Combined mailing streams

• US 7,693,601 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc., Quad Graphics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quad Graphics, Inc.
• Inventors: Jost, Steven S., Geres, John C., Graushar, William T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURGESS, RAMYA PRAKASAM
• Application Number:
  US12/040,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20080147233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 270/1.01, 270/1.02, 270/1.03, 270/52.02, 700/219, 700/220, 700/221, 700/223, 700/224, 700/226, 700/227, 700/213, 532/843
• US Class Current: 700/223
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4311 Making personalised books or mail packets according to personal, geographic or demographic data
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4454 Merging two or more streams
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/412 of user, e.g. user code
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/415 of job
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/78 Mailing systems
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 39/06 from delivery streams

Abstract

A method comprising providing printed products to form a first mail stream on a printing line, providing printed products to form a second mail stream on a printing line, and placing printed product from the second mail stream onto a printed product of the first mail stream to create the combined mail stream in the sequence of a master mailing list.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a master mailing list comprising a sequence of recipients;

providing printed products to form a first mail stream on a first printing line;

providing printed products to form a second mail stream on a second printing line; and

placing at least some of the printed products from the second mail stream onto selected printed products of the first mail stream to create a combined mail stream in the sequence of the master mailing list.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein providing printed products to form the first mail stream comprises assembling printed products to form the first mail stream on the first printing line.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the combined mail stream is formed without the use of a buffer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the combined mail stream is formed with the use of a buffer.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each printed product from the second mail stream that is laced onto a selected printed product of the first mail stream is placed into a chain slot occupied by the selected printed product of the first mail stream.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising printing address indicia on at least a portion of the printed products of the combined mail stream.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mail stream is assembled using pockets and a binder.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the binder is a stitcher.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the binder is a perfect binder.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a loader provides the second mail stream to the first printing line.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the loader is a shuttle hopper.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second mail streams are combined on a mail table.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising stacking and bundling the combined mail stream.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mail stream comprises at least two different titles.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mail stream comprises at least two different versions of a printed product.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising feeding a third stream of printed products to the first printing line.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the printed products of the second mail stream are pre-addressed.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein each printed product from the second mail stream that is placed onto a selected printed product of the first mail stream is placed onto the selected printed product of the first mail stream while the printed product from the second mail stream is being combined with the first mail stream to create the combined mail stream.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the first printing line is a finishing line.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the finishing line is a binding line.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the binding line is a stitching line.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the binding line is a perfect binding line.

23. A method comprising:

providing printed products to form a first mail stream on a finishing line;

providing printed products of a second mail stream to the finishing line; and

placing at least some of the printed products from the second mail stream onto selected printed products of the first mail stream to create a combined mail stream.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the second mail stream comprises bound printed products.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising providing a master mailing list including a sequence of recipients;

and creating the combined mail stream in the sequence of the master mailing list on the finishing line.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein providing printed products to form the first mail stream comprises assembling printed products to form the first mail stream on the finishing line.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein the combined mail stream is created without the use of a buffer.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein the combined mail stream is created with the use of a buffer.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein each printed product from the second mail stream that is placed onto a selected printed product of the first mail stream is placed into a chain slot occupied by the selected printed product of the first mail stream.

30. The method of claim 23 further including the act of printing address indicia on at least a portion of the printed products of the combined mail stream.

31. The method of claim 23 wherein the first mail stream is assembled using pockets and a binder.

32. The method of claim 23 wherein a loader provides the second mail stream to the finishing line.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the loader is a shuttle hopper.

34. The method of claim 23 wherein the first and second mail streams are combined on a mail table.

35. The method of claim 23 further comprising stacking and bundling the combined mail stream.

36. The method of claim 23 wherein the first mail stream comprises at least two different titles.

37. The method of claim 23 wherein the first mail stream comprises at least two different versions of a printed product.

38. The method of claim 23 and further comprising feeding a third mail stream of printed products to the finishing line.

39. The method of claim 23 wherein the printed products of the second mail stream are pre-addressed.

40. The method of claim 23 wherein each printed product from the second mail stream that is placed onto a selected printed product of the first mail stream is placed onto the selected printed product of the first mail stream while the printed product from the second mail stream is being combined with the first mail stream to create the combined mail stream.

41. A method comprising:

conveying a stream of printed products in series toward a printer;

monitoring the thickness of each of the printed products of the stream of printed products;

adjusting the height of the printer based on the thickness of each of the printed products of the stream of printed products to be delivered to the printer; and

printing with the printer indicia on each of the printed products of the stream of printed products.

42. The method of claim 41 further comprising combining a first stream of printed products and a second stream of printed products to create the stream of printed products.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the printed products of the first stream comprise a first thickness and the printed products of the second stream comprise a second thickness different from the first thickness.

44. The method of claim 42 further comprising stacking a printed product of the second stream on top of a printed product of the first stream.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the stack of printed products of the first and second streams are within a chain slot.

46. The method of claim 44 wherein monitoring the thickness of each of the printed products of the stream of printed products comprises monitoring the thickness of the stack of printed products within a chain slot and wherein adjusting the height comprises providing a signal to an actuator to adjust the height of the printer based on the thickness of the stack of printed products to be delivered to the printer.

47. The method of claim 41 wherein a controller monitors the thickness of each printed product of the stream of printed products and provides a signal to an actuator to adjust the height of the printer based on the thickness of each of the printed products of the stream of printed products to be delivered to the printer.

48. The method of claim 41 wherein the indicia includes an address.