High speed printing
AssigneeStamps.com Inc.
InventorsJ P Leon, Keith Bussell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for high-speed processing of mail pieces is disclosed. The high-speed system includes client server that forms and prints a shipping label comprising reduced Information-Based Indicia (RIBI) on each piece of mail. The client server provides funds to the system server and reports the RIBI usage to the system server. The system server issues tokens to the client server that allow the client server to the print a shipping label including RIBI indicia for a certain value of postage.
Claims12
A method for processing a batch of mail items including mail items requiring different postage values using a high speed mail processing system, said method comprising:
- tracking, by a server of the high speed mail processing system, each mail item of a plurality of mail items included in said batch of mail items as it flows through the high speed mail processing system;
- calculating, by the server of the high speed mail processing system, a postage value for each mail item of said batch of mail items;
- generating, by the server, postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein postage indicium data for a particular mail item is generated based at least in part on a particular postage value calculated for said particular mail item, wherein different mail items of said batch of mail items have different calculated postage values;
- transmitting, by the server, said postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items to a printer of the high speed mail processing system, said printer communicatively coupled to said server via a network communication link;
- and
- printing, by the printer, a shipping label for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels is printed based on postage indicium data corresponding to one of said mail items of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels comprises a full information based postage indicium evidencing a postage value of a mail item, wherein each said full information based postage indicium comprises a computer-readable mark, and
- wherein said calculating, said generating, said transmitting, and said printing are performed in parallel with respect to different mail items of said batch of mail items.
A high speed mail processing system configured to process a batch of mail items associated with different postage values, said system comprising:
- a printer;
- a server comprising a memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein said server is configured to perform operations for high speed processing of said batch of mail items, the operations comprising:
- tracking each mail item of a plurality of mail items included in said batch of mail items as it flows through the high speed mail processing system;
- calculating a postage value for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein said batch of mail items includes mail items having different calculated postage values;
- generating postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein postage indicium data for a particular mail item is generated based at least in part on a particular postage value calculated for said particular mail item;
- and
- transmitting said postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items to said printer of the high speed mail processing system, said printer communicatively coupled to said server via a network communication link,
- wherein said printer is configured to print a shipping label for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels is printed based on postage indicium data corresponding to one of said mail items of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels comprises a full information based postage indicium evidencing a postage value of a mail item, wherein each said full information based postage indicium comprises a computer-readable mark, and
- wherein said calculating, said generating, said transmitting, and said printing are performed in parallel with respect to different mail items of said batch of mail items.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.