Patent ID: 7455171

Claim:
A method for processing printed articles, comprising the steps of transporting the articles in succession along a path of travel, measuring the thickness of each of the printed articles at a measuring location positioned along the path of travel, and wherein the measuring step includes generating a measured signal which represents the measured thickness of each printed article, discharging the printed articles at the downstream end of the path of travel to a processing device where the printed articles are acted on by at least one processing element, and controlling the at least one processing element as a function of the measured signal, wherein the transporting step includes individually holding the printed articles between clamping tongues of transport clamps which are moved along the path of travel, wherein the clamping tongues are configured to positionally indicate the thickness of the printed product being transported thereby, with the indicated thickness being converted to said measured signal, and wherein the step of generating a measured signal includes measuring the time difference between the passage past at least one barrier of a reference part of each transport clamp which is fixedly predefined and the passage of a clamping tongue which assumes a different position based on the thickness of the printed article being held.