Device and method for enabling a conventional printer to print on an edge of an envelope

A carrier for holding a conventional envelope in a predetermined position to enable printing near an edge of the envelope with a conventional printer is disclosed. The carrier includes a sheet-like substrate having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a closure flap receiving slot between the leading and trailing edges, and means for holding at least a portion of a bottom edge of the envelope to the substrate. A method according to the present invention includes the steps of providing an envelope, providing a carrier for holding the envelope in a predetermined position, and providing a conventional printer. A closure flap of the envelope is inserted through a closure flap receiving slot in the carrier. Next, a bottom edge of the envelope is held against the carrier. Then, the carrier and the envelope are passed through the conventional printer, which prints on the envelope.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates generally to a device and method for holding 
an envelope in a predetermined position suitable for printing on the 
envelope. More specifically, the present invention relates to a carrier 
and method for holding an envelope so as to permit printing near an edge 
of the envelope with a conventional printer. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is known in the prior art to use a carrier to convey envelopes through 
printing devices. Generally, conventional paper envelopes are attached to 
a paper carrier sheet with spots of adhesive adjacent to the outer edge of 
the envelope sealing flap and adjacent to the upper edge of the envelope 
back panel. An example of such a carrier sheet can be found in U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,980,006. 
Such prior art carrier sheets require special machines to properly position 
and secure the envelopes to the carrier sheet. Furthermore, another 
special machine is required to remove the envelopes from the carrier 
sheet. Consequently, such carrier sheets are not appropriate for use by a 
low volume mailer, as, for example, many users of personal computers. 
In the near future, the United States Post Office may permit application of 
postage directly on an envelope by a personal computer printer. See the 
specification issued by the U.S. Postal Service entitled Information Based 
Indicia Program Postal Security Device Specification ("IBIPPSDS"), dated 
Jun. 13, 1996. The IBIPPSDS includes proposed specifications for the new 
information based indicia ("IBI"). The IBI will include a two-dimensional 
bar code containing hundreds of bytes of information about the mail piece 
and certain human-readable information. Current U.S. Postal Service IBI 
specifications require a facing identification mark ("FIM") to be part of 
the IBI. In the United States, a FIM is a pattern printed in the upper 
right portion of the envelope adjacent to its top edge. Personal computer 
systems have difficulty in properly printing the FIM because U.S. Post 
Office Regulations require precise placement of the FIM near the top edge 
of the envelope, and the software which controls the printer typically 
does not permit printing close enough to the edge of the envelope to 
satisfy the specifications. 
Another problem with using a conventional printer to print on an envelope 
is that such printers have a tendency to cause the glue on the envelope 
closure flap to adhere to the body of the envelope, thereby sealing or 
partially sealing the envelope and potentially rendering the envelope 
useless. Such adhesion is caused by the fact that the closure flap is 
closed over the body such that the glue contacts the body of the envelope 
during printing. Heat from the printer causes moisture in the paper to 
evaporate and moisten the glue which then adheres to the envelope body. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier 
which permits quick and easy positioning of the envelope on the carrier 
without the use of special tools or machines. 
In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier 
which permits quick and easy removal of the envelope from the carrier 
without the use of special tools or machines. 
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide means by 
which a conventional personal computer printer can print a FIM on an edge 
of an envelope. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for 
printing on an envelope with a conventional printer, which reduces the 
tendency of the glue on the closure flap to adhere to the body of the 
envelope during printing. 
The foregoing objectives are realized by the present invention which is a 
carrier for holding a conventional envelope, having a top edge, a closure 
flap attached to its top edge and a bottom edge, in a predetermined 
position for printing near an edge of the envelope with a conventional 
printer. The carrier is formed by a sheet-like substrate having a leading 
edge, a trailing edge, a closure flap receiving slot between the leading 
and trailing edges, and means for holding at least a portion of the bottom 
edge of the envelope to the substrate. 
The foregoing objectives are also realized by a method for printing near an 
edge of a conventional envelope using a conventional personal computer 
printer. The method includes the steps of providing an envelope having a 
top edge, a closure flap attached to its top edge and a bottom edge, 
providing a carrier for holding the envelope in a predetermined position, 
the carrier being formed by a sheet-like substrate having a leading edge, 
a trailing edge, a closure flap receiving slot between the leading and 
trailing edges, and means for holding at least a portion of the bottom 
edge of the envelope to the substrate, and by providing a conventional 
printer. The closure flap of the envelope is inserted through the closure 
flap receiving slot in the carrier. Next, the bottom edge of the envelope 
is held against the carrier. Then, the carrier and the envelope are passed 
through the conventional printer, which prints on the envelope. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description read 
in conjunction with the attached drawings and claims appended hereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
FIGS. 1-4 depict a first embodiment of a carrier for holding a conventional 
envelope 25 in a predetermined position for printing on its surface, 
including an edge. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the carrier 20 is formed by a 
sheet-like substrate 22 having a leading edge 30, a trailing edge 32, and 
a closure flap receiving slot 34 between the leading 30 and trailing 32 
edges. A substrate flap 48 is attached to the substrate 22 at the trailing 
edge 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate flap 48 holds at least a 
portion of the bottom edge 38 of the envelope 25 between the substrate 
flap 48 and the substrate 22. The substrate flap 48 may be secured to the 
substrate 22 by an adhesive 52 located at edges of the substrate flap 48 
to provide a more secure means of holding the bottom edge 38 of the 
envelope 25. The adhesive 52 may be a pressure sensitive adhesive. 
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, in lieu of the substrate flap 48, one or 
more bottom-edge slots 54 positioned on the substrate 22 between the 
closure flap receiving slot 34 and the trailing edge 32 hold at least a 
portion of the bottom edge 38. The bottom-edge slots 54 may be positioned 
so as to hold one or more corners 56 of the envelope 25 bordering the 
bottom edge 38. In lieu of, or in addition to, a substrate flap 48 or the 
bottom-edge slots 54, adhesive may be applied to the substrate 22 to 
adhere a portion of the envelope 25 near its bottom edge 38 to the 
substrate 22. The adhesive may be a pressure sensitive adhesive. 
The sheet-like substrate 22 is preferably formed by a heat resistant 
material, such as polyester, whose physical properties are not 
substantially altered by exposure to heat typically encountered in a 
conventional printer, such as a laser printer. In an alternative 
embodiment, the substrate 22 is coated with a coating material 40 such as 
tetrafluoroethylene, which prevents the typical glue found on the closure 
flap 44 from sticking to the substrate 22. The coating material 40 may 
partially coat the substrate 22 in the vicinity where the envelope closure 
flap 44 potentially contacts the substrate 22, or, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, 
the coating material 40 may entirely coat the substrate 22 to provide a 
uniform surface. 
The present invention also includes a method for printing on a conventional 
envelope 25 using a conventional personal computer printer, such as a 
laser printer, which enables the conventional printer to print near an to 
edge of the envelope 25. FIG. 6 shows the steps of the method and FIGS. 
2-4 depict a carrier 20 which may be used in the method. In the method, a 
conventional envelope 25 having a top edge 58, a closure flap 44 attached 
to the top edge 58 and a bottom edge 38 is provided (step 100). In 
addition, a carrier 20 such as that described above is provided (step 
103), and a conventional printer is provided (step 106). Then, the closure 
flap 44 of the envelope 25 is inserted (step 109) through the closure flap 
receiving slot 34 of the substrate 22, as shown in FIG. 3, and the bottom 
edge 38 of the envelope 25 is held (step 112) against the substrate 22 by 
the substrate flap 48 or one or both of the slots 54, depending on the 
configuration of the carrier 20. Finally, the carrier 20 and the envelope 
25 are passed through the printer (step 115) and the printer prints (step 
118) on the envelope 25. 
It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the carrier 20 of 
the present invention permits quick and easy positioning and removal of an 
envelope 25 on the carrier 20 without the use of special tools. 
Furthermore, the present invention provides means by which a conventional 
personal computer printer can print a FIM on an envelope 25 while reducing 
the chance that glue on the closure flap 44 will adhere to the envelope 
25, or the carrier 20. Finally, the carrier 20 of the present invention 
does not occupy a large amount of space when not in use and can be 
inexpensively manufactured. 
Although the present invention has been described with respect to one or 
more particular embodiments of the device, it will be understood that 
other embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing 
from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Hence, the present 
invention is deemed limited only by the appended claims and the reasonable 
interpretation thereof.