Patent ID: 7333936

Claim:
A method for processing mail items, comprising the steps of: separating said mail items into an envelope batch and a contents batch; applying a first set of labels to said envelope batch, said first set of labels further comprising a first sequential series of alpha-numeric characters; applying a second set of labels to said contents batch, said second set of labels further comprising said first sequential series of alpha-numeric characters; scanning envelopes in said envelope batch and generating a first list of alpha-numeric characters and envelope images from said envelope batch wherein said first list of alpha-numeric characters is read from said first set of labels; scanning contents pages in said contents batch and generating a second list of alpha-numeric characters from said contents batch wherein said second list of alpha-numeric characters is read from said second set of labels; and merging said envelope images with said contents pages images having common alpha-numeric characters so as to create a combined mail item image for each said mail item.