Multi-function document integrater with control indicia on sheets

Abstract

Embedded intelligence in the form of machine readable indicia printed on at least some of the sheets of a document is used by a document integrating device to control a feeding operation performed by the document integrating device. Regular sheets located in the document immediately preceding the location of an insert sheet are output with machine readable information indicative of the subsequent location in the document of an insert sheet. These regular sheets are then supplied to a document integrater (either in a stack or as they are output from an imaging device). A first scanner in the document integrater scans the regular sheets as they are fed from an inlet (having, for example, a regular sheet feeder unit). When a regular sheet located in the document immediately prior to an insert sheet is fed from the inlet, the machine readable information indicative of the subsequent insert sheet is read by the first scanner. A controller of the document integrater then switches from feeding sheets from the regular sheet inlet to an insert sheet feeder unit containing insert sheets. The last insert sheet for each insert location in the document includes machine readable information thereon which causes the controller to switch back to feeding the regular sheets from the regular sheet inlet (or from some other insert sheet feeder unit).