System and method for printing, assembly and verifying a multiple-part printed product

摘要

An automatic verification or matching system is provided for insuring that a multiple-part printed product, such as a multiple-ply form with matching variable indicia on each ply, has been properly assembled. The system operates in conjunction with a conventional pin band collator and comprises a plurality of indicia sensing devices, such as bar code scanners and/or video cameras, located at the collator stations for sensing the variable indicia on each part of the product during assembly. Advantages of the system include the ability to use either bar code scanners or video cameras as indicia sensing devices, provision for automatic resequencing of the printers used for printing the variable indicia in the event of a mismatch error, automatic indication of the collator station where a mismatch error has occurred, and automatic marking of defective products that are produced after an error occurs.