Automatic duplex copying with interleaved tabs

Abstract

A tab copying system for a duplexing copier with a recirculating duplex document handler (RDH), in which a set of duplex (two sided) original document sheets may be loaded, recirculated, and inverted during circulations for making plural duplex (two sided) copy sheets from both sides, by temporarily storing first side copies in a duplex buffer tray of the copier and feeding them out from the duplex tray for copying the second sides. The disclosed system allows loading simplex (one sided) original documents for making tab copies therefrom (called tabbing originals) intermixed with the duplex document sheets into the RDH in a normal sheet orientation and in the desired order. The tabbing originals are circulated for copying together with the duplex document sheets, but the RDH is specially controlled so that the tabbing originals are not inverted, but the duplex documents are, and the tabbing originals are copied only onto the first sides of copy sheets not fed from the duplex tray, to make simplex tab copies, and these simplex tab copies are fed out of the copier properly interleaved with the duplex copy sheets made from the duplex document sheets in a preselected order. That is preferably the same order in which the simplex tabbing originals were loaded intermixed with the duplex document sheets into the RDH. Preferably the set of duplex document sheets is copied on their first and second sides in different, respective, alternating, circulations by the RDH, and the tabbing originals are circulated therewith in both cases, but only copied during the second side copying circulations, to properly interleave the tabs with the copies. Each tabbing original may be electronically tagged with preprogrammed exception information not be inverted.