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FLIP-N-RITE
FORM Magazine, February 1989
The Patented FormBy Diane Saunders
Gary Thompson, CFC, got an idea for a new form construction eight years ago when he bought a house and was asked to sign an Offer to Purchase. "It was a clumsy form," says Thompson, president of Form Systems & Services, a distributorship in Green Bay, Wis. Even the person who asked him to sign it said, "I wish they had something better than this. You get your hands all messy."
The Problem
The length and complexity of some business forms, such as those used in the real estate, banking and legal professions, sometimes makes it impossible to provide a one-page form containing all the necessary printed and blank areas. Such forms have to be printed in a two-page format. When the two pages of the form are on separate sheets, a standard carbon or carbonless manifold image-transferring system can be used to create multiple copies of each completed page. Upon completion, the copies of each page can be stapled together in sets to provide copies of the original two-page completed document. This duplication process can result in incomplete sets of copies if one of the pages is separated from the set.Such forms can be printed so that the two pages are on opposite sides of a single sheet. In the past, to complete the back of a manifold form of this type, the user had to manually remove the carbons, turn the form over and replace the carbons between the parts—a messy and awkward process. The chance of incorrect placement of carbon sheets and omission of imprinted information can result. Also, the original filled-in information appears on the front of the first part and the back of the last part.
Thompson saw the need for a manifold form assembly allowing use of a two-sided form without manual placement of carbons when filling out the front and back of the form. There also had to be a true original with filled-in information (handwritten or machine generated) on both the front and back of part one of the form.
"'How can I design this?' I wondered. There had to be a better way," says Thompson. Five years ago he went to work rearranging and redesigning the form. He put it aside frequently for more urgent business, before eventually producing what is now known as FLIP-N-RITE™.
How It Works
FLIP-N-RITE has an original front page and an original back page, both with various image-receiving areas. These areas on both front and back do not overlap.The use of double-faced stripe-coated carbon provides for the selective transfer of information regardless of which side of the form is being imaged. The image-transferring carbon is integral to the form assembly.
FLIP-N-RITE is a manifold assembly providing a completed original front page and a completed back page, both on part one of the form, with a copy of each on a duplicate page. The front and back pages can be completed and the copies made without manual placement of carbon papers.
Part one is a CB black image carbonless sheet with the CB side face up. Parts two, three and four are form bond. Part five is a CF carbonless sheet with the CF side face down.
The carbon sheet between parts one and two is a single-faced striped carbon. The carbon sheets between parts two and three, three and four and four and five are double-faced striped carbons having non-overlapping areas.
The front of the form is filled in, then the top stub is gently bent back. The top sheet is flipped up and over the bent, top stub. This positions the CB coated sheet on top of the CFB coated sheet. The form is turned over so the back is face up. The flipped sheet is smoothed out to bring in register with all parts, and the back of the form is completed.
The Patent
Thompson began to wonder if his construction was patentable. He asked a patent attorney to do a patent search. The search came up with nothing even close, he recalls. After eight months, the patent examiner wrote Thompson that the form was not patentable. "Although it was initially rejected, we felt the patent examiner may not have completely understood the mechanics of the form construction," says Thompson. "We clarified the design, construction and use with him during a meeting." The patent was filed in October 1986 and issued in December 1987. Patents have also been filed in nine foreign countries.Thompson filed for a second FLIP-N-RITE patent in November 1987 which allows for the image-receiving areas on the front and back of the same sheet to be overlapping. This second patent was issued in August 1988.
In the construction for the second patent, the first part of the form is a CB carbonless sheet with the CB side face up. The second part is a CF carbonless sheet with the CF side face down. Subsequent parts are CFB carbonless sheets with the CB side face up. Single face carbons are between parts one and two, two and three, three and four and four and five, with the coated side down. The form is double-stubbed with carbons attached to one stub for easy removal.
The user fills in the front side of this form, then removes the carbon from the set by detaching the stub to which the carbon is attached and gently bends back the remaining stub. Part one is then flipped up and over the stub. The CB sheet is now on top of the CF side of the last part. The form is turned over so the back is face up and ready for input of data.
The primary difference in the two patented FLIP-N-RITE constructions is that the first has non-overlapping and the latter features overlapping image-receiving areas. The first patented form allows information to be entered or deleted on either side of a form at any time without removing or replacing carbons and the second form requires removal or replacement of carbons.
Thompson says Wisconsin realtors using his patented forms are happy with them because a true original is created on both the front and back of the same sheet. There are no carbons to remove and/or insert while filling out the form, and additional information can be added to the front or back of the form at any time without reinserting or removing carbons.
Prior to selection of a manufacturer, Thompson asked for marketing and production input from several suppliers. He hoped to license his form for marketing and sale by a manufacturer and has subsequently entered into an agreement with one manufacturer, Wisconsin Graphic Forms, Inc. in Madison, Wis.
Is FLIP-N-RITE a profitable item? "Not yet," says Thompson, "but it's a matter of finding applications in the marketplace, and there are applications that have not been thought of." The more obvious applications would involve a need for a manifold form construction with a true filled-in original copy on the front and back of the same sheet, combining two separate one-sided forms into one two-sided form, or reducing a one-sided 8½ x 11¾" manifold form to a two-sided 8½ x 6¼ manifold. Both patented constructions are available to independents. Contact Thompson at (414) 337-0335 with your application.
Thompson says patenting his form has been costly. He has spent $12,000-$14,000 so far and will spend more. But he says that having something patented is what he always wanted to do. "It didn't hurt to check it out," he says.
Applications
Gary Thompson's FLIP-N-RITE form constructions have applications beyond legal documents. Thompson says just about any manifold form is a potential candidate for conversion to his constructions. Message and reply forms, for example, can be converted to the second construction providing two value-added qualities:
- FLIP-N-RITE provides twice the writing surface without increasing the size of the form. In addition to using the front of the form, the back may be used as well.
- The original message writer, after completing the front of the three-part message and reply form, removes part two and the carbons. After removal of these carbons no further imaging occurs between parts. The message can be mailed and arrive without messy cancellation marks and other imaging scars. The recipient flips part one up and over the stub using the back of the form for reply.
Contact Thompson with any additional application suggestions.