Process and apparatus for personalizing magazines, books and other print media

In a process for the assembly of magazines in a bindery line wherein individual signatures are deposited on a conveyor from a plurality of hoppers, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• a) pre-personalizing off-line signatures with personalization information including machine readable indicia;
• b) loading the pre-personalized signatures into at least one of said plurality of hoppers;
• c) depositing the pre-personalized signatures on the conveyor between other of said individual signatures from adjacent hoppers;
• d) providing a symbol reading device for reading said machine readable indicia and generating address information including recipient name and address matched to said personalization information;
• and
• e) printing on-line said address information on cover signatures of the respective magazines,
• wherein the magazines are non-selectively assembled, using signatures from each of said plurality of hoppers, the bindery line including in sequence, and following said plurality of hoppers, at least a caliper, a symbol reader and a printer, each of which is in communication with a central processor unit for the bindery line, said central processor unit having at least a subscriber name, address and other control information file, and a reject label file.

A process for producing magazines including one or more subscriber pre-personalized signatures, and a cover provided with corresponding recipient name and address information comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of adjacent hoppers, each holding a different set of signatures;
• b) providing a conveyor proximate the hoppers for receiving signatures from said hoppers to thereby establish a bindery line;
• c) providing a data processor including a memory for storing information including recipient name and address;
• d) printing selected signatures with personalized information off-line at a location remote from said bindery line, said personalized information including a bar code including information keyed to the recipient information in the data process memory;
• e) inserting said pre-personalized signatures in a selected one of said plurality of hoppers for deposit on said conveyor;
• f) reading said bar code or other machine readable indicia and communicating the bar code information or information taken from other machine readable indicia to the data processor for matching with said recipient information;
• and
• g) downstream of said hoppers, printing said recipient name and address information, on-line, on said cover.

In a process for the assembly of magazines in a bindery line wherein individual signatures are deposited on a conveyor from a plurality of hoppers, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• a) pre-personalizing signatures off-line with personalization information including recipient name and address;
• b) loading the pre-personalized signatures into one of said plurality of hoppers;
• c) providing cover signatures with windows formed therein in a hopper adjacent and downstream of said one of said plurality of hoppers;
• and
• d) depositing the pre-personalized signatures and the cover signatures on the conveyor so that said windows overlie the recipient name and address on the pre-personalized signatures.

Apparatus for assembling magazines including a bindery line wherein selected signatures are deposited from a plurality of hoppers onto a conveyor, the improvement comprising:

• first means remote from said bindery line for pre-personalizing at least one group of signatures with personalization information, at least a portion of which is in the form of coded indicia, prior to insertion of said one group of signatures into one of said plurality of hoppers such that said one group of signatures will be deposited on the conveyor between signatures from other hoppers;
• second means for reading said coded indicia after said one group of signatures has been inserted in one of said plurality of hoppers;
• third data processing means for storing at least label information including subscriber name and address and for matching information generated by said coded indicia to said label information;
• and
• fourth means for printing said label information on cover signatures of said magazines.

In a process for the assembly of magazines in a bindery line wherein individual signatures are deposited on a conveyor from a plurality of hoppers, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• a) pre-personalizing off-line signatures with personalization information including machine readable indicia;
• b) loading the pre-personalized signatures into at least one of said plurality of hoppers;
• c) depositing the pre-personalized signatures on the conveyor between other of said individual signatures from adjacent hoppers;
• d) providing a symbol reading device for reading said machine readable indicia and generating address information including recipient name and address matched to said personalization information;
• e) printing on-line said address information on cover signatures of the respective magazines;
• and
• f) trimming said machine readable portion from the pre-personalized signature.

A process for producing magazines including one or more subscriber pre-personalized signatures, and a cover provided with corresponding recipient name and address information comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of adjacent hoppers, each holding a different set of signatures;
• b) providing a conveyor proximate the hoppers for receiving signatures from said hoppers to thereby establish a bindery line;
• c) providing a data processor including a memory for storing information including recipient name and address;
• d) printing selected signatures with personalized information off-line at a location remote from said bindery line, said personalized information including a bar code including information keyed to the recipient information in the data process memory;
• e) inserting said pre-personalized signatures in a selected one of said plurality of hoppers for deposit on said conveyor;
• f) reading said bar code or other machine readable indicia communicating the bar code information or information taken from other machine readable indicia to the data processor for matching with said recipient information;
• and
• g) downstream of said hoppers, printing said recipient name and address information, on-line, on said cover;
• wherein step f) is carried out after said pre-personalized signatures are deposited on the conveyor.