Method and system for production and decentralized delivery of printed products

• US 6,306,072 B1
• Filed: 09/11/1997
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ferag AG (WRH Walter Reist Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Ferag AG (WRH Walter Reist Holding AG)
• Inventors: Honegger, Werner
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): TUGBANG, ANTHONY D
• Application Number:
  US08/875,685
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 493/364, 493/2, 493/3, 493/23, 493/29, 364/479.01, 364/479.02, 364/479.05, 283/34, 283/35, 283/61, 283/62, 700/127, 700/128
• US Class Current: 493/364
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 19/06 starting with webs not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 45/1015 Folding webs provided with predefined fold lines; Refolding prefolded webs, e.g. fanfolded continuous forms
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

The inventive method bases on a consequent realization of the following two conditions: firstly on the consequent separation of the “immaterial or virtual sphere” of information from the “material or real sphere” of the paper and secondly on the consequent standardization of the printed information to a form such that a further processing after printing is not necessary. The consequent separation between information (immaterial sphere) and paper (material sphere) leads to an irreversible combination of the two only in the location where and at the time when the printed information is delivered to the ordering end-customer (reader) in form of a commodity unit, i.e. when contents, location and time of such a commodity unit are defined by the ordering customer. The advantage is that information can be recorded and organized considerably faster and in particular can be copied and transported considerably more simply in the immaterial sphere than this is the case in material sphere. Virtual (immaterial) information units are stored and kept ready over the time of their topicality, these virtual information units are copied, compiled, organized, addressed and transported over data lines according to order of the customer and the information units compiled according to order of the customer are decentrally printed onto paper by means of a (digital) printing method such that a directly deliverable printed product is produced.

Claims

1. A method for production and decentralized delivery of printed products containing units of topical information subject to repeated updating in a system including at least one workstation, a system computer, central read/write electronic memory means, a plurality of decentralized input stations having operating means and a plurality of printers each associated with one input station of said plurality of input stations, the method comprising the steps of

with the at least one workstation, preparing information units and electronically transmitting the prepared information units to the system computer,

using the system computer for storing information units in the central read/write electronic memory means and for replacing stored information units which are no longer of current interest,

offering at the plurality of decentralized input stations the information units,

at selected ones of the plurality of decentralized input stations, selecting information units with the operating means of the input stations from the offered information units, each selection containing a freely selected number of freely selected information units and each selection constituting one order,

electronically transmitting orders from the selected ones of the input stations to the system computer,

compiling with the system computer data sets, each data set corresponding to one order, by

retrieving data from the central read/write electronic memory means corresponding to the information units according to the one order,

editing the retrieved data to represent two sequences of printable pages for a self-contained printed product, and

adding identifying data for transmission of the data set to the printer associated with the input station from which the order was transmitted and control data for the printer associated with that input station,

electronically transmitting each data set from the system computer to the one of the printers associated with the one of the input stations from which the corresponding order was transmitted,

initializing printers in response to transmitted data sets for printing the two sequences of pages according to data sets, one on each side of a paper web, and for laying out the printed product as a folded stack,

forming a Leporello-shaped printed product as printed pages 1 through n with folded edges separating the pages from each other, and arranging the printed pages on one side of the printable carrier in the succession 1, n, n−

1, . . . (n/2)+2 and arranging the printed pages on the other side of the printable carrier in the succession 2, 3, 4, . . . (n/2)+1, and

separating from the paper web at each printer the printed parts of the paper web each of which constitutes one Leporello-shaped printed product according to one order.

2. A method according to claim 1 including

transmitting orders and data sets between input stations, printers and the system computer using telephone lines.

3. A method according to claim 1 including folding the carrier web, before printing, to form a folded stack.

4. A method according to claim 1 including preparing the order in an interactive connection between any one input station and the system computer.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein ordering initializes an order administration.

6. A method according to claim 5 and including

providing an activating card to a user of an input station, and

inserting the card into the input station to begin order administration.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein an information unit corresponds to the content of one of an individual article, a section of newspaper or magazine, an entire newspaper or an entire magazine.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein an information unit corresponds to the content of one of a part of a mail-order catalog, a prospectus, a price list or a telephone directory.

9. A system for production and decentralized delivery of printed products containing units of topical information subject to repeated updating comprising

at least one workstation and a system computer with at least one central read/write memory for storing and updating the information in the form of information units in said at least one memory (12), said information units being stored and updated for as long as the units are of current interest;

a plurality of printing devices for printing information on both sides of a printable carrier delivered from a carrier web of indeterminate length and of forming a printed length of the web into a folded stack;

a plurality of decentralized input stations for offering information units, each said input station having operating means for permitting selection of information units and transmission of compiled identifications of selected information units to said system computer as an order, the selections of information units at any one input station being independent of selections of information units at other input stations, each said input station being associated with one of said printing devices; and

means in said system computer for copying from the at least one central read/write memory data comprising selected information units for each order, processing the copied data to form a data set for each order and electronically transmitting each data set to a printing device associated with an input station from which a selection of information units was made, said data set including instructions for forming a Leporello-shaped printed product as printed pages 1 through n with folded edges separating the pages from each other, and arranging the printed pages on one side of the printable carrier in the succession 1, n, n−

1, . . . (n/2)+2 and arranging the printed pages on the other side of the printable carrier in the succession 2, 3, 4, . . . (n/2)+1,

said printing device being responsive to receipt of a transmitted data set to print the data from the transmitted data set as a fulfillment of an order from the input device, the data set being printed as the Leporello-shaped printed product and arranged as a folded stack.

10. A system according to claim 9 and including means comprising a telephone system for interconnecting said system computer and said printing and input devices.

11. A system according to claim 9 wherein said printing devices include means for processing a printable carrier rolled or pre-folded in a folded stack.

12. A system according to claim 9 wherein each said input device comprises means for interactively communicating with said system computer.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein each said input device includes means for reading a card.