Patent ID: 7063656

Claim:
A folder for processing thin flexible sheets comprising: a. a frame that defines a longitudinal center plane; b. an in-feed station in the frame that receives sheets from a source thereof and that is selectively operable to propel the sheets one at a time in a downstream direction; c. a processing station in the frame that is selectively operable to receive the sheets from the in-feed station and process the sheets into processed sheets; d. a telescoping stacker that receives the processed sheets from the processing station and comprising: i. a deck fixed to the frame; and ii. at least one tray that is slideable within the deck between a first location whereat said at least one tray nests substantially within the deck, and a second location whereat said at least one tray extends in the downstream direction from the deck, so that a predetermined number of processed sheets are holdable on said at least one tray when it is in the second location; and e. a set feeder that guides a set of multiple sheets directly to the processing station and by-passes the in-feed station wherein the set feeder comprises: i. a sensing device; and ii. means for operating the processing station but not the in-feed station in response to the sensing device sensing a set of sheets, so that the set of sheets is processed by the processing station but no sheets are propelled in the downstream direction by the in-feed station when the sensing device senses a set of sheets.