Abstract: A system and a method to control the motion of envelopes within a postage printing module to accommodate the use of slower print techniques and to achieve continuous high speed throughput in a mail processing system. At least two print heads in series are utilized to ensure continuous printing operation, even when a print head must be taken out of service for maintenance, or fails. Depending on which print head is in used, different sets of transport elements in the print module are used to affectuate the motion profile appropriate for the print head that is in operation. Based on the status of the print heads, a controller selectively groups different individual transport elements together to act in unison for the motion control. Print heads may be geared to operate in synchronism with the motion of the print transport.

Abstract: A system and a method to control the motion of envelopes within a postage printing module to accommodate the use of slower print techniques and to achieve high throughput in a mail processing system. The system transports envelopes according to a motion profile in which the envelope is decelerated from a transport velocity to a slower printing velocity. After the printing operation has been completed, the envelope is accelerated back to the transport velocity and transferred to a downstream module. None of the intervals of deceleration, low print velocity, or acceleration may occur while an envelope in the postage printing module is also in the control of another module. The print head is geared to operate in synchronism with the print transport. Further, upon the occurrence of an error condition, such as a jam, the print transport is decelerated to a stop in such a manner as to preserve the spacing between subsequent envelopes to be the same as if no error condition had occurred.

Abstract: When images in the order of photographing are printed on papers being conveyed in parallel, the images are allotted to each paper such that the order of an image to be printed in a predetermined order from the leading end of the paper closer to a tray is one smaller than that of the other paper, and the order of images to be printed on each paper gradually increase by twos toward the tail end of each paper. The papers cut with a cutting unit after each image is printed are conveyed with a conveyor belt and piled on the tray in the order of photographing.

Abstract: In high speed reproduction apparatus in which closely spaced printed sheets are sequentially fed downstream in a sheet path at a process velocity, a dual inverter system of two independent but cooperative sheet inverters is sheet control gated to receive alternate sheets from the sheet path for inversion in the alternate independent sheet inverters. These dual alternate sheet inverters may advantageously operate at substantially the same sheet velocity as the connecting sheet path, instead of the much higher speed and acceleration/deceleration typical of conventional single inverter systems. Yet the original collated sequential sheet order is maintained. The two independent but cooperative alternate sheet inverters may be operatively connected in series spaced along the sheet path to be alternatingly fed alternate sheets from the sheet path by separate gates and to return sheets to the same sheet path at different locations, or, connected in parallel with the sheet path by a single decision gate.