An apparatus and methods for preventing engagement of stacked embossed cards is disclosed. The methods include the steps of embossing a sheet of cards in at least two unique embossment patterns, separating the cards from the sheet, and collating the cards using at least one conveyor such that no two adjacent cards have substantially the same embossment pattern. The apparatus includes an embossing press, a first conveyor, a stripping station, and a second conveyor.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/581,534, filed on Jun. 21, 2004, and incorporated herein by reference.
Systems and methods of embossing flat pieces (such as thin cards and similar materials) that prevent the embossed pieces from sticking to each other during subsequent handling. In some embodiments, pieces are manufactured in rows and columns on a large sheet, with (typically) the distance between text embossed on adjacent rows and (particularly) the distance between texts embossed on cards from adjacent columns being constant. Cards that will be stacked immediately adjacent each other after the cards are cut from the large sheet have text embossed on them that varies, so that the cards cannot tightly nest against each other and stick together.
