Method for providing a stack composed of book covers for book production

A method for providing a stack composed of book covers for production of finished books, comprising:

• supplying a task stack of book covers having identical cover formats and stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence, wherein each book cover in the task stack includes an identifier comprising cover information;
• separating out and conveying of the book covers from the task stack as separate book covers in a sequence that does not change for the following method steps, until a completion signal is transmitted:
• counting the separated out book covers, detecting of the identifier on each separated out book cover, reading cover information out of the respective identifier, and temporarily storing the cover information;
• depositing the separated out book covers one on top of the other in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack;
• storing an identifier that identifies the detected stack together with the temporarily stored cover information;
• and
• triggering the completion signal by a light barrier that registers a gap following the deposited book covers at an end of the task stack to be detected.

An apparatus for providing a stack composed of book covers used to produce finished books, comprising:

• a cover magazine to separate out book covers with identical format from a task stack in a known or unknown sequence and to convey the separated out book covers in longitudinal direction through the apparatus, wherein each of the separated out book covers is provided with an identifier comprising cover information;
• at least one detection device arranged to at least one of count the separated out book covers, detect the respective identifier, and read the cover information out of the identifier;
• and
• a processing unit to process the cover information, wherein the cover information is at least one of stored with the aid of the processing unit and communicated to an external cover-matching system by the processing unit.