Dynamically changing label size during mail processing
The present subject matter relates to a method and system for labeling a mail piece, and more specifically, to the application of variable sized labels to mail pieces based on the contents of the label and real-time mail processing information. More particularly, the present approach involves calculating expected label preparation time based on configuration of a labeler and printer timing information and/or real-time performance measurements to determine execution of information content printing, label feeding and cutting.
1. A method for labeling a plurality of mail pieces, the method comprising steps of:
detecting during run-time of a document processing device processing the plurality of mail pieces, a first mail piece and a second mail piece requiring application of a first label to the first mail piece and a second label to the second mail piece, wherein the first and second mail pieces are processed on the document processing device during the same run;
calculating during run-time of the document processing device at least an expected preparation time required for the first and second labels based on run-time data obtained prior to application of the first and second labels to the first and second mailpieces, wherein the expected preparation time includes delay time associated with label feeding, cutting and printing and wherein the run-time data is based at least in part on variances in: mail gap between the plurality of mail pieces, mail piece size and mail pitch timing;
applying on the first mail piece by way of a labeler device, the first label of sufficient size to accommodate information content to be generated upon the first label based upon its expected preparation time; and
applying on the second mail piece by way of the labeler device, the second label of sufficient size to accommodate information content to be generated upon the second label based upon its expected preparation time,
wherein the applied second label is greater in size than the applied first label.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein run-time data is further based on expected time of label application.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating includes determining information content to be generated upon each label.
4. A method for dynamically adjusting a size of labels to be applied to a plurality of mail pieces during a single mail processing run based on information content to be printed upon each respective one of the labels, the method comprising steps of:
for each mail piece, executing a first label feed cycle, the first label feed cycle resulting in feeding of a label with a default label size by a labeler device;
determining for each respective mail piece whether the default label size is sufficient to accommodate the contents to be printed upon the label for the respective mail piece; and
for one of the respective mail pieces for which the default label size is not sufficient, executing a second label feed cycle based upon an expected preparation time required to apply the label to the one respective mail piece by the labeler device, the second label feed cycle resulting in at least the cutting of the label to a size greater than the default label size,
wherein the expected preparation time is calculated based upon mail processing information, and the mail processing information is based at least in part on variances in: mail gap between the plurality of mail pieces, mail piece size, and mail pitch timing.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the mail processing information is selected from the group consisting of: optical character recognition detection data, and bar code recognition detection data.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mail processing information includes data associated with the information contents to be generated upon each respective one of the labels.