Internally pocketed zip opening shipping and marketing business communication package for use as a presentation folder

Abstract

The present invention relates to a presentation folder that may be provided in a unique arrangement such as with a shipping package configuration thereby eliminating the need to provide a separate envelope and business communication piece. The construction is created from a relatively planar paperboard material that can be handled efficiently by courier or delivery companies in a folded or assembled state and which includes at least one and preferably two pockets that are adhered to separate faces of the paperboard blank. The assembly may include other arrangements such as a pocket on one face and a removable printed advertising piece on the other face. The pocketed faces of the paperboard blank are brought into contact with one another and through use of a closure portion, which may include foldable flaps or adhesive coated tabs, the closure portion is used to seal the construction into a parcel delivery configuration.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] None. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a unique business communication product that can be produced as a shippable or deliverable folder construction that is delivered in a sealed configuration such as for example with an express parcel delivery package. The instant invention includes a substrate that is initially formable into a pocketed configuration that resembles a presentation folder when revealed upon opening of the package. The assembly, after forming, may then be sealed peripherally in order to create a shipping or courier delivery package. Upon removal of a pre-defined portion from a substantially peripherally extending area of the assembly, the package can be opened to reveal several different constructions ranging from a plurality of pockets that can be used for presenting or delivering marketing, advertising and other informational materials to a construction that includes at least one pocket a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017] Surprisingly, it has been discovered that presentation folder products or pocketed business communication products can be delivered in a unique manner so as to facilitate the delivery of documents and other information to intended recipients, such as through express or courier delivery arrangements. By configuring a paperboard blank to include one or more internally disposed pocket assemblies, the sender of materials can organize marketing and other business collateral in an efficient fashion to better communicate details to prospective customers and clients as well as provide removable or separable printed pieces.

Problems solved by technology

Such constructions normally require the manufacturer to purchase expensive and complicated folding equipment in order to process and fold the pocket portion, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,436 and 6,063,226.

One of the difficulties with such stock folder products is that the user of such products must order the folders in large lots or amounts, or must select from a generic stock inventory that may only have a pre-determined number of colors or finish options.

If a presenter or distributor would prefer to have at least limited information printed on the folder, such as the name of the company or presenter or to have certain colors or finishes that represent the company, such as to emphasize the trade dress, then the user is stuck with the unfortunate option of having to order such products in large quantities typically greater than 50 and more often in the hundreds as the set up for the production or manufacture of folders is complex and orders in the hundreds of units is normally required by the manufacturer due to the complexity associated with such set up of equipment.

This dilemma has thwarted the growth of the folder industry and prevented the use of this tool from expanding its communication potential to users of the product as an advertising vehicle.

The difficulty with current stock folder offerings is that the purchaser must also select from a number of pre-arranged configurations.

Thus, a standard configuration may not lend itself to an advertising or marketing message that has a particular “map” or arrangement that requires different pieces to appear in different areas.

Another problem faced by users of such stock folders is that they have virtually no personalized or individualized information.

As one might imagine, this limits the amount of personalization that can be provided and also requires that the information be aligned with the windows in the folder assembly so that it is visible.

In addition, to the steps of folding the blank and the equipment required to achieve those tasks, in order to manufacture such a product one needs to add additional die cutting stations and then is faced with the challenge of inserting the personalized sheet of information.

In preparing for a meeting, even a small meeting, having to insert 10 sheets into 10 different folders can be time consuming, particularly if one is rushed in trying to get to the meeting.

The recipient then opens the envelope and removes the contents of the package and then typically discards the package creating unnecessary waste and disposing of a unique communication medium.

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