A post-processing apparatus includes: a buffer unit that transports sheets such that at least two of the sheets are transported while being stacked on top of one another, the sheets being sent to the buffer unit from an image forming unit; and a compilation tray that is inclined with respect to a direction opposite to a direction in which the sheets are transported in the buffer unit such that the sheets, which are supplied from the buffer unit, are transported into the compilation tray from above the compilation tray and stacked onto a placement surface as a stack of sheets.

Sheet collating device for accumulating sheets from at least one hopper, comprising: a lower transport path and an upper transport path; a switchable guide for directing the sheets from the at least one hopper to the lower or the upper transport path; left and right upper drive shafts connected to a right and a left upper drive pulleys supporting a pair of upper belts, a drive direction of the pair of upper belts being changed dependent on what transport path of the upper and lower transport paths is selected; first and second lower drive shafts connected to a right and a left lower drive pulleys supporting first and second pairs of lower belts; and a first series of right paddles mounted on the first pair of lower belts and a first series of left paddles mounted on the second pair of lower belts for registering a collated set of sheets.

A method for controlling machines (M1, M2, . . . ), which are provided for the processing of objects (O1, O2, . . . ), includes introducing an object (O1, O2, . . . ) into a working region of a machine (M1, M2, . . . ) and accessing, in a local environment of the machine (M1, M2, . . . ), a process key (PS1, PS2, . . . ), which is associated with the object (O1, O2, . . . ) and which contains at least one URI (unified resource identifier). The object (O1, O2, . . . ) is then processed using the URI contained in the process key (PS1, PS2, . . . ).

A post-processing apparatus includes: a buffer unit that transports sheets such that at least two of the sheets are transported while being stacked on top of one another, the sheets being sent to the buffer unit from an image forming unit; and a compilation tray that is inclined with respect to a direction opposite to a direction in which the sheets are transported in the buffer unit such that the sheets, which are supplied from the buffer unit, are transported into the compilation tray from above the compilation tray and stacked onto a placement surface as a stack of sheets.

Sheet collating device for accumulating sheets from at least one hopper, comprising: a lower transport path and an upper transport path; a switchable guide for directing the sheets from the at least one hopper to the lower or the upper transport path; left and right upper drive shafts connected to a right and a left upper drive pulleys supporting a pair of upper belts, a drive direction of the pair of upper belts being changed dependent on what transport path of the upper and lower transport paths is selected; first and second lower drive shafts connected to a right and a left lower drive pulleys supporting first and second pairs of lower belts; and a first series of right paddles mounted on the first pair of lower belts and a first series of left paddles mounted on the second pair of lower belts for registering a collated set of sheets.

A stacker includes a placement part that stacks thereon sheets discharged from a discharge port by a conveyor that conveys the sheets; a side guide that regulates edges of the sheets in a width direction intersecting a discharge direction of the sheets; a guide driver that moves the side guide along the width direction; and a controller configured to control the guide driver to position the side guide at a position where the sheet discharged from the discharge port is supported from below by the side guide.