Abstract:
A method of making a personalized children&#39;s storybook using preprinted books and inserting stickers containing personalized, variable text to create an individualized story line.

Description:
INTRODUCTION TO THE INVENTION 
     The invention pertains to a method of making a book and the book itself. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method of making a personalized children&#39;s storybook using preprinted books and inserting stickers containing personalized, variable text to create an individualized story line. 
     The present invention is an advance over the prior art because until now personalized books could not be sold off the shelf because they were still in pieces until the personalized data was added (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,744). Personalized books could only be sold through mail order and received after several weeks of waiting by the customer, or sold on site and manufactured for the customer while the customer waited while the personalized book was being printed and assembled. The present invention allows preprinted personalized books to be merchandized throughout the country on bookshelves. In one embodiment of the present invention, the customer can give a telephone operator the personalized data and receive by mail a sheet of stickers containing the personalized data to be placed in the preprinted book. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of making a personalized book wherein a specially preprinted book is prepared and adapted to have personalized stickers inserted at specific locations in the preprinted book so as to match up with the preprinted portions of the book. The preprinted book can be produced by conventional methods and contains non-variable text and also usually contains illustrated matter. The non-variable text comprises general information which does not change or vary from book to book of the same title. The personalized variable text comprises specific information which changes or varies for each book depending on the recipient of the book. This personalized variable text is determined by the identity of the intended recipient of the book. When the purchaser of the book specifies the individual for whom the book is to be personalized, the Printer conveys the information to an appropriate source for printing of the variable text stickers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be further understood from the accompanying drawings, wherein 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a children&#39;s storybook made in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a page from the book showing the stickers according to the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a page of stickers in accordance with the invention; and 
     FIG. 4 is a typical flow chart showing how the present invention is carried out. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In further detail and with reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a preprinted book 10 containing a plurality of pages 12, 13, etc. and a front cover 11 and a back cover 16. The book is made and bound using conventional methods known in the art. The book can be mass produced and purchased by a Buyer from a Seller. The non-variable text 18 (including also the title 17) includes general, non-personal information that is common to every book of the same title. Typically, the non-variable text 18 includes a children&#39;s story having a theme to which most children can generally relate. For example, the children&#39;s story can concern a fictional child in a fictional town so that the preprinted book appears complete and can be read from start to finish. Various sections of text of the preprinted book (old text) can be replaced with stickers 14, 15 containing variable text, i.e., sections of text with personalized data (new text) based on the intended recipient of the book. The book can optionally contain illustrations 19. 
     FIG. 2 is a representation of a single page 20 from the storybook of the invention showing the preprinted illustration 22, preprinted non-variable text 23, and the sticker 21 in place containing the variable text. 
     Variable text and optionally non-variable text are printed on adhesive stickers by the Printer. The Buyer will give the Printer of the stickers the personalized data at the time the preprinted book is purchased or at a later date. The stickers are then made. FIG. 3 shows a page 24 of the book containing a plurality of personalized stickers 25. The variable text includes specific, personal information about a child who is the recipient the book. Typically, the variable text includes the name, address, and age of the child, names of friends and/or relatives of the child, as well as other information of a personal nature about the child. The stickers are printed using conventional methods, for example a laser printer. The adhesive stickers can be self-adhesive &#34;peel off&#34; type or may require the addition of an adhesive. The adhesive sticker containing the new text is pressed against the appropriate area of the book (i.e., the old text) to thereby form a complete personalized book. The sticker containing the new text will thus replace the corresponding old text in the preprinted book. The Buyer will know which of the new texts on the stickers goes on which page because the old and new texts are the same words except that the new texts contain the variable data in place of information concerning the fictional child. Alternatively, the stickers will replace numbered blank sections in the storybook; the stickers can be numbered so that the Buyer will know which sticker will replace which numbered blank section. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating the overall process. 
     The stickers being utilized can be blended into the background of the preprinted book. The way to &#34;hide&#34; the sticker containing the new text may include coloring the sticker in the same pattern as the area on which it is to be placed. The sticker can be a copy of a part of a particular page in the preprinted book and would replace the corresponding part of the preprinted book. The sticker would blend in with the background of the page but have the appearance of being printed directly on the page. In addition, the stickers can contain drawings (e.g., the sun, the stars, a mailbox with the recipient&#39;s name). The stickers can also be made of a special material which will become hardly visible when affixed to the appropriate place on the preprinted page. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and rearrangements can be made with the result still coming within the scope of the invention.