Mail preparation copier with mailing address identification

Abstract

A digital copier with mail preparation functions including a document input scanner deriving an electronic representation of an original document placed at a scanning position associated therewith; a document editor, responsive to operator command from a user interface to identify in, an original document an area thereof including an address; a document creator, for combining the image from the identified area with a pre-stored envelope image; a source of sheets and envelopes; means for selectively feeding sheets and envelopes from the source to a printer; the printer is controlled to create an image on the selected sheet or envelope in accordance with the created envelope image. Such an arrangement additionally includes postage amount generation responsive to received information about the weight of a document; a character generator, responsive to the postage amount generation to create data representing an image of the postage amount; the document creator combining the image data from the character generator with the envelope image, to generate an envelope image with a postage amount. A digital copier with mail room applications as described above may additionally include postage accounting responsive to the postage amount generation for deducting from a previously determined postage sum an amount printed on printed on the envelope, to maintain a running total of the postage sum.