Often it is desired to apply information to large or irregular items. For example, it is often desirable to apply postage indicia and other information, such as a mailing address, to parcels or to envelopes which have been filled with items to be mailed. However, parcels are typically too large and vary in size and shape too much from parcel to parcel to enable adapting a typical postage meter mechanism or other printer for printing postage indicia on parcels. Envelopes which have been filled with items to be mailed present items of varying thickness and which tend to result in non-flat surfaces making it difficult to adapt a typical postage meter mechanism or other printer for printing postage indicia on such envelopes.
Traditional postage meters have been unable to print postage indicia directly upon parcels. Instead, adhesive labels have been used, wherein a label is inserted into a postage meter for printing of a postage indicia thereon. The adhesive label may then be applied to a surface of the appropriate parcel.
Many traditional postage meters have been adapted to apply postage indicia to an envelope which has been filed with items to be mailed. For example, such postage meters have included a slot capable of accepting envelopes of varying thickness up to 5/16ths of an inch. A lower platen in the envelope printing area may be adapted to lift the envelope and apply force in the direction of an impact print mechanism. An impact print mechanism, which typically comprises an inked die shaped to print the desired postage indicia, is moved rapidly toward the face of the envelope (moved in the direction of the platen supporting the envelope) to impress a postage indicia image thereon. Such mechanisms have been successful in applying relatively simple postage indicia and/or other information to items of varying thickness and slightly non-flat surfaces. However, such mechanisms have not been successful with respect more complex printing operations, such as information based indicia (IBI) having machine readable barcode therein.
Attempts have been made to adapt printers capable of printing more complex postage indicia, such as the aforementioned IBI, for printing upon envelopes which have been filled with items to be mailed. Such attempts have included ink jet printing mechanisms using a lifting platen and a print head lowering assembly to accommodate envelopes of varying thickness up to ⅜ths of an inch. However, such mechanisms are complicated, requiring both a mechanism to raise the lower platen and to lower the print head. Moreover, such mechanisms do not address the problem of the surfaces of the envelope which has been filled with items to be mailed not being flat, particularly at or near the edges of the envelope. Such mechanisms tend to provide acceptable printing of complex postage indicia only in areas of the envelope surface where it is relatively flat, and generally result in a higher than traditional number of unusable postage indicia (e.g., a barcode is deformed or imperfect to the point that the information therein cannot be read by a machine).
As can be appreciated from the above, postage meters or other printers generally available for use in printing postage indicia have heretofore been unable to print postage indicia or other information directly upon parcels. Postage meters or other printers available for use in printing postage indicia have been limited with respect to the range of envelope thicknesses which can be accommodated and have met with only limited success with respect to printing complex postage indicia. Moreover, such postage meters or other printers have been complicated and expensive, despite their limitations with respect to the sizes and shapes of items that may be printed upon.