Virtual enclosure bins in printing architectures

Improved printing architectures and associated methods are disclosed for printing enclosures in substantially real-time for insertion with a document in a mail piece. The printing architecture allows for virtual enclosure bins in place of or in addition to actual enclosure bins. When a virtual enclosure bin is referenced in a document print job, an enclosure image is identified for the virtual enclosure bin and is printed in substantially real-time to generate an enclosure. The enclosure for the virtual enclosure bin may then be inserted with the document in the mail piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of printing systems and, in particular, to providing printing architectures and associated methods to implement virtual enclosure bins for post-printing processes.

2. Statement of the Problem

Many companies or organizations use continuous-forms printers or fast cut-sheet printers to print documents to be mailed to individuals. One example is a company that prints credit card bills and mails the credit card bills to customers. These companies often choose to include one or more enclosures with the main document in the same envelope. The enclosures may be promotional pieces, such as marketing fliers for new products or special offers, or may be legal documents, such as a notice of a rate change, an insurance policy rider, etc. The enclosures are frequently offset-printed 4-color pieces that fit into a standard business envelope. The finished size of the enclosures is often about 3½ inches by 8 inches.

The documents are printed from a document print job provided by an application used by the company. Each document in the document print job might enclose none, all, or a subset of the available enclosures for that print job. Customers with different characteristics will often receive a different subset of the available enclosures. For example, only customers who have used their credit card to purchase from a certain type of retailer will receive a certain enclosure.

Companies that mail large volumes of documents, such as a credit card company, typically automate the process of preparing the documents for mailing as follows. First, the company creates a document print job that includes electronic images of all of the documents of a given type for a given period, and then prints the document print job on a high-speed laser printer using either cut-sheet or continuous forms to create stacks of documents that are ready for enveloping. The stacks of documents are then passed to post-printing processes. A feeder mechanism feeds the documents from the printer to an inserter (also called an enveloper). For a particular document, the inserter gathers the pages of the document into a stack. The inserter then folds the document pages in either half or thirds, depending on the size of the outer envelope. The inserter then reads some type of enclosure data from the document, such as an optical mark or a bar code, to identify any enclosures to include with the folded document. The inserter typically has one or more enclosure bins, each of which stores a stack of preprinted enclosures of a certain type. After identifying the proper enclosures for the document, the inserter inserts the folded document and the enclosures into the envelope and seals the envelope which is then ready for mailing.

The enclosure data, such as an optical mark or a barcode, which the company prints on the document controls the above inserting operation. The enclosure data specifies which of the available enclosures in which enclosure bin are to be included with the document. The enclosure data includes a code that specifies the enclosure bin from which the inserter is to feed enclosures for a particular document. Thus, each document is bundled with the proper enclosures.

One problem with present enclosure processes is that most if not all inserters have a limited number of enclosure bins. If the number of different enclosures that the company wants to include with a particular document print job exceeds the number of available enclosure bins on their machines, then the document print job has to be divided into different print jobs. Each of the print jobs would include only documents that call for the same or similar enclosures. When one of the print jobs has finished, new enclosures need to be loaded into the enclosure bins, which is referred to in the art as a new “load plan”. Unfortunately, an impossible number of load plans might be required for all actual subsets of enclosures. For example, for a print job containing 200,000 documents, if there were 30 different enclosures called for by the documents in aggregate and the inserter had 10 enclosure bins, then as many as 50 different set-ups might realistically be required to insert every enclosure. Each load plan would have a different subset of 10 of the 30 enclosures. It may not be feasible to support this many load plans, so the company might have to eliminate many optional enclosures (those not required by business rules or regulations) in order to reduce the number of load plans to a reasonable number.

Having many load plans, each of which requires a separate print job and a set-up of the inserter, introduces complexity into the printing and inserting operations and reduces the possible utilization of expensive printers and inserters resulting in higher equipment and labor costs. Having many load plans may also eliminate the possibility of electronically sorting the mail pieces by ZIP code to obtain postal discounts. The number of documents for a particular load plan may not be sufficient in each ZIP code to obtain the discount. Thus, the company would have to physically sort the envelopes on an envelope sorter machine, which is time consuming and expensive.

Present enclosure processes use preprinted enclosures. This requires printing the enclosures in large quantities in advance of printing of the document print job, and then stocking the preprinted enclosures. This requires significant lead-time and results in large inventory expense for the enclosures and waste material when the company changes enclosures. Because of the lead-time required for printing and stocking preprinted enclosures, the company's marketing department cannot quickly respond to changing market conditions.

Further, due to the cost and complexity of stocking, handling, and inserting many different enclosures, it is typically not feasible to have desired variations of the enclosures. For example, it is typically not feasible to have Spanish language versions of enclosures, even though the document might be in Spanish. Typically, the company prints the enclosures well in advance, often using an external offset print supplier. There is no practical way to correlate individual enclosures to documents. Therefore, it is not feasible to personalize the enclosures, such as with a customer's account number and name.

One solution to the above problems is to use a color printer to print the documents and to also print the enclosures in-line with the documents. However, there are a number of problems with this approach. First, there would have to be extensive modifications to the application that generates the document print job or would require creating a post-printing program that adds the enclosures to the document print job. Secondly, the document would be printed in color even though black/white printing is satisfactory. This will increase per-page printing costs significantly and may require that the company upgrade most or all of its printers to color even though only a fraction of the printed pages require color. Third, if the company wants to print the enclosures on separate sheets of paper, then each enclosure sheet would need to be the size of the main document. This would waste a great deal of paper and may greatly increase postage costs by pushing many documents into the next higher postage rate category due to the much greater paper weight for the enclosures. Lastly, documents are typically printed on heavier bond paper, such as 24# bond, whereas companies often print enclosures on much lighter paper, such as 15# or 16# bond. The heavier paper for the enclosures is a waste and may be more expensive to mail.

It is desirable to use a more effective method of including enclosures with a document than is presently available.

SUMMARY OF THE SOLUTION

The present invention solves the above and other related problems through improved printing architectures and associated methods that print enclosures in substantially real-time for insertion with a document in a mail piece. The printing architecture allows for virtual enclosure bins in place of or in addition to actual enclosure bins. When a virtual enclosure bin is referenced in a document print job, an enclosure image is identified for the virtual enclosure bin and is printed in substantially real-time to generate an enclosure. The enclosure for the virtual enclosure bin may then be inserted with the document in the mail piece. Providing virtual enclosure bins solves many of the problems associated with the limited number of actual enclosure bins of an inserter.

One embodiment of the invention comprises a printing architecture for inserting enclosures with documents. The printing architecture includes a print job processing system that receives a document print job that includes a plurality of documents. A document of the document print job includes enclosure data referencing one or more enclosures, such as for a virtual enclosure bin. The print job processing system processes the enclosure data in the document to identify one or more enclosure images from an image library that corresponds with enclosures referenced in the enclosure data in the document. The print job processing system then generates an enclosure print job that includes the enclosure images. The printing architecture further includes a first printer that prints the document print job to generate the document, and also includes a second printer that prints the enclosure images to generate one or more printed enclosures. The printing architecture further includes an inserter that controls a primary feeder mechanism to feed the printed document from the first printer to the inserter, and processes the enclosure data on the printed document to identify the printed enclosures referenced in the enclosure data. The inserter then controls a secondary feeder mechanism to feed the proper printed enclosures from the second printer to the inserter based on the enclosure data. The inserter then inserts the printed enclosures in a mail piece with the printed document.

Another embodiment of the invention comprises a printing architecture for inserting enclosures with documents. The printing architecture again includes a print job processing system, a first printer and a primary feeder mechanism, a second printer and a secondary feeder mechanism, and an inserter. The print job processing system receives a document print job from an application, processes the document print job to identify a document in the document print job, and processes enclosure data in the document to identify one or more enclosure bins referenced in the enclosure data. The print job processing system identifies whether the enclosure bins comprise virtual enclosure bins. If so, the print job processing system identifies one or more enclosure images from an image library that relate to the virtual enclosure bins. The print job processing system also amends the enclosure data in the document of the document print job to reference one or more print-on-demand (POD) enclosures (the POD enclosures are the result of printing the enclosure images). The first printer then prints the document print job to generate the document, and the second printer prints the enclosure images to generate the POD enclosures. The inserter then controls the primary feeder mechanism to feed the printed document to the inserter, and processes the amended enclosure data on the printed document to identify the POD enclosures referenced in the amended enclosure data. The inserter also controls the secondary feeder mechanism to feed the proper POD enclosures to the inserter based on the amended enclosure data, and inserts the POD enclosures in a mail piece with the printed document.

The invention may include other exemplary embodiments described below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1illustrates a printing architecture for performing a prior art process for including enclosures with documents. The printing architecture includes a printer102and a post-printing system104. Post-printing system104includes a feeder mechanism110and an inserter112. Inserter112includes a plurality of enclosure bins121-123adapted to store preprinted enclosures.

When in operation, printer102, which is typically a black/white continuous forms printer or a cut-sheet printer, receives a document print job130from an application. Document print job130is comprised of a plurality of documents131-132, such as credit card statements, where each document may be one or more pages. The documents131-132in print job130also include some type of enclosure data indicating which enclosure or enclosures should be bundled with the documents131-132for mailing. As an example, document131may include enclosure data that references enclosure bin121and enclosure bin122. The enclosure data indicates that the enclosure stored in bin121and the enclosure stored in bin122are to be bundled with document131.

Printer102then prints document print job130to generate printed documents141-142. Printed documents141-142are received in feeder mechanism110, which feeds the printed documents141-142to inserter112. Inserter112processes the enclosure data on printed documents141-142to determine which enclosures should be bundled with documents141-142. For instance, inserter112may read a bar code on printed document141to determine that enclosures from bin121and bin122are to be bundled with document131. Responsive to processing the enclosure data for printed document141, inserter112takes one or more enclosures (labeled A and B) from the appropriate bins121-123and inserts the enclosures along with document141into a mail piece151. Similarly, responsive to processing the enclosure data for printed document142, inserter112takes one or more enclosures (labeled A and C) from the appropriate bins121-123and inserts the enclosures along with document142into a mail piece152.

As discussed in the Background, there are problems with present systems for providing enclosures as inFIG. 1because there is a limited number of enclosure bins, such as four, ten, fifteen, etc. A user of the system would thus have to change the load plan for inserter112each time enclosures that are not being stored in enclosure, bins121-123need to be bundled with the documents.

FIGS. 2-6and the following description depict specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the invention. For the purpose of this teaching, some conventional aspects of the invention have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these embodiments that fall within the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the present invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below, but only by the claims and their equivalents.

Embodiments of the invention described herein use virtual enclosure bins in place of or in addition to actual enclosure bins. A virtual enclosure bin is not real in the sense that an actual, physical bin is included in the inserter. A virtual enclosure bin comprises some reference to an enclosure image that may be printed in real-time to generate an enclosure. Because the enclosures are printed in real-time instead of being preprinted and stored in an actual enclosure bin, there is an unlimited number of virtual enclosure bins available for a particular document. For instance, assume that a printing system includes an inserter having 10 actual enclosure bins. According to embodiments of the invention, an application sending a document print job to the printing system can specify enclosure bins11,12,13,14, etc, which are virtual in nature. The application is not limited to specifying one of the 10 actual enclosure bins as in prior printing systems.

FIGS. 2-3illustrate the printing architecture used to implement the concept of virtual enclosure bins in an exemplary embodiment.FIG. 2illustrates a print job processing system202and an image library204. Print job processing system202comprises any system, server, or software adapted to process document print jobs in a manner described further inFIG. 4. Print job processing system202may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Image library204comprises any system, server, or database adapted to store enclosure images. An enclosure image comprises a file that may be printed to generate a desired enclosure. Image library204is accessible by print job processing system202through a system bus, through a network connection, or through some other means. The enclosure images may be indexed in image library204through an enclosure bin identifier. For instance, enclosure image A may be indexed as enclosure bin11, where enclosure bin11is a virtual enclosure bin. Similarly, enclosure image B may be indexed as enclosure bin12, where enclosure bin12is a virtual enclosure bin. Thus, if the document print job refers to enclosure bin12, then the document print job is referencing enclosure image B in image library204.

FIG. 3illustrates printers302-303, and post-printing system304that includes feeder mechanisms310-311and inserter312. Printer302may comprise a black/white continuous forms printer or a cut-sheet printer. Printer303may comprise a color printer. Although printers302-303are shown as separate systems, printers302-303may comprise the same printing system providing two print flows. Primary feeder310is adapted to receive output from printer302and feed the output to inserter312. The output from printer302is a plurality of documents, such as credit card bills. Secondary feeder311is adapted to receive output from printer303and feed the output to inserter312. The output from printer303is a plurality of enclosures, such as advertising fliers. In one embodiment, feeder311is adapted to feed envelope-sized sheets, which are typically about 3.5″×8″ sized sheets. Inserter312comprises any type of mechanism adapted to bundle documents and enclosures into a mail piece, such as an envelope. Inserter312may include one or more actual enclosure bins that store preprinted enclosures, which are not shown inFIG. 3. This printing architecture illustrated inFIGS. 2-3is just one embodiment, and other printing architectures may be used in other embodiments.

FIG. 4is a flow chart illustrating a method400of providing virtual enclosure bins in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The steps of method400will be described with reference to the printing architecture inFIGS. 2-3. The steps of the flow chart inFIG. 4are not all inclusive and may include other steps not shown.

In step402, print job processing system202receives a document print job230from an application (not shown). Document print job230is comprised of a plurality of documents231-232, such as credit card statements, where each document may be one or more pages. The documents231-232in print job230also include some type of enclosure data referencing one or more enclosures that should be bundled with the documents231-232for mailing. For instance, the enclosure data for document231may comprise a bar code referencing an enclosure to be bundled with document231or referencing an enclosure bin containing an enclosure to be bundled with document231.

In step404, print job processing system202processes the enclosure data for document231to identify one or more enclosure images from image library204that correspond with the enclosure or enclosures referenced in the enclosure data in document231. As previously stated, image library204includes enclosure images used to generate enclosures when the images are printed. Based on the enclosures referred to or called in the enclosure data, print job processing system202identifies the appropriate enclosure image stored in image library204. Print job processing system202then generates an enclosure print job250based on the enclosure images which it sends to printer303(seeFIG. 3). The enclosure images and the resulting printed enclosures represent the concept of virtual enclosure bins discussed herein.

Print job processing system202also sends document print job230to printer302. Before sending document print job230to printer302, print job processing system202may process document print job230to amend the enclosure data in documents231-232to generate amended document print job238. Print job processing system202may amend the enclosure data in documents231-232or encode enclosure data in documents231-232to reference the printed enclosures associated with documents231-232. For instance, if the enclosure data in document231references virtual enclosure bins11and12, then print job processing system202may amend the enclosure data to change the reference to virtual enclosure bins11and12to two feeds on feeder311. Thus, the correct printed enclosures will be bundled the correct document. In other words, print job processing system202amends the enclosure data to synchronize printed enclosures from enclosure print job250with the correct document from document print job230.

In step406, printer303receives and prints the enclosure images in enclosure print job250to generate printed enclosures251-254. Once printed, enclosures251-254are available to feeder311which is adapted to feed enclosures251-254to inserter312.

In step408, printer302receives and prints documents231-232in document print job230(or document print job238) to generate printed documents241-242. Once printed, documents241-242are available to feeder310which is adapted to feed document241to inserter312and to feed document242to inserter312.

In step410, inserter312receives document241and processes the enclosure data printed on document241. For example, inserter312may read an optical mark or a bar code printed on document241to process the enclosure data. Inserter312processes the enclosure data to identify one or more enclosures251-254that are referenced in the enclosure data on document241. These are the enclosures that are to be bundled with document241. Assume for example that inserter312identifies that enclosures251-252are to be bundled with document241based on the enclosure data. Inserter312then inserts enclosures251-252in a mail piece along with document241in step412.

In a similar manner, inserter312receives document242and processes the enclosure data included with document242. Inserter312processes the enclosure data to identify one or more enclosures251-254that are referenced in the enclosure data on document242. Assume for example that inserter312identifies that enclosures253-254are to be bundled with document242based on the enclosure data. Inserter312then inserts enclosures253-254in a mail piece along with document242.

As an example of how inserter312may work, inserter312first controls feeder310to feed the three sheets of document241(seeFIG. 3). Assume that one or more of the sheets of document241includes a barcode indicating the enclosures251-252to bundle with document241. Inserter312thus processes the barcode to identify enclosures251-252that were printed by printer303and available at feeder311. Inserter312then controls feeder311to feed two sheets that comprise enclosure251and enclosure252. Inserter312then inserts the three sheets of document241into an envelope and inserts the two sheets comprising enclosures251-252into the envelope. A similar process may be performed for document242and other documents generated from document print job230.

Inserter312may also include actual enclosure bins (not shown inFIG. 3) that store preprinted enclosures. Based on the enclosure data printed on documents241-242, inserter312may also insert preprinted enclosures with the documents241-242. For instance, inserter312processes the enclosure data on document241to identify one or more preprinted enclosures referenced in the enclosure data. The preprinted enclosures are stored in actual enclosure bins of inserter312. Inserter312then inserts the preprinted enclosures in a mail piece with document241.

In another embodiment, print job processing system202may personalize the enclosures251-254being printed on printer303. To do so, print job processing system202processes a document, such as, document231, to identify personal information for an intended recipient of the document. The personal information may be a name, an account number, etc. Print job processing system202may then add the personal information to the enclosure images associated with the document. The personal information will thus be printed on the enclosures that are bundled with the document.

There are many advantages provided by the printing architecture described above to provide virtual enclosure bins. For one advantage, there is an unlimited number of virtual enclosure bins available to an application. An entity can thus reduce the number of inserter load plans significantly to improve inserter throughput. The entity may also include more enclosures with the documents without increasing the number of load plans or purchasing more actual enclosure bins.

Another advantage is that print job processing system202can process a document print job received from the application and generate the enclosure print job and the document print job for the application. Thus, the application generating the document print job does not have to be re-programmed to handle the virtual enclosure bins.

Another advantage is that the documents can be printed on an efficient black/white printer while the enclosures may be printed on a color printer. The documents can also be printed on normal sheets sizes (8½×11 inch) on the black/white printer while the enclosures can be printed on other sheets sizes, such as 3½×8 inch sheets, on the color printer. The enclosures can also be printed on lighter weight paper than the documents.

Another advantage is that an inventory of preprinted enclosures does not have to be stored or the inventory may be much smaller, which reduces stocking costs and waste. Also, the lead-time to implement printed enclosures can be hours instead of weeks for preprinted enclosures, and changes to the enclosures can be made on a daily basis to fine-tune marketing messages or make special or limited-term offers. Also, the printed enclosures can be personalized to increase marketing impact and provide other benefits.

Another advantage is that reprints can be handled more effectively. Presently, if reprint of a document is needed, the document will typically be mailed without enclosures for a variety of reasons. According to embodiments provided herein, a reprint can be handled by reprinting the document and reprinting the enclosures associated with the document. The reprinted enclosures can then be inserted with the reprinted document in a mail piece.

FIG. 5is a flow chart illustrating another method500of providing virtual enclosure bins in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The steps of method500will be described with reference to the printing architecture inFIGS. 2-3. The steps of the flow chart inFIG. 5are not all inclusive and may include other steps not shown.

In step502, print job processing system202receives a document print job230from an application. In step504, print job processing system202processes document print job230to identify a document231in document print job230. For instance, print job processing system202may process document print job230to detect document boundaries for document231. Print job processing system202may then detect the first page of document231in document print job230and determine the number of pages in document231. Document print job230may include multiple documents, but one document is discussed in this example for illustration and a similar process is performed for the other documents. In step506, print job processing system202processes enclosure data in document231to identify one or more enclosure bins referenced in the enclosure data. As previously stated, the enclosure data may include an optical mark or barcode that identifies one or more enclosure bins referenced by document231. Alternatively, the same enclosure bin(s) may be defined for each document in document print job230as defined by setup parameters. The enclosure bins may include actual or virtual bins in this embodiment. For instance, if inserter312includes ten actual enclosure bins, then document231may reference one or more of the ten actual enclosure bins and/or may reference other enclosure bins that are virtual.

In step508, print job processing system202identifies whether one or more of the enclosure bins comprises a virtual enclosure bin. If so, print job processing system202identifies one or more enclosure images from image library204in step510. As an example, a bar code on document231may include one or more identifiers indicating the virtual enclosure bins and the actual enclosure bins called by document231. For the virtual enclosure bin identifiers, print job processing system202may access a lookup table that correlates virtual enclosure bin identifiers with enclosure images. Print job processing system202may then identify the appropriate enclosure images in image library204, and generate an enclosure print job250based on the enclosure images identified for document231. Enclosure print job250may alternatively be referred to as a print-on-demand (POD) print job. Print job processing system202may then send enclosure print job250to printer303. Printer303then prints the enclosure images from enclosure print job250to generate one or more print-on-demand (POD) enclosures251-254in step512. A POD enclosure comprises an enclosure that is printed in substantially real-time instead of being preprinted. Once printed, POD enclosures251-254are available to secondary feeder311which is adapted to feed POD enclosures251-254to inserter312.

In step514, print job processing system202amends the enclosure data in the document231of document print job230to reference one or more POD enclosure251-254. For instance, print job processing system202may amend each page in document231to modify or replace the barcode so that the barcode references the POD enclosures251-254. The modification of the enclosure data is used to implement matching of document231to its associated POD enclosures. By amending the enclosure data, print job processing system202generates an amended print job238, and sends the amended document print job238to printer302. In step516, printer302prints document231in document print job230to generate printed document241. Once printed, document241is available to primary feeder310which is adapted to feed document241to inserter312.

In step518, inserter312receives document241from primary feeder310and processes the amended enclosure data included with document241. For example, inserter312may read a bar code printed on document241. Inserter312processes the enclosure data to identify one or more POD enclosures251-254referenced in the amended enclosure data. Once identified, inserter312may the control secondary feeder311to feed the identified POD enclosures to inserter312.

In step520, inserter312inserts one or more POD enclosures251-254in a mail piece with document241. Inserter312uses the amended enclosure data to match POD enclosures with a document in post-printing processes. For instance, the enclosure data on a document may reference two POD enclosures that are to be bundled with the document. Inserter312, when processing the enclosure data, may then interpret the enclosure data for a document as two sheet feeds from secondary feeder311. The two sheet feeds provide the two desired POD enclosures, which inserter312bundles with the document in a mail piece.

Embodiments of the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In one embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.FIG. 6illustrates a computing system600as including a data processing device adapted to provide embodiments of the invention by executing programmed instructions and accessing data stored on a computer-readable storage medium.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code will include at least one processing system602coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements606through a system bus650. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output or I/O devices604(including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters or other system interfaces608may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modems, IBM Channel attachments, SCSI, Fibre Channel, and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network or host interface adapters.