Get to Know What Does Collate Mean and How to Conduct the Process!

Except for working in the printing industry, you might not know what does collate mean. A collate is one of the most common options to discover in that industry regarding printed objects. It is because print projects are available in different sizes, shapes, and colors.

What Does a Collate Mean?

A collate is a term people usually use to address activity in collecting and assembling printed papers in decided order or arrangement. Once the collection is complete, it assembles the sheets or objects based on specific order or sequence. Most likely, all the document pages will print once.

Then, the machine will use the same setting to repeat the printing process on the second set and onward. This printing process continues until the machine completes the documents based on the determined number. Knowing the concept of this printing process helps you understand what does collate mean.

People also use the term collate copies to address the accumulation process of documents to make a complete set. Hence, you can check on the print preview pages to use the same setting for the next printing. It contains an option to print the documents in collated copies.

What Does an Uncollated Mean?

Besides being unfamiliar with what does collate mean, those who do not work in the printing industry are more familiar with uncollated printing. However, they are unlikely to use this term. Uncollated refers to groups of printed pages where each group contains pages with similar information.

However, each group is different from printed pages in other groups. For instance, you need to print the pages separately to make an essay comprising ten pages. You do not need to combine each of the ten paper sheets for printing uncollated copies.

Collated printing is more common for color copies. Therefore, if the documents contain less or no color copies, people usually will print using the uncollated printing feature.

What are The Uses of Collate Printing?

Knowing what does collate mean is not enough. You also need to know what its uses are. The most common use of collate feature in the printer is to print out sets of documents that likely contain the same information for the following stacks of printouts.

Some examples of printed materials that use collated printing in their productions are books, magazines, brochures, catalogs, and instruction manuals.

When Do You Need to Collate?

Aside from what does collate mean when printing, it is necessary to know when you usually use collation. You can use a collating process when printing many copies of documents to keep the pages in a sequence. It involves many printed batches of original multi-page documents to create a finished printing project.

For instance, if you print multiple pages for booklets you need to arrange the information to open from the first page to the end. People usually use a staple to bind the pages in the corner of a document to keep them in order before binding the document into a booklet. Other collation examples are books, brochures, and calendars.

Teachers also often collate students’ printed tests so they can give them easily and efficiently to each student at the end of the term.

How to Collate Using a Printer?

After knowing about what does collate mean, you might wonder how to do it with your printer. Your printer features a collation menu and is available when copying a document. Pay attention to the options menu for copying. You might use an old printer model if you cannot find it in the menu.

Old printers that are not supporting touchscreen operation often have the collate feature as a button on the keypad. Try to notice the features available in the print function if you want to print a multi-page document from the computer. You will discover the collate option on the settings menu.

Do You Have to Collate Pages Using a Printer?

Collating pages on a printer is not a must because this feature is an option and is not available as a default setting. Besides, this option is not available when printing only a copy of a multi-page document. Therefore, you also need to know about this option in your printer besides what does collate mean.

The printer’s feeder will arrange the pages one by one and create a duplicate of the document without pressing any button for collation.

How Do Automatic and Manual Collations Work?

Collating copies on the next printing will be easier as you only need to press the collate button available in the multifunction printer. You should conduct a separate printing if you want to shift the stocks in the documents. Hence, you must print all the pages on the first stock and another for the following stock.

The printer can collate each document automatically with separate printing but requires manual collation for the specialty pages with your hands. Hence, it forms a larger document containing standard pages. You can make a printed divider for each chapter for this manual collation.

Besides what does collate mean, you need to know that several MVP printers can include software. Hence, the users can make instructions showing that printers must pull paper from a different holder to support a collated printing project.

Knowing what does collate mean and how to use this feature enables you to print the documents more efficiently because you do not need to set it for every print run. It saves cost and money, especially if you need to print a large number of documents for companies or organizations.