JP4259451B2 - Image forming system and post-processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, and a post-processing apparatus that performs a folding process and a binding process on a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus, and the post- processing apparatus .

  The image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer forms an image of a plurality of pages, and the post-processing apparatus performs folding processing and binding processing on the image-formed paper to form one book or a part of a document. The image forming system to be created is a widely used system.

  In such a system, an image of a predetermined page is formed on a certain size paper, for example, an A4 size paper and a double size A3 paper, and the A3 paper is subjected to processing such as Z-folding. A post-processing device is known in which a sheet is sequentially stacked together with A4-size paper and subjected to a binding process after the sheet is formed into an A4-size sheet (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In order to maximize the functions of the image forming system, the specification of the image forming apparatus, for example, whether or not an image can be formed on both sides of a sheet can be paged on 4 pages on both sides of a sheet. It is desirable that the specifications of the post-processing apparatus are adapted to the specifications such as whether or not. In order to respond to such a request, when the output from the image forming apparatus is only one side, flat binding, when double-sided, double-side flat binding, and when both pages can be paginated with four pages, saddle-stitching, There is also a proposal of a post-processing apparatus that can select either one of folding and binding (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Among the various post-processing as described above, the bookbinding process in which the folded sheets are stacked one after the other, and the end portions subjected to the middle folding are aligned and bound with the binding tape is easy to spread the bound book. In addition, it has the advantage that it is difficult for pages to fall off. In this case, the image forming apparatus stores all the read pages as a document, performs page-paging so that correct pages are output on the four pages on both sides of the sheet, and transfers the image-formed sheet to the post-processing apparatus. send.

  However, for the first page (first side) and the last page (final side) of the book, there are many demands that it is desired to use a paper having a thickness different from that of the internal page or a paper having a different paper quality. In this case, since the end portion of the binding tape is folded and bonded to the front surface end portions of the first surface and the final surface, the used paper is dropped even if it is not subjected to the middle folding process. There is no fear.

In order to meet such a demand, a paper feed tray for supplying paper to the post-processing apparatus is provided, and the paper on which the image on the first side is formed in advance on the paper feed tray and the image on the final side Are formed, and these sheets are fed from the image forming apparatus, subjected to a folding process, and fed so as to enter the beginning and end of the sheet sent to the stacker. A bookbinding apparatus is also known that performs binding processing on a bundle of sheets and binds them.
JP-A-10-194586 (page 1-2) JP 2004-99196 A (first page)

  However, the paper on which the image on the first surface is formed and the paper on which the image on the final surface is formed are placed on the paper feed tray of the post-processing apparatus as described above. In the method of feeding the sheets so as to enter the front and rear of the bundle of sheets that are folded and sequentially stacked, it is necessary to place sheets on which images have been formed in advance on the sheet feed tray. The page image forming operation and post-processing cannot be performed in one operation.

  That is, first, an image forming operation is performed on the front cover or back cover of a book, the prepared paper is placed on the paper feed tray of the post-processing apparatus, and then another page is again printed. The image forming operation is executed and post-processing is performed. This is not only inefficient, but also requires the troublesome work of paying attention to the front and back of the paper to be placed on the paper feed tray of the post-processing device and the vertical orientation.

  Therefore, it is desirable that image formation from the first surface to the final surface and post-processing can be executed by one setting operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and the object of the present invention is to select a sheet of a size that is not subjected to half-folding processing, and a first surface that becomes a cover and a final surface that becomes a back cover. An image that can be bound by selecting the size of the paper to be subjected to image folding, performing image formation on the other side (other pages), and performing binding processing on these on a post-processing device. It is to realize a forming system and the post-processing apparatus .

The above object is achieved by implementing the image forming system and post-processing apparatus according to below.
(1 )
Image forming an image forming apparatus on both sides of the sheet, and comprises a medium folding means, the post-processing apparatus having a binding means,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Select the paper that is not subjected to the middle folding process, perform image formation on the first and last pages of the booklet, select the paper that is subjected to the middle folding process, perform image formation on the other side, and form the image. to send paper after the post-processing device,
The post-processing device includes:
Control for controlling to form a sheet bundle in which sheets not subjected to the middle folding process and sheets subjected to the middle folding process are overlapped in the order sent from the image forming apparatus, and to perform the binding process on the sheet bundle. Having means ,
The post-processing device is
An abutting member against which the leading edge of the paper to be subjected to the middle folding process abuts,
A pair of conveyance rollers that conveys the sheet toward the abutting member, conveys the sheet even after the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the abutting member, and then moves to release the nipping of the sheet;
An image forming system , comprising: a folding knife that abuts against a center line of the sheet after the nipping by the pair of conveying rollers is released and pushes the sheet into the pair of folding rollers .
(2 )
A mode in which the paper to be folded is selected and all pages are imaged;
A mode in which a sheet not subjected to half-fold processing is selected to form an image on all pages;
The image forming system according to (1) , further comprising:
(3)
A post-processing apparatus having a center folding means and a binding means, connected to the image forming apparatus,
An abutting member against which the leading edge of the paper to be subjected to the middle folding process abuts,
A pair of conveying rollers that conveys the sheet toward the abutting member, conveys the sheet even after the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the abutting member, and then moves to release the nipping of the sheet;
A folding knife that abuts against the center line of the paper after the nipping by the conveying roller pair is released and pushes the paper into the folding roller pair;
A sheet bundle is formed by stacking sheets that are not subjected to half-folding processing on the first and last pages of the booklet and sheets that are subjected to half-folding processing on the other side in the order sent from the image forming apparatus. A post-processing apparatus, wherein a binding process is performed on the bundle by the binding means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus performs predetermined paging on the paper to be folded in half, the front cover, and the back cover paper, and forms the images in the order according to the paging. Then, the post-processing device performs the center folding process on the sheet to be folded, and places the cover sheet and the back cover sheet on the uppermost and lowermost surfaces of the folded sheet bundle, and the binding process is performed. Thus, an image forming system capable of executing the bookbinding operation for performing the above operation with one operation setting is realized. By realizing this system, it is possible to easily produce a book having a cover with a good appearance and a reliable binding process that does not cause the sheet to fall off.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in accordance with the type of paper prepared in the image forming apparatus, the bookbinding process using a sheet subjected to the middle folding process, the bookbinding process using a sheet not subjected to the middle folding process, and the middle An image forming system capable of selecting a bookbinding process using a sheet that is subjected to folding processing and a sheet that is not subjected to middle folding processing is realized.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the post-processing device uses the image forming apparatus to form a sheet on which the first page and the final page of the booklet are not subjected to the middle folding process and a sheet on which the other side is subjected to the middle folding process. A stack of sheets is formed in the order in which the sheets are fed from the sheet, and a book having a good-looking cover can be easily made with a reliable binding process that does not cause the sheets to fall off. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an image forming apparatus system in which an image forming apparatus and a post-processing apparatus are connected.

  The image forming apparatus A is a digital copying machine that forms an image by a known electrophotographic technique. The image forming apparatus A is provided with an automatic document feeder 1 at the top, and a post-processing apparatus B is connected thereto.

  The image forming apparatus A includes an automatic document feeder 1, a reading unit 2, a writing unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a fixing unit 5, a reverse sheet discharging unit 6, a sheet refeeding unit 7, a sheet conveying unit 8, and a sheet feeding unit 9. , Control means C1, operation display means E, and the like.

  The automatic document feeder 1 sends the documents D placed on the document table 10 to the document transport path 11 one by one and discharges them to the document discharge table 12. The image surface of the document D being conveyed is read by the reading unit 2 at the document reading position 13. When scanning images on both sides of the document D, the document D that has been scanned on the first surface is reversed by the reversing means 14 and sent again to the document transport path 11 to read the second surface, and the document is discharged. The paper is discharged onto the paper board 12.

  The reading unit 2 includes a light source 21, a first mirror unit 22, a second mirror unit 23, an imaging lens 24, a CCD 25, and the like. The original image information, which is optical information, is converted into electrical information. The converted document image information is subjected to processing such as A / D conversion, shading correction, and compression, and is stored in the memory M1 of the control means C1.

  The writing unit 3 is a scanning optical system composed of a laser light source, a cylindrical lens, an Fθ lens, a mirror, a polygon, and the like, and forms an image with a laser beam that changes in accordance with image information read from the memory M. The surface of the photoconductor 41 of the means 4 is scanned to form a latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 41.

  The image forming unit 4 develops the latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 41 with the developing unit 42 and visualizes it as a toner image. The toner image is transferred to the paper P sent out by the registration roller 81 by the transfer means 43. After the toner image has been transferred, the surface of the photosensitive member is subjected to the removal of residual toner by the cleaning unit 44 and is charged by the charging unit 45 to be used for the next latent image formation.

  The fixing unit 5 fixes the toner image on the paper P by heating and pressurizing the paper P carrying the toner image by the heat roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 that are arranged to face each other.

  The paper P on which image fixing has been completed is sent to the post-processing apparatus B by the paper discharge roller 55.

  When the paper P is reversed and discharged, the paper P is guided downward by the paper discharge guide 57, the rear end of the paper P is sandwiched between the reverse rollers 61 of the reversing means, and the paper P is reversed to the discharge rollers 55. Send it out.

  When image formation is performed on both sides of the paper P, the paper P is sent to the paper refeeding means 7 by the paper discharge guide 57 and a plurality of rollers, and the paper P is reversed by the reversing roller 71 of the paper refeeding means 7. The paper is again sent to the paper conveying means 8.

  The paper transport unit 8 transports the paper P sent out from the paper feed unit 9 through a paper transport path including a plurality of rollers and a guide member, and abuts the leading end of the paper P against the registration roller 81. Then, the toner image is sent out toward the photosensitive member 41 to receive the toner image.

  The sheet feeding unit 9 includes a first sheet feeding unit 91 having a small capacity tray, a second sheet feeding unit 92 having a large capacity tray, and a third sheet feeding unit 93. In these first to third paper feeding units, paper P of different sizes may be placed, or paper P of different paper quality may be placed.

  Each of the paper feeding units has feed rollers 916, 926, and 936 that feed the paper P placed on each tray to the paper transport unit 8 one by one. Further, the second paper feed unit 92 and the third paper feed unit 93 are provided with upper surface detection means for detecting the upper surface position of the stacked paper, and the control means is based on the upper surface detection signal from the detection means. C1 raises and lowers the bottom of the tray on which the paper P is stacked.

  The operation display means E is a touch panel provided on the upper surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus A, and has both display and input functions. In addition to setting the number of copies, selecting a mode of post-processing applied to the output copy, etc. Is used to perform an instruction operation to the control means C1.

  The post-processing apparatus B includes a first transport unit 100, a second transport unit 200, a paper stacking unit 300, a binding unit 500, a third transport unit 600, a paper discharge tray 700, a transport path switching unit G, a control as shown in the figure. Consists of means C2 and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the post-processing apparatus of FIG. 1 in more detail.

  The first transport unit 100 includes a plurality of transport rollers and a plurality of guide plates. The paper P discharged from the image forming apparatus A is guided to the first transport unit 100 by the carry-in roller R of the post-processing apparatus B and the transport path switching unit G at the dotted line position in the figure, and the first transport unit 100 is The fed paper P is placed on the paper stacking means 300.

  The second transport unit 200 is also composed of a plurality of transport rollers and a plurality of guide plates. The paper P discharged from the image forming apparatus A is guided to the second conveying means 200 by the carry-in roller R of the post-processing apparatus B and the conveying path switching means G at the practical position in the figure, and the second conveying means 200 is When the mode that does not perform the half-folding process is selected by the operation display means E, the fed paper P is conveyed in the direction of the arrow a and stacked on the paper discharge tray 700.

  When the mode for performing the half-folding process is selected, after the leading end is abutted against the abutting member 801 and stopped, the sheet P folded in the middle folding means 800 is moved by the roller and the guide plate. By guiding it downward, it is placed on the paper stacking means 300.

  The sheet accumulating unit 300 includes a stacker 301 for sequentially placing the sheets P conveyed from the first conveying unit 100 or the second conveying unit 200, and a leading end abutting plate for aligning the leading ends of the sheets P placed on the stacker 301. 302, a side edge guide 303 for aligning the side edges of the paper P, a stacker moving means 304, and the like.

  The paper P sequentially placed on the stacker 301 slides down on the stacker 301, and the leading end is abutted against the leading end abutting plate 302 at the end of the stacker 301. The side edges are aligned by the guide 303 to form a sheet bundle with the ends aligned.

  The stacker 301 is moved from the solid line position to the dotted line position by the stacker moving means 304. The front end abutting plate 302 at the front end of the stacker 301 is rotatable and moves downward when it is at the dotted line position in the figure. The stacker moving means 304 includes a driving pulley, a driven pulley, and a belt wound around these pulleys. An ellipse indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure indicates a rotation locus of the belt. The belt is connected to the end of the stacker 301, and is stopped at a predetermined position for causing the stacker 301 to execute the binding process by the first binding means 400 and the second binding means under the control of the control means C2. Can be made.

  The binding means 500 is a well-known means widely used in bookbinding devices and the like. The binding means 500 is a means for performing a binding process on the end portion of a sheet bundle with a binding tape T to which hot melt type glue is applied.

  The sheet bundle on the stacker 301 stopped in the immediate vicinity of the binding means 500 slides down on the stacker 301 when the leading edge abutting plate 302 moves downward, the leading edge hits the leading edge regulating plate 501, and the leading edge of each sheet. Further, the side edge portions are aligned by the swinging of the side edge guide 303.

  The sheet bundle with the end portions aligned is held by the sheet bundle holding means 502. When the end of the sheet bundle is clamped by the sheet bundle holding means 502, the leading edge regulating plate 501 moves downward, and the glue surface of the binding tape T cut to a predetermined length is in close contact with the end surface of the sheet bundle. Thus, the binding tape transport means (not shown) moves.

  Both sides of the binding tape T are bent toward the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface of the sheet bundle by two bending members 503 that proceed from the back surface of the binding tape T toward the sheet bundle. The folded binding tape T is pressed by the moving heating means 504 while the back surface and both side surfaces are heated by the sheet bundle.

  After heating and pressing for a predetermined time, the heating means 504 returns to the original position, and the sheet bundle is bound by the binding tape T as the glue of the binding tape T cools.

  When the binding process by the binding unit 500 is finished, the stacker 301 moves upward, so that the other end of the sheet bundle not subjected to the binding process is placed on the third transport unit 600 that is a belt-type transport unit. Next, the holding of the sheet bundle by the sheet holding unit 502 is released, and the sheet bundle is placed on the third conveying unit 600 and discharged to the discharge tray 700.

  The paper discharge tray 700 is a tray that can be raised and lowered, and is a known technical means. The top surface of the tray, or when a sheet or sheet bundle is already placed on the tray, the top surface of the sheet seems to be in a position for sequentially stacking sheets or sheet bundles discharged by the first to third conveying means. Are controlled by the control means C2.

  The middle folding means 800 is a means for folding the paper P along the center line, and is a known technical means provided in the conveyance path of the second conveyance means 200.

  In the present invention, in order to prevent the end of the bundle of sheets from becoming uneven due to the folding position of the sheet P being shifted from the center line of the sheet P, the center line of the sheet P is the edge of the folding knife 803. It is designed to stop exactly at the position.

  The leading edge of the paper P that has been transported by the plurality of rollers of the second transport means 200 is provided on the transport path and is detected by the paper detection sensor S2. When a detection signal from the sheet detection sensor S2 is sent to the control unit C2, the control unit C2 causes the center line of the sheet P to be folded with the folding knife 803 based on the size information of the sheet P sent from the control unit C1 of the image forming apparatus A. First, the position of the abutting member 801 is moved along the conveying path so as to stop accurately at the leading edge position of the blade of the paper, and then the conveying path for abutting the leading edge of the paper P that advances. Move down to block.

  On the other hand, after the leading edge of the paper P is detected by the paper detection sensor S2, the transport rollers 203 and 213 are slightly further (for example, several millimeters) ahead of the abutting position with the abutting member 801. It is controlled by the control means C2 so as to proceed. Accordingly, a small curved portion is formed on the paper P that has its leading end abutted against the abutting member 801 and sent to the rollers 202 and 213 very slightly. Since the transport roller 203 moves upward after transporting a predetermined amount of the paper P, the rear end of the paper P whose front end abuts against the abutting member 801 moves in a direction opposite to the transport direction. The formed curved portion is eliminated, and the paper P is in a flat state.

  In this way, the paper P is stopped in a flat state and with its center line being directly below the blade of the folding knife 803. The stopped paper P is folded at the position of the center line by the descending folding knife 803 and pushed into the folding roller 802 that rotates oppositely. The pushed paper P is folded in two, and is placed on the stacker 301 of the paper stacking means 300 with the folded end as the head.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control relationship between the post-processing apparatus B and the image forming apparatus A in the present embodiment.

  The control means C2 of the post-processing apparatus B and the control means C1 of the image forming apparatus are composed of a CPU, an arithmetic unit, a memory, an input / output I / F, a communication means, a drive circuit, etc., and a program stored in the memory. . In this figure, the description of blocks unnecessary for the description of this embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet bundle formed on the stacker of the post-processing apparatus B.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram schematically illustrating a sheet bundle formed by stacking the sheets P conveyed by the first conveying unit 100, and FIG. FIG. 4C is a diagram schematically illustrating a sheet bundle formed by stacking the sheets P that are processed and conveyed by the second conveying unit 200, and FIG. 4C illustrates the sheet conveyed by one conveying unit 100. And a sheet bundle formed by mixing the sheet P that has been subjected to the folding process by the folding unit 800 and conveyed by the second conveying unit 200. FIG. Note that the paper P transported by the first transport unit 100 in FIG. 4C is placed at the positions of the front cover and the back cover as shown in the figure.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of half-folding processing, sheet bundle formation, and binding processing executed by the image forming system including the image forming apparatus A and the post-processing apparatus B described above.

  The user sets the processing mode by the operation display unit E of the image forming apparatus A. The set information is registered in a predetermined table provided in the memory M1 of the control means C1, and is referenced from a plurality of related processing programs stored in the memory M1 of the control means C1 and the memory M2 of the control means C2. Then, various operations are executed.

  The setting of the processing mode is started by first selecting a mode for performing the binding process or a mode for not performing the binding process (step S1). When the mode in which the binding process is not performed is selected (step S1: N), the paper P is sent to the second transport unit 200 (step S13), and is discharged onto the discharge tray 700 by the second transport unit. (Step S12).

  If the setting for performing the binding process is selected (step S1: Y), it is next selected whether or not the sheet P is subjected to the middle folding process (step S2). When the mode in which the folding process is not performed is selected (step S2: N), the paper P is sent to the first transport unit 100 (step S14), and is stacked on the stacker 301 of the paper stacking unit 300 to be bundled. Is formed (step S7).

  When the mode for performing the folding process is selected (step S2: Y), a selection is made as to whether or not a cover is to be added (step S3). If the mode in which the cover is not added is selected (step S3: Y), the sheet P is sent to the second transport unit 200, and as described above, after stopping at a predetermined position, the center folding unit A half-folding process is performed according to 800 (step S6), and the sheet is stacked on the stacker 301 to form a sheet bundle (step S7).

  If the mode for adding a cover is selected (step S3: Y), the image forming apparatus A first sends a sheet P as a cover (step S4: Y). Then, the first transport unit 100 (step S15) places it on the stacker 301 (step S7). Next, since a predetermined number of sheets P to be subjected to the folding process are sequentially sent from the image forming apparatus (step S4: N), the folding process is performed on each of these sheets (step S6), and the stacker has already been performed. The sheets are sequentially stacked on the sheet P to be a cover sheet placed on 301 (step S7). When the stacking of the sheets P that have been subjected to the half-folding process for the predetermined number of sheets is completed, the sheet P serving as the back cover is output from the image forming apparatus A and is transported by the first transport unit 100 (step S4: Y, step S15), the sheet is placed on the already stacked paper P that has been subjected to the folding process, and a sheet bundle is completed (step S7).

  Note that the front cover may be only the front cover and the back cover may be omitted.

  Also, the confirmation of the completion of the sheet bundle formation is performed by the control unit C2 storing the number of sheets output from the image forming apparatus A sent from the control unit C1 and counting based on the detection signals from the sheet detection sensors S1 and S2. This is done by determining whether or not the number of sheets placed on the stacker 301 that has been reached has reached the stored number of sheets.

The stacker 301 on which the completed sheet bundle is placed moves to the vicinity of the binding means 500 (step S8). The binding process has already been performed on the sheet bundle by the binding unit 500 in the procedure described with reference to FIG. 2 (step S9), and the stacker 301 is returned from the first transport unit 100 or the second transport unit 200 again. It returns to the home position where the paper to be fed is placed (step S10). Further, the tip end abutting plate 302 that has been tilted to the dotted line position also returns to the original solid line position.
The bundle of sheets subjected to the binding process is placed on the third transport unit 600, transported (step S11), and discharged to the paper discharge tray 700 (step S12).

  As described above, according to the present invention, the image display on the paper P and the bookbinding in which the cover is added to the bundle of sheets subjected to the folding process and the binding process is performed by the mode setting by the operation display means E. Can be executed.

1 is a conceptual diagram of an image forming system. It is a conceptual diagram of a post-processing apparatus. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between the post-processing device and the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a sheet bundle. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a mode setting operation and an operation of the image forming system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 1st conveying means 200 2nd conveying means 300 Paper stacking means 301 Stacker 302 Front end abutting plate 303 Side edge guide 304 Stacker moving means 500 Binding means 502 Paper holding means 600 Third conveying means 700 Third delivery means 800 Middle folding means 801 Abutting member 802 Folding roller 803 Folding knife A Image forming apparatus B Post-processing apparatus C1 Control means (image forming apparatus)
C2 control means (post-processing device)
E Operation display means G Transport path switching means P Paper S1, S2 Paper detection sensor T Binding tape

Claims (3)

Image forming an image forming apparatus on both sides of the sheet, and comprises a medium folding means, the post-processing apparatus having a binding means,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Select the paper that is not subjected to the middle folding process, perform image formation on the first and last pages of the booklet, select the paper that is subjected to the middle folding process, perform image formation on the other side, and form the image. to send paper after the post-processing device,
The post-processing device includes:
Control for controlling to form a sheet bundle in which sheets not subjected to the middle folding process and sheets subjected to the middle folding process are overlapped in the order sent from the image forming apparatus, and to perform the binding process on the sheet bundle. Having means ,
The post-processing device is
An abutting member against which the leading edge of the paper to be subjected to the middle folding process abuts,
A pair of conveyance rollers that conveys the sheet toward the abutting member, conveys the sheet even after the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the abutting member, and then moves to release the nipping of the sheet;
An image forming system , comprising: a folding knife that abuts against a center line of the sheet after the nipping by the pair of conveying rollers is released and pushes the sheet into the pair of folding rollers . A mode in which the paper to be folded is selected and all pages are imaged;
A mode in which a sheet not subjected to half-fold processing is selected to form an image on all pages;
The image forming system according to claim 1, further comprising: A post-processing apparatus having a center folding means and a binding means, connected to the image forming apparatus,
An abutting member against which the leading edge of the paper to be subjected to the middle folding process abuts,
A pair of conveyance rollers that conveys the sheet toward the abutting member, conveys the sheet even after the leading edge of the sheet abuts against the abutting member, and then moves to release the nipping of the sheet;
A folding knife that abuts against the center line of the paper after the nipping by the conveying roller pair is released and pushes the paper into the folding roller pair;
A sheet bundle is formed by stacking a sheet that is not subjected to the center folding process on the first page and the final page of the booklet and a sheet that is subjected to the center folding process on the other surface in the order sent from the image forming apparatus. A post-processing apparatus, wherein a binding process is performed on the bundle by the binding means.

Images