US 2006/0185326 A1 · Method and system for creating mailpieces from a single continuous web of printed material

Abstract

A method for creating mailpieces from a single web of printed material. The web of printed material includes printed matter to be used on envelopes, and other printed matter to be used on mail content to be included in the envelopes. The content pages are rectangular in shape and may be oriented relative to the envelope sheets in a number of different configurations. In some configurations, two sets of content pages and/or envelope sheets can be printed across the width of the web. The method starts with cutting consecutive sections of the web into separated sheets. Some of the separated sheets are envelope sheets including envelope printed matter, and some of the sheets are mail content sheets including mail content printed matter. The method includes cutting variable sized sheets depending on whether a sheet is a mail content sheet, or an envelope sheet. The method further includes cutting variable sized envelope sheets depending on the size of the mailpieces. In a preferred embodiment, the web includes business return envelopes (BREs). The BRE sheets are transported to an envelope creation path and in the envelope creation path where the sheets are formed into envelopes. The envelope creation path is then merged back with a content processing path whereby finished BRE's are stacked with their respective accumulations of folded content sheets to form a complete content stack. BRE's are then enclosed with the content sheets by the enclosing envelope sheets.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A method for creating mailpieces from a single web of printed material, wherein the web of printed material includes printed matter to be used as envelopes, and other printed matter to be used as mail content to be included in the envelopes, the mail content of mailpieces having varying numbers of pages, wherein mailpieces with mail content having more than a predetermined number of pages are large mailpieces, and mailpieces with mail content having less than or equal to the predetermined number of pages are small mailpieces, the method comprising:

cutting consecutive sections of the web into separated sheets, some of the sheets comprising envelope sheets including envelope printed matter, and some of the sheets comprising mail content sheets including mail content printed matter, the step of cutting further including cutting variable sized sheets depending on whether a sheet is a mail content sheet, or an envelope sheet, the step of cutting variable sized sheets further including cutting larger sized envelope sheets for large mailpieces and smaller envelope sheets for small mailpieces;
accumulating mail content sheets belonging to a same mailpiece;
enclosing the accumulated mail content sheets in a corresponding envelope sheet, the larger sized envelope sheets forming larger envelopes and the smaller sized envelope sheets forming smaller envelopes.

A method for creating mailpieces from a single web of printed material, wherein the web of printed material includes printed matter to be used on envelopes and printed matter to be used on mail content to be included in the envelopes, some of the envelopes being business return envelopes (BREs), and other envelopes being mailpiece enclosing envelopes in which the BREs are to be enclosed, the method comprising:

cutting consecutive sections of the web into separated sheets, some of the sheets comprising envelope sheets including envelope printed matter and some of the sheets comprising mail content sheets including mail content printed matter, the step of cutting including cutting variable sized sheets depending on whether a sheet is a mail content sheets, a BRE sheet, or a mailpiece enclosing envelope;
transporting at least the BRE sheets to an envelope creation path and in the envelope creation path:
applying adhesive to a surface of the BRE sheets;
folding the BRE sheets into finished BRE's fastened together by the applied adhesive;
and
transporting the finished BREs out of the envelope creation path;
diverting the mail content sheets to a content processing path separate from the envelope creation path, and in the content processing path:
accumulating mail content sheets belonging to a same mailpiece;
folding accumulated content sheets;
merging the envelope creation path and the content processing path whereby finished BRE's are stacked with their respective accumulations of folded content sheets to form a complete content stack;
applying adhesive to a surface of the mailpiece enclosing envelope sheet;
and
folding the mailpiece enclosing envelope sheet around its appropriate complete content stack whereby a closed mailpiece is formed around the complete content stack.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and system for creating mailpieces from a single continuous web of printed material

Life of this patent

Method and system for creating mailpieces from a single continuous web of printed material

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims34