Abstract:
A fold-a-book and method for making same, comprising a 8-panel (16-page) booklet that can be folded or unfolded without the aid of staples, glue or the like to alternatively comprise the booklet and a poster spread that is eight times the size of the booklet. The method includes a method for placing and printing user-chosen images on the booklet while in its fully expanded state. Images printed on the booklet panels may be sized to fit in standard size photo frames. The recipient can choose to leave the booklet intact, or to remove the panels by cutting at the folds and inserting the panels into photo frames for display.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    The present application derives priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/915,736 filed 13 Dec. 2013. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to folded paper products and a method for forming the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Background 
         [0005]    Modern printing techniques allow for high-quality, color images and/or text to be printed on widely varying sizes and shapes of paper, poster stock, card stock, plastic film (synthetic) substrates or like material having various finishes. One common application of such printing technology is the creation of high-quality color posters, often printed on a large scale on a single sheet of glossy or poster-type paper. Modern printers, such as laser printers, are capable of printing such large-scale pictures of sufficient quality and resolution as to be appropriate for framing or display. However, when not in their fully expanded, display state, posters and large-scale printed images are often rolled-up to store or transport them. However, such means of transportation or storage does not allow a user to view the full image printed on the sheet until the sheet is fully unrolled. Further, the rolled sheet is not able to be reduced in size along one dimension, i.e. along the axis of the sheet that is perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is rolled. 
         [0006]    In addition, there exist a variety of techniques for folding sheets of printed information into flat and more compact formats for ease of handling. The most common is the accordion-type fold wherein a sheet of paper or like material containing a printed image is folded using parallel pleats along one axis of the sheet. Right angle folds may be added to allow tall formats to be compacted into even smaller folded dimensions. Maps are typically folded in this manner. The accordion fold is advantageous in that it allows for the sheet to be transported in a more compact form, and, depending on the folding pattern, may allow a user to view some aspects of the printed image without completely unfolding the sheet. However, all the pages of an accordion-folded booklet cannot be viewed without fully unfolding the booklet and this is inconvenient and unwieldy. Moreover, accordion-folded sheets are prone to coming unfolded by themselves. Therefore, the accordion-style fold limits the type and layout of text and images that may be printed on a sheet of paper that is folded in this style. Moreover, accordion-folded sheets do not paginate like a book, but rather open to a large spread. Consequently, accordion-folded booklets are seldom used as a substitute for bound books. 
         [0007]    Traditional books and magazines are bound with stiches, staples and/or adhesive. Images and written content are printed on a sheet of paper, and that sheet is then folded into multi-page signatures and bound together using staples, glue, or the like for viewing in a single or double-page spread. A magazine-style binding can accommodate sheets of varying sizes containing images as large as the area of two pages of the magazine. Binding is expensive compared to folding techniques as described above. The cost of binding is less important for large production runs of thousands of the same publication. However, the fastest growing segment of the publishing industry demands one-offprint on demand publishing. Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology in which copies of a book (or other document) are not printed until an order has been received, which compels one-off production. Many traditional small presses have replaced their traditional printing equipment with POD equipment or contract their printing out to POD service providers. However, POD book binding equipment is expensive to purchase and operate. 
         [0008]    What is needed is a means of conveying imagery and/or text on sheets of paper in a compact eight-panel (16-page) format with all the attributes of a bound booklet, but where a particular fold/cut pattern entirely eliminates the need for binding. A user is able to easily view the pages in booklet format, or if desired can still unfold the booklet to a large spread that covers the full surface area of the sheet. This would allow dual-use as a bound booklet with page-content derived entirely printing on one side of a larger sheet, or as a single-image poster or photo-collage with page-content derived entirely printing on the other side of the larger sheet. 
         [0009]    The present invention is a fold-a-book, e.g., a folded booklet and method for producing an eight-panel 16-page booklet especially well-suited for the POD industry because it maintains all the advantages of a bound booklet without staples, glue, or like binding materials, thereby eliminating costly book binding equipment and materials, and drastically reducing production time and unit cost. A method of machine manufacturing an eight-panel 16-page booklet in accordance with the invention is also provided. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    In one aspect, the present invention comprises a method of cutting and folding a single sheet of paper into an eight panel four-double-sided-page “booklet” format whereby a plurality of individual images are printed on each panel for individual viewing. The method according to the present invention also results in a compact product that may be transported in flat packaging, that is sized to fit in various standard sizes of mailing envelopes, and that can be expanded upon receipt to a full poster-size sheet with an image that is potentially eight times larger than the original size of the booklet. Moreover, the method according to the present invention results in a booklet product containing panels which may be sized specifically to fit in standard size picture frames (such as 4×6 or 5×7), which are not marred by creases from folding over them or by staples or other means of binding. The recipient can choose to leave the booklet intact, or to remove the panels by cutting at the folds and inserting the panels into photo frames for display. The present invention further comprises an inexpensive method of conveying images and text in readable form without the need for staples or other binding elements. The present invention is also directed to the folded product that results from the method described herein. 
         [0011]    The present invention is described in greater detail in the detailed description of the invention, and the appended drawings. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the front of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the back of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the back of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a three-quarters perspective view of the front of sheet  10  to show cut  30  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of folding along first crease  41  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of folding along second crease  42  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of folding along third crease  43  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of sheet  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of folding along fourth crease  44  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of folding out the fourth crease  44  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of sheet  10  showing the method of pinwheeling. 
           [0027]      FIG. 15  is a three-quarters perspective view of fold-a-book  20  from the front in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0028]    Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
         [0029]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the fold-a-book according to the present invention is shown in its fully open format. In the method according to the present invention, a rectangular sheet  10  of paper or like material in a predetermined size is printed with various images using a high quality digital printer, laser printer or the like. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the overall size of the sheet  10  may be chosen as a design preference so that it may be sized to fit into a standard size picture or poster frame or other display means, or so that the relative sizes of images printed on individual panels of the sheet (as will be more fully described below) may fit into a standard size picture frame or other display means, or otherwise determined by design preference. The use of the term “paper” as used herein to describe the sheet  10  on which the images are printed is not intended to limit the scope of the current invention and the sheet  10  onto which images are printed may also comprise card stock, photo paper, glossy or poster paper, plastic film (synthetic) substrates, or any other material capable of maintaining some level of rigidity when folded. Moreover, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the images, layout and content printed on the sheet  10  may be chosen by user preference, and may be printed using means other than a laser printer, such as inkjet printers, photo printers, traditional offset printing, web printing, letterpress, digital offset or dot matrix printers. 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  depicts the front of the sheet  10  containing one large “poster-size” printed image for large format display, while  FIGS. 2 and 3  depict the back of sheet  10 . The terms “front” and “back” as used herein is not intended to limit the invention but is used merely to describe one arbitrarily chosen “side” of the virtually two-dimensional sheet  10  made of paper or like material. As can be seen with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , sheet  10  is divided into eight (8) individual panels  11 - 18 . Panels  11 - 18  have a height that is ½ the height of the full sheet  10 , where the height of the full sheet  10  is denoted by the distance H in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 . Panels  11 - 18  have a width that is ¼ the width of the full sheet  10 , where the width of the full sheet  10  is denoted by the distance W in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 . As stated above, the overall size (height and width) of sheet  10  is a matter of design preference, with the understanding that the height and width of the individual panels in sheet  10  are functions of the overall size based on the formula set forth above. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, sheet  10  has a height H of 12 inches and a width W of 16 inches. Consequently, panels  11 - 18  each have a height of 6 inches and a width of 4 inches. These measurements allow sheet  10  to be printed on a standard-sized, 12×18 inch press sheet which has been trimmed down to a size of 12×16 by simply removing 2 inches from its width using a guillotine cutter or other device known in the art. The use of a standard-sized, readily available press sheet as sheet  10  simplifies production of the finished fold-a-book and lowers the cost of the materials used therein. The sizing according to the present embodiment also provides that individual panels  11 - 18  are sized to fit into standard 4×6 photo frames such that individual panels may be designated to be cut from the finished fold-a-book for display in such a frame, as set forth in more detail below. In another preferred embodiment, sheet  10  starts from a standard-sized sheet of 20.8125×29.5 inches. Using this paper size, the method according to the present invention results in individual panels that can fit into a standard 5×7 inch photo frame, and a fold-a-book product that can fit into a standard A-7 envelope. Similar efficiency and cost savings result from this embodiment as from the previous embodiment. 
         [0031]    Panels  11 - 18  are oriented on sheet  10  as shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein panels  11 - 14  are formed by dividing sheet  10  into even quarters along its width on an upper half of sheet  10 , and panels  15 - 18  are mirror images of panels  11 - 14  on the lower half of sheet  10 , wherein the terms “upper half” and “lower half” are not intended to be limiting but are used for purposes of illustration, in that the upper half of sheet  10  is towards the top of the page in  FIG. 3  and the lower half of sheet  10  is towards the bottom of the page in  FIG. 3 . Moreover, the description of the location of the panels and the description of certain panels as being “mirror images” of one another are not intended to be limiting with respect to the images that are printed on the sheet  10  or panels  11 - 18  as described below. 
         [0032]    Although panels  11 - 18  are depicted in  FIG. 2  as being delineated by folds or cuts in sheet  10 , it will be understood to one having ordinary skill in the art that, for purposes of printing text or images on sheet  10 , panels  11 - 18  may be represented in various ways through the use of computer software associated with the actual printing equipment. For example, computer software such as Adobe InDesign® can be programmed to contain an electronic template representing both the front and back of sheet  10  including panels  11 - 18  on the back of sheet  10 . The template can be adjusted so that text or images to be printed on sheet  10  are resized and rotated or oriented within the template so that they will have the proper size and orientation when presented in the final folded product, fold-a-book  20 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . With respect to sheet  10  as depicted in  FIG. 3 , the software can be programmed such that images inserted into panels  11 - 14  will be oriented “upside down”, so that the bottom of the image faces towards the top of sheet  10 , and images inserted into panels  15 - 18  will be oriented “right side up”, so that the bottom of the images faces towards the bottom of sheet  10 . In addition, the software can also contain a template for the front of sheet  10 , which may be printed with one large image the same size as sheet  10  itself, oriented in any direction, or may alternatively be printed with multiple images based on user preference. Software programs and methods of programming them to achieve such templates are known to those having ordinary skill in the art. In this way, a user can select text or images to be printed on each panel  11 - 18  based on the way in which that panel will be represented in the fold-a-book  20 , as shown in  FIG. 15 , which is produced using the method according to the instant invention. In addition, the user can select text or image(s) to be printed on the front of sheet  10 . Based on those preferences, the software can upload or import text or images of the user&#39;s selection into the templates for the front and back of sheet  10 , using means known in the art, size and orient them properly, and place them into the desired location on the templates. The text or images thus inserted into the template can then be printed on the front and back of sheet  10  as set forth in the template using methods known in the art. 
         [0033]    The present invention also contemplates a computer-based interactive system that enables users to create a custom fold-a-book  20  by importing/choosing photos or other content online or through a mobile application, and then auto position them in a web-to-print scenario. 
         [0034]    After text and images are printed on the front and back of sheet  10  as described above, a cut  30  will be made through sheet  10  using means known in the art, as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 .  FIG. 4  shows the front of sheet  10  wherein the two halves of sheet  10  have been separated along the cut to expose the cut  30  for purposes of illustration. The cut  30  will be made by making a single transverse incision in sheet  10  along the juncture of panels  12 ,  13  and panels  16 ,  17 . Cut  30  is depicted as a thick line in  FIG. 3 . Cut  30  may be made by any conventional paper cutting machine such as a die cutter, timed slitter, or digitally-controlled laser cutting system in which a variable-intensity laser beam capable of high speed movement is used to cut material. Such cutting machines typically include a cutting bed upon which the paper  10  is placed and having an X-Y plotter with articulating laser head thereon or a rastering laser that directs the laser beam by driving mirrors to direct the beam on the bed. 
         [0035]    After cut  30  is made, sheet  10  may be scored for folding. In some situations, the sheet may be scored and die cut or slit in a single pass. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, sheet  10  may be scored using an automated scoring machine or attachment to achieve straight, permanent folds with minimal damage to the text or images that are printed on sheet  10 . In another embodiment of the present invention, scores or creases for use in folding can be made using any method known in the art, including the method of folding and pressing sheet  10  along its fold, which can be achieved by the user by hand. The terms score and crease are used herein interchangeably, and it is preferred that each score, crease and fold discussed herein has less fold-resistance than uncreased, unscored, or unfolded material but also has enough strength to be folded and unfolded numerous times with minimal or reduced tearing. In addition, the terms “top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”, “right hand”, etc. as used herein are not intended to limit the invention but are used to aid in depicting the method according to the present invention wherein the directional words listed above correspond to the directions on the page containing the figures herein. 
         [0036]    For the method of folding and pressing sheet  10  by hand, and with reference to  FIG. 5 , a transverse first crease  41  is made on sheet  10  dividing it in half along its width W. As shown in  FIG. 6 , with the back of sheet  10  facing forward, crease  41  is made by folding sheet  10  in half inwardly along its width W along the line separating panels  11 ,  12 ,  13  and  14  from panels  15 ,  16 ,  17  and  18 . The fold is made such that the bottom half of sheet  10  remains stationary and the top half of sheet  10  is moved in a downward manner towards the bottom half of sheet  10  and closed along crease  41  so that the top and bottom halves of sheet  10  are in inwardly facing direct contact with each other. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , with sheet  10  in a folded position along crease  41  as set forth above, a second transverse crease  42  is made in sheet  10  ¼ of the way down the width of sheet  10  from the left (wherein “left” indicates the left hand side of the figures).  FIG. 8  shows the method of creating crease  42 , wherein the leftmost quarter of folded sheet  10 , to the left of crease  41 , is folded inward such that the right hand ¾ of sheet  10 , to the right of crease  41 , remains stationary and the left ¼ of sheet  10  is moved towards the right and inwards and closes along crease  42  such that the right and left portions of sheet  10  are in inwardly facing direct contact with each other. Because crease  42  is made on sheet  10  while sheet  10  is already folded along crease  41 , crease  10  is formed into both the top and bottom halves of sheet  10 . Crease  42  is formed along the line dividing panels  11  and  15  from panels  12  and  16 . However, panels  11 ,  12 ,  15  and  16  are not visible during the process of making crease  42  because sheet  10  is folded inwardly from the back along crease  41 , as set forth above, during the process of forming crease  42 . 
         [0038]    After forming creases  41  and  42 , sheet  10  may be unfolded, with the back of sheet  10  facing up out of the page, in order to create creases  43  and  44 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , transverse crease  43  is made along the height H of sheet  10  ¾ of the way across sheet  10  from the left hand side. Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 9 , crease  43  is made along the line dividing panels  13  and  17  from panels  14  and  18 .  FIG. 10  shows the process of creating crease  43 , wherein the left hand portion of sheet  10 , to the left of crease  43 , remains stationary, and the right ¼ of sheet  10 , to the right of crease  43 , is moved towards the left and backwards behind sheet  10  such that front portion of sheet  10  corresponding to panels  14  and  18  is in direct contact with the remainder of the front of sheet  10 . 
         [0039]    After forming crease  43 , sheet  10  is unfolded with the back of sheet  10  facing up out of the page. Then, as shown in  FIG. 11 , transverse crease  44  is made by folding sheet  10  in half inwardly along its height H, or along a line dividing panels  12  and  16  from panels  13  and  17 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the left half of sheet  10 , to the left of crease  44 , remains stationary while the right half of sheet  10 , to the right of crease  44 , is moved to the left and inward towards the left half of sheet  10  such that the left and right halves of sheet  10  are in inwardly facing direct contact with each other. Sheet  10  may then be unfolded completely. 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 13 , fold-a-book  20  may then be formed manually by folding sheet  10  along crease  41 , such that the depicted content of panels  11 ,  12 ,  13 , and  14  appears upside down to the viewer, while ensuring that panels  12 ,  13  fold outward along crease  44  and panels  16 ,  17  fold inward. Cut  30  can then be opened to allow this, effectively forming a diamond cross-sectional shape of panels  12 ,  13 ,  16 , and  17 . The ends of the folded sheet  10  ( FIG. 13 ) are moved together, effectively bifolding panels  12 ,  13  above the incision and bifolding panels  16 ,  17  below the incision. Continuing this fold to its extreme results in panels  11 ,  15 ,  14  and  18  being pushed together so that lines  42  and  43  are joined, thereby defining four bifold pages extending radially along a spline, creating a pinwheel effect, as seen in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0000]    To create the finished fold-a-book  20  shown in  FIG. 15 , panel  17  is placed on top of Panel  15  and Panel  18  is placed on top of Panel  13 , thereby folding four bifold pages together about the spline to make the folded booklet. 
         [0041]    At this juncture, Panels  17  and  18  are visible on top and Panels  11  and  12  are visible on the backside. Panels  17  and  18  are then brought together where Panel  18  is the beginning of the folded book and Panel  17  is considered the back of fold-a-book  20 . 
         [0042]    The above-described folding method explains how fold-a-book  20  can be manually folded by hand. However when folded by machine, the process steps will be sequenced differently due to machine constraints. Machine slitting and folding requires proper equipment such as, for example, a folding machine of the Stahlfolder™ TH/KH series from Heidelberg™ equipped with an optional EAP head for timed slitting and perforation. Initially, and with reference to  FIG. 3  the EAP head would create a timed slit  30  between panels  12 ,  16  and  13 ,  17 . The sheet is then fed to the buckle-plate folder to perform a parallel fold. With reference to  FIGS. 7-8 , a first parallel fold is formed between panels  11 ,  15  and  12 ,  16  along crease  42  so that the top and bottom halves of sheet  10  are in inwardly facing direct contact with each other. An opposite second parallel is formed between panels  12 ,  13  and  16 ,  17  effectively inverting the first fold. As per  FIG. 5 , with sheet  10  still in the above-folded position, a third fold is made along crease  41  between the top and bottom halves of sheet  10 . Finally, a fourth transverse fold  43  is made in sheet as seen in  FIG. 9  to finish. 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIG. 15 , panel  18  forms the front cover of fold-a-book  20 , and the remainder of panels  11 - 17  form pages in the fold-a-book and the back cover, containing images as set forth in the template prior to printing sheet  10 . Fold-a-book  20  may be sized so that individual panels may be removed for display in a standard size photo frame. In addition, fold-a-book  20  may be unfolded completely to expose the large image printed on the front of sheet  10 , which is not visible to the user while fold-a-book  20  is in its completely folded position. The template used to create fold-a-book  20  may further be designed to print text on various parts of fold-a-book  20  to instruct the user on how to unfold and/or remove portions of fold-a-book  20  for use in display or framing, and may specify the size of picture frame that portions of fold-a-book  20  or sheet  10  will fit into. 
         [0044]    In this way, a booklet type image conveyance is created using folding techniques alone without the need for costly staples or other fastening mechanisms. Moreover, the booklet made according to the method herein may easily be unfolded to display a large image that is eight times larger than the folded booklet for display as a poster or the like. 
         [0045]    The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims, and by their equivalents.