Abstract: Methods and control systems are provided for operating a thermal printer adapted to print images by heating and transferring donor material from donor patch sets from onto a receiver medium, the printer being operable to print images in a manner that exhausts a full donor patch set or a fractional donor patch set during printing. The control system comprises a controller for identifying one of the donor patch sets on the web as a fractional donor patch set having sufficient donor material remaining to print an image. The controller is further adapted to determine that the fractional donor patch set is not to be used for printing when the identified fractional donor patch set has been used to print an image wherein at least a minimum area of at least one donor patch has been heated to a level above a threshold level.

Abstract: An electronic copier includes an automatic document feeder for feeding original document sheets to be copied to an electronic image scanner or reader. During movement of the documents for reading, a count is generated of the number of original document sheets in a copy job. A check of the number of originals in the copy job may be requested and performed by a second feeding operation that occurs after the originals are scanned to increase productivity of the apparatus.

Abstract: A document copier having an automatic document handler is able to process jobs whose number of document sheets exceed the capacity of the document feeder by including control to stop feeding sheets whenever there is less than a predetermined minimum number greater, than one, of unfed sheets remaining, so that an operator can add more sheets of the same job. Feeding can be reinitiating after the automatic document handler has been stopped, and the stopping feature can be selectively disabled so that all received sheets are fed by the automatic document handler without stopping. Generally, the document feeder will be used with a job processor which treats the last sheet in a received stack, and all preceding sheets, as a job.

Abstract: A toner image on a receiving sheet is laminated using a transparent laminating sheet fed from the normal copy sheet supply of a copier, printer or the like. The laminating sheet is fed into laminating contact with the toner image after the toner image has been formed on a receiving sheet. The resulting sandwich is fed through the fuser laminating the image between the sheets. The invention is particularly usable in forming color transparencies.

Abstract: Reproduction apparatus is provided for producing signatures from electrical signals representive of the image content of a plurality of originals to be produced on receiver sheets. The reproduction apparatus includes a multi-image electronic memory having addressable regions for storing such electrical signals defining the image content of a plurality of originals in a first sequence of originals. The address information relating to the storage location of each original is stored in the memory. The stored electrical signals of individual originals are selectively retrieving from the memory in a scheduled order different from said first sequence such that reproduced images of the originals are located on respective sides of receiver sheets in regions such that multiple stacked receiver sheets can be folded between images and nested to form a collated booklet with the pages properly sequenced.

Abstract: A document copier includes a scanner adapted to convert images on hard copy pages of original documents to a series of image-characteristic electrical signals, and a writer adapted to form reproductions of original images according to received series of electrical data signals. Electronic memory receives image-characteristic signals from the scanner, stores the received image-characteristic signals for a plurality of original document pages, and applies electrical data signals according to the stored image-characteristic signals to the writer. The image-characteristic signals stored by the memory are organized into jobs according to operator instructions such that at least one subsequent job can be loaded into the memory while electrical data signals according to a prior job are being applied to the writer from the memory.

Abstract: Apparatus circulates successive originals of a set to an exposure position and selectively produces images of an original at the exposure position. Copy sheets of either a first characteristic or a second characteristic are presented for receiving produced images. Keysheets are adapted to be interleaved into the original set at positions for designating individual documents of the set, the keysheets having indicia for identifying keysheet orientation in the set. The apparatus senses the presence and orientation of the keysheets and effects presenting means to supply a copy of sheet of the first characteristic if a keysheet is not sensed and a copy sheet of the second characteristic if a keysheet is sensed. Images of the designated individual original are either produced or not produced in accordance with the orientation of the keysheet.