Minimailer 4 OMR SPECIFICATION FOR INTELLIGENT MAILING SYSTEMS. 1. Introduction. 2. Mark function description. 3. Programming OMR Marks

Transcription

1 OMR SPECIFICATION FOR INTELLIGENT MAILING SYSTEMS Minimailer 4 1. Introduction 2. Mark function description 3. Programming OMR Marks 4. Mark layout requirements Page 1 of 7

2 1. INTRODUCTION This specification covers the requirements for OMR marking specifically relating to the Minimailer 4 Plus. This specification relates to the OMR functions available, the mark size and positioning on the forms. As the Minimailer 4 Plus range does not have a PC option for its operation the marks belong to the Class 2 category of marks, having regard for the mechanical requirements of those units. Class 2 OMR This is a much simpler OMR system in which the marks have to be printed in specific areas on the form. The marks must be printed in the correct order after the synchronising gate mark, but if any of the available functions are not required those marks may be omitted. Each function is allocated one or more marks which have specific Mark No. references. The only mandatory marks are the gate mark and the stop mark to achieve grouping of forms in variable numbers. Therefore the minimum number of marks to be programmed is two. OMR Read Head Location. Minimailer 4 Plus (4 Station) The read head on this unit is located on the station 1 feed tray, which makes this the master or prime unit. There is no facility for an additional OMR reader to be fitted to Station 2, 3 or the Insert Station. Minimailer 4 Plus (3 Station) The read head on this unit is located on the station 1 feed tray, which makes this the master or prime unit. There is no facility for an additional OMR reader to be fitted to Station 2 or the Insert Station. Minimailer 4 Plus (2 Station) The read head on this unit is located on the station 1 feed tray, which makes this the master or prime unit. There is no facility for an additional OMR reader to be fitted to the Insert Station. 2. MARK FUNCTIONS ( Class 2 ) The following functions are available under Class 2 OMR operation for the Minimailer 4 Plus machines. 1. Grouping of Multiple sheets 2. Unseal 3. Selective Feeding ( from the additional stations ) 4. Manual Outsorting 5. Form Security Numbering 2.1 Gate Mark Mark 1 The gate mark is the first mark in the set of marks to be programmed and is used to synchronise the OMR mark reading. It is always printed on every page and is the first mark in the set of marks to be read by the OMR reader. The gate mark must be the closest mark to the lead edge of the document. Page 2 of 7

3 2.2 Grouping of Multiple Sheets Mark 2 Multiple pages from station 1 can be grouped together for insertion into the same envelope. The function mark required is an "End of Group" mark on the last page of the group. Therefore, on a set of three pages to go into one envelope, the "End of Group" mark would be printed on page 3. The address on page 1 of the set would appear in the window of the envelope. As there is no collate facility on the Minimailer 4 Plus range, the pages are individually folded and the sequentially inserted into the envelope. 2.3 Parity Mark Mark 3 The options for the parity marking are a) Even parity marking. The Parity Mark is only printed when the other marks do not add up to an even number of marks. This is an error checking facility to prevent single bit errors in reading OMR marks. b) No parity marking. The Parity Mark is never printed and no parity check is performed by the system. Note: PFE would strongly recommend the use of this Parity Mark feature. 2.4 Unseal Mark 4 There is a facility on the Minimailer 4 Plus range of machines to inhibit the sealing of filled envelopes. This may be done on a global basis, in which all the envelopes being processed in a job are filled and left unsealed. Alternatively, by using the Unseal facility in the OMR programming, specific filled envelopes are left unsealed, when the prime document has the Unseal mark printed in the appropriate position. 2.5 Selective Feeding Minimailer 4 Plus (4 Station) Mark 5, 6 and 7 By configuring the 2nd, 3rd and 4th station as 'OMR Selects' during the job setup, feeding from these feed stations can be controlled by printing the selective feed marks on the prime document. When the OMR mark is detected on the prime document the relevant feed station will feed an additional insert, which will be inserted with the prime document. If any of the additional feed stations do not need to be controlled by OMR marks then the relevant Selective Feed Marks do not need to be programmed or printed Minimailer 4 Plus (3 Station) Mark 5 and 6 By configuring the 2nd and 3rd station as 'OMR Selects' during the job setup, feeding from these feed stations can be controlled by printing the selective feed marks on the prime document. When the OMR mark is detected on the prime document the relevant feed station will feed an additional insert, which will be inserted with the prime document. If any of the additional feed stations do not need to be controlled by OMR marks then the relevant Selective Feed Marks do not need to be programmed or printed Minimailer 4 Plus (2 Station) Mark 5 By configuring the 2nd station as 'OMR Select' during the job setup, feeding from this feed station can be controlled by printing the selective feed mark on the prime document. When the OMR mark is detected on the prime document the feed station will feed an additional insert, which will be inserted with the prime document. If the additional feed station does not need to be controlled by OMR mark then the Selective Feed Mark does not need to be programmed or printed. Page 3 of 7

4 2.6 Halt Mark Mark 8 Minimailer 4+ (4 Station) Mark 7 Minimailer 4+ (3 Station) Mark 6 Minimailer 4+ (2 Station) When there is a requirement to stop the Minimailer once it has inserted a document set, (which may be one or more pages in length), then the Halt mark should be printed on one or all of the pages in the set. This will cause the Minimailer to stop with the prime document set and any additional secondary inserts, inserted into an envelope, and ejected into the output hopper. Whether the Unseal mark is present or not, the envelope will not be sealed. The filled envelope can then be removed by the operator for manual processing. The main practical use of this function will be for manual outsorting of documents requiring special manual processing, for example, adding additional items to the envelope or performing some periodic audit function. 2.7 Form Security Numbering Mark 9,10,11,12 &13 Minimailer 4+ (4 Station) Mark 8,9,10,11 &12 Minimailer 4+ (3 Station) Mark 7,8,9,10 & 11 Minimailer 4+ (2 Station) The purpose of this mark function is to code each page of a print run with a number sequence running from 0 to 31 and then restarting at 0. This number sequence is printed on each page, in sequence, regardless of the document sets. Therefore, as soon as a loss of sequence is detected, it indicates an error in the page order and stops the Minimailer so that the operator can rectify the fault. This ensures that integrity of document sets is maintained, and that each envelope is filled correctly. This function is achieved by programming five marks and printing them as a binary sequence as shown below. If there is a space constraint, then a smaller number of marks may be used. With four marks (FSN Marks 1-4) a recycling number sequence from 0 to 15 may be used. With three marks (FSN Marks 1-3) a recycling number sequence from 0 to 7 may be used. If a much lower level of security is acceptable, or for compatibility with other systems a four page sequence may be implemented using just two marks (FSN Marks 1-2). Mark No. Form Sequence FSN Mark 1 FSN Mark 2 FSN Mark 3 FSN Mark 4 FSN Mark 5 cont. Mark No. Form Sequence FSN Mark 1 FSN Mark 2 FSN Mark 3 FSN Mark 4 FSN Mark 5 Page 4 of 7

5 3 PROGRAMMING CLASS 2 OMR The Minimailer 4 Plus can store 20 job settings which can each include individual OMR programs. These programs will remain in memory until they are overwritten by replacement programs. In addition to configuring the machine feeding and folding requirements the following OMR marks need to be programmed when OMR control is used. 3.1 ORDER OF PRINTING MARKS Minimailer 4 Plus (4 Station) 5. Select Feeder 2 6. Select Feeder 3 7. Select Insert 8. Halt 9. Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Minimailer 4 Plus (3 Station) 5. Select Feed 2 6. Select Insert 7. Halt 8. Form Sequence Numbering 1 9. Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Minimailer 4 Plus (2 Station) 5. Select Insert 6. Halt 7. Form Sequence Numbering 1 8. Form Sequence Numbering 2 9. Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering 5 Page 5 of 7

6 3.2 OMR PROGRAMMING To programme an OMR application a number of parameters have to be set by the operator. These are:- 1. Each of the marks 3 to 8 (for the Minimailer 4 Plus, 4 Station) have to be individually selected to be functional or not, as required. 2. Additionally, the number of marks used for form security is programmed. This may be any number from 0 to 5. Programming '0' indicates to the system that Form Security Numbering is not being used on the job currently being programmed. 3. The distance to the gate mark from the lead edge of the document, in millimetres. 4. The mark pitch, which may be 1/6", 1/5", 1/4", 1/3", 5mm or 10mm. 3.3 PRINTING POSITIONS FOR OMR MARKS. When all of the functions are not being used, and therefore not all the marks are required, the remaining marks should be printed in the print order specified in section 3.1, but with no gaps allowed for the unused functions. e.g. If from the complete set of OMR functions, only grouping, parity checking, select feeding from station 2 and three mark form security numbering is required, the marks shown on the right should be programmed and printed in sequential print positions after the 'gate mark'. Minimailer 4 Plus ( All Marks) 5. Select Feed 2 6. Select Feed 3 7. Select Insert 8. Halt 9. Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering Form Sequence Numbering 5 Minimailer 4 Plus (Programmed Marks) 4. Select Feed 2 5. Form Sequence Numbering 1 6. Form Sequence Numbering 2 7. Form Sequence Numbering 3 It can be seen that the area of space on the form required for OMR marks is kept to a minimum. In this example, thirteen print positions have been reduced to seven consecutive print pitch positions by removing the unused functions. Page 6 of 7

7 4. MARK LAYOUT POSITIONS For A4 and Letter size paper the mark layout positions, shown below, apply to all the Minimailer 4 Plus models. This mark layout is used for 'C' and 'V' folding. 'Z' folding does not allow OMR reading. The OMR marks may be printed in any position in the shaded part of the page as shown below. Regardless of the print orientation of the text on the page the marks must be printed horizontally, as shown, because of the direction of the paper travel. 5mm ( 3 16") 216mm (8 1 2") max. Distance from leading edge (Top of Page) to the first mark (Gate Mark) = 19mm ( 3 4") Clear Space 12mm Mark spacing 1 6 ", 1 5 ", 1 4 ", 1 3 ", 5mm or 10mm Paper Length 305mm (12") max., 89mm (3 1 2") min. 2.5mm Clear Space 5mm Min. mark width 8mm Min. mark thickness 0.5mm Mark spacing (pitch) = distance from top of one mark to top of next mark Direction of paper travel Marks may be printed anywhere in shaded area Distance from last mark to trailing edge (Bottom of Page) = 32mm (1 1 4") Page 7 of 7