserter system, sorting each page received from the printing device, collating the pages of the print job, and securing all of the pages of the print job as a completed print job when the all pages of the print job have been received by the inserter system. The pages are sorted by comparing the identification information sensed by the inserter system reader device to the identification information stored in the print job records of the database, and associating the page with the print job record containing the identification information sensed by the inserter system reader device.
The present disclosure may be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
An “electronic data storage device” 12 is a either a machine-writeable/machine-readable device or machine-readable only device capable of storing electronic data. Electronic data storage device refers to a single electronic data storage device as well as to a collection of two or more electronic data storage devices connected, for example, in series, in parallel, or nested one within another. Examples of electronic data storage devices 12 include, but are not limited to, radio frequency identification tags (RFID tags), proximity (Prox) tags, iButtons, smartcards, and similar devices. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags/transponders. An RFID tag is a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.
The electronic data storage device 12 may be attached to a physical page 14 by an adhesive, by a removable adhesive, by a magnetic material, by an embedding procedure, by a glue, or some other mechanical attachment method known in the art. Attachment may be permanent or removable. “Attached” and “affixed” as used herein are defined as operatively connected to or in close proximity to. The electronic data storage device 12 may be “embedded” to a surface of a page 14 using a process such as Printed Organic Electronics (POE) using a reel-to-reel fabrication process to print the electronic data storage device on a writing surface.
With reference to
The inserter system 18, 18′ performs several functions. The individual pages 14 of the print job must be matched to the print job, collected together, merged/collated to form the completed print job, and inserted into an envelope, or the like, to facilitate delivery of the print job and to ensure that all of the pages of the print job remain together. As shown in
In one embodiment, the inserter system 18 includes a reader device 22 that senses the identification information 21 stored in the electronic data storage device 12 of each page 14 received by the inserter system 18. The pages 14 received by the inserter system 18 are matched to the associated print job by comparing the identification information of the page to the identification information of the pieces of paper that were used by the printing device 16 while printing the print job. The individual pages of each print job are then collected together, merged/collated to form the completed print job, and inserted into an envelope as described above.
Alternatively, a conventional inserter system 18′ may be used. Such inserter systems 18′ are generally used by organizations making large mailings, where the contents of each item mailed may vary. Such systems typically comprise: feeder modules for insertion of sheets into a batch, either multiply or singly; web modules for separating webs into discrete forms and inserting the discrete forms into the batch; envelope modules for inserting the batches into envelopes; a transport system for conveying sheets and forms through the various modules to form proper batches; inserter modules for inserting the batches into envelopes; and a control system to synchronize the operation of the inserter system to assure that the batches are properly assembled, inserted into envelopes, and, possibly, metered.
Information for control of such known inserter system 18′ is read from a control document, which is preferably a form, by a scanner associated with the feeder module or web module which feeds that document. Preferably that module is the most upstream module along the transport system. The scanner reads information from the control document which typically includes information such as information defining the number of documents to be inserted at each module, information providing an I.D. code for comparison with I.D. codes printed on the inserted documents to assure that documents are properly matched, and, possibly, information for other purposes such as selection of postage. This control information is then transmitted to the control system which controls the operation of the inserter system 18′ accordingly to assure the proper assembly and processing of each batch as defined by a control document.
After each print job is inserted into an envelope, the envelope is removed from the inserter system 18, 18′ by a transport device 24, such as a conveyor. As explained in greater detail below, a quality control reader device 26 is positioned in proximity to the transport device 24, downstream of the inserter system 18, 18′ in the direction of transport of the envelopes. The quality control reader device 26 senses identification information 21 stored in the electronic data storage device 12 of each page 14 of the print job to verify that the envelope contains all of the pages of the print job and does not contain any pages that are not a part of the print job.
A sorting device 28 downstream of the quality control reader device 26 directs the envelopes containing incomplete print jobs and the envelopes containing mixed print jobs to a holding area 30 where the contents of the envelope can be corrected. If the envelope contains a complete and correct print job, the sorting device 28 directs the envelope to a print system output area. For example, if other fulfillment operations must be performed on the print job, the sorting device directs the envelope to the designated work area 32. If the envelope contains a complete and correct print job, and no other fulfillment operations must be performed, the sorting device directs the envelope to a mailing facility 34 for transmittal out of the print shop.
A computer 36 is in electronic communication with the inserter system 18, 18′, each printing device 16, each reader device 20, 22, 26, the sorting device 28, and possibly the transport device 24. The computer 36 includes a database 38 for storing information relating to each print job 40, including a page count 42 of the number of pages 14 comprising the print job 40 and the identification information 44 for each piece of paper 14 that is utilized in printing the print job 40. The computer 36 also contains a verification operating system 46 that interfaces with the operating systems of the printing device 16, inserter system 18, 18′, sorter 28 and transport device 24 to coordinate overall operation of the verification system 10. Alternatively, the verification operating system 46 may include modules to actively control operation of the printing device 16, inserter system 18, 18′, sorter 28 and transport device 24. The verification operating system embodies a method of quality control for print jobs.
With reference to
With reference to
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
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