MAIL VERIFIER PLUS OFFERS TOTAL ADDRESS-BLOCK QUALITY CONTROL

Transcription

1 APPLICATION ARTICLE MAIL VERIFIER PLUS OFFERS TOTAL ADDRESS-BLOCK QUALITY CONTROL Editor s Note: In the vein of providing you with the information necessary to do your jobs, Mailing Systems Technology has partnered with some of our top vendors to showcase the products you need to help run your mail center effectively. The following six pages feature some of the best solutions in the industry. Check them out! While mailers across the industry are still deciding at what pace to adopt the Intelligent Mail barcode (now slated to become mandatory in 2011 for discount-rate mailings), the United States Postal Service continues to move forward in the transition from POSTNET to this next-generation barcode technology. New pricing incentives have been announced to encourage Intelligent Mail adoption, and barcode tolerance levels have been revised to help ensure the quality of the new IM barcode will satisfy the needs of an increasingly efficiency-minded Postal Service. Regardless of whether Intelligent Mail has already been brought into a mailing operation, address-block quality control is a prime consideration for any company looking to produce mailings with peak deliverability and optimal postage discounts, says Chris Lien, Executive Vice President of BCC Software. Even in a pre-intelligent Mail workflow, everything a mailer can do today to improve their barcode quality will pay off handsomely for them not just in the long run, but with every mailing that leaves their shop. The recently launched Flats Sequencing System which allows large mailpieces to be sequenced in delivery point order, to streamline route preparation and improve delivery times is another sign of the new emphasis being placed on total address quality. It s not just about the barcode, Lien says. The USPS is refining everything about the address block, right down to the spacing between words. And all of these initiatives are predicated upon having an address block that s readable by postal automation equipment, he adds. Without a reliable tool at your disposal to assess the quality and compliance, before the mailing is completed and submitted to a postal facility, you re really taking a tremendous risk of time and money. Increasingly, mailers are turning to offline verification as an essential quality-control workflow stage. Once an inline QC device is examining your mailpieces, it s really too late for some mailers; you re already running the mailing, Lien says. It can t be used for testing in all circumstances. Using an offline solution, there s still time to react and make the proactive changes that can make a big difference in turnaround times and ultimate ROI for that job. BCC s Mail Verifier Plus is an offline solution that helps mailers assess barcode quality as well as other address block details before the mailing job has been submitted to the Post Office and even before the job has begun processing. Slightly larger than a shoebox and powered by standard household current, the Mail Verifier Plus uses a high-resolution digital camera to capture the image of a supplied mailpiece and GUI software (easily installed on any Windows-equipped PC) to find and read postal barcodes within the image field, while also analyzing the print-versus-mailpiece contrast ratios that must fall within specific ranges in order to pass a MERLIN inspection. (Envelope reflectance and physical barcode characteristics the distance between the bars and their printed angles on the piece, for example are also electronically inspected for compliance.) Data from each mailpiece scanned is preserved in individual reports which, along with the images themselves, may be saved to the host PC for future reference or printed and deleted. The MVP is a validation tool for the entire address block, not just the barcode, Lien says. It s like having a Mailpiece Design Analyst on site at your disposal. (In fact, the device is the commercial version of technology developed for USPS analysts by BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, BCC s parent company.) The IM barcode which is already offering value-added services to early adopters makes in-house quality control even more essential. The encoding technology that gives the Intelligent Mail barcode its mailpiece-transforming power also makes it unreadable to the human eye, he says. You re not going to want IMB-enhanced mailings to leave your shop without checking them out first. The Mail Verifier Plus can do that and much more. Contact Chris Lien at ChrisL@bccsoftware. com. For more information about the Mail Verifier Plus, please visit a NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

2 APPLICATION ARTICLE SENSIBLE TECHNOLOGIES SWING-TURBO HIGH-SPEED INTELLIGENT INSERTING SYSTEM Making the most of a tried-and-true design If you have been in the mailing industry for any length of time, it is likely that you are familiar with a swing-arm mail inserter. Indeed, the original swing-arm design is more than 70 years old and remains the most popular and versatile inserter technology on the market. And while scores of patents reference and relate to the original swingarm technology, very few of the proposed improvements have made much headway in terms of real innovation... until now. The Sensible Technologies Swing-Turbo Inserting System is a high-speed document inserting solution that represents a dramatic step forward in terms of pricing and performance. Service bureaus and inhouse mail services organizations use the STI Swing-Turbo inserting system for highvolume mail processing because of its affordability, versatility and robust production capabilities. But more than that, the Swing-Turbo is quickly becoming the inserter of choice for first-class mailers looking for an alternative to business-as-usual. If you have struggled with expensive hardware and extended downtime and service response, now may be the time to consider Sensible Technologies and the Swing-Turbo, a highly productive and reliable system ideal for processing multiple production mail applications. Robust performance combined with unmatched versatility and affordability makes the Swing-Turbo a compelling alternative. Consider the following attributes: Versatility By virtue of its design, the Swing-Turbo dramatically reduces the steps required to change over from one job to another. The swing-arm system makes switching between diverse types of mail quick and easy and eliminates the need to maintain multiple machines for multiple types of mail. Best of all, you can process both short and long mail runs at very high speed with only one operator. Enjoy higher versatility and boost productivity with the Swing-Turbo. Efficiency Even the most innovative mail inserter is of limited value if it is cumbersome to operate, time-consuming to set up and requires specialized operator training. The Swing-Turbo changes all that with its intuitive software and easy-to-use design. Our single-screen interface allows a single operator to meet the most demanding volumes and service levels. Accelerate your ROI and keep labor costs down with the Swing-Turbo. Design We built the Swing-Turbo to last. The foundation is steel, the frame is modular, and the performance is dependable and robust. While many competing solutions boast 24/7 production capacity, the Swing-Turbo actually delivers. The durability of this technology helps reduce unscheduled downtime and substantially extends the intervals between regularly scheduled preventative maintenance. Achieve new levels of productivity with the Swing-Turbo. Flexibility If your shop processes a variety of diverse mail streams, you know how difficult it can be to achieve truly efficient workflow. With the Swing-Turbo you can process mail efficiently with quick changeover. We designed the Swing-Turbo to meet the needs of the most challenging mail production environments through an unparalleled level of flexibility. Eliminate the lost productivity associated with other inserters by using the Swing-Turbo. Get the Facts The Swing-Turbo is capable of envelope inserting speeds up to 14,000 cycles per hour and has a high-volume folding capacity folding of up to 40,000-plus documents per hour making the Swing-Turbo the fastest and most dependable swing-arm inserter on the market. Consider Sensible Technologies and the Swing-Turbo as an alternative before making your next purchase or lease agreement. For more information, contact Sensible Technologies, Inc. at ext. 101 or sales@sensibletech.com. 32 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2009 a

3 APPLICATION ARTICLE AUTOVIRI ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS TIE IT ALL TOGETHER Despite numerous advances in the mail industry over the decades, certain elements common in mail production haven t changed. The highly repetitive, manual functions of traying, sleeving and palletizing mail are done similarly today as back in the 1940s. While manual methods may continue to satisfy some, newer alternatives in modular ADF solutions now exist both to capture readily available cost reductions and to reduce significant risk exposures with the advent of IMB. AutoViri Robotic Tray Handling Solutions is a revolutionary suite of modular solutions developed by CapStone Technologies to eliminate the innumerable manual handlings of mailpieces, USPS mail trays, sleeves and pallets they move in, throughout today s operations of all sizes. Elimination of the labor for that non-value-add activity significantly drives production cost per unit down, reduces risk for costly human error and, combined with an industry standard IMB platform, allows digital handshakes between physical and virtual interfaces. AutoViri Robotic Solutions provide the means to finally tie key physical and virtual elements of an ADF together with real-time transparency. A true Automated Document Factory integrates all elements of the ADF (Input, Transformation and Integrated Output, Delivery Preparation, Control and Reporting, Document Design and Content Integration and Response Management) but, more importantly, it integrates the physical and virtual elements. Physical elements get much less attention but present significant opportunities and now significant risks, if not addressed. Any organization can now introduce modular ADF solutions, like AutoViri, at one machine, or in one department or across one production process, thus creating a greater number and variety of right-sized ADF solutions to suit production needs. It also sets the stage for expansion into a long-term strategy. The resulting affordability and flexibility brings sustainable savings within reach for organizations of all sizes, many that previously could not afford an ADF enterprise-sized investment. AutoViri makes tying the physical and virtual workflow together possible by leveraging the standardized USPS tray having similar piece counts, value-add to customers and, now, with an IMB tray tag, traceable through both the virtual and physical elements of the ADF and the USPS. Departmental silos preventing efficient workflow also begin to break down as the virtual and physical world become connected on the production floor. From print through inserting, sorting, traying mail, sleeving trays, palletizing, storage and shipping, each point in the virtual and physical workflow creates savings and audit trail opportunities. CapStone developed AutoViri specifically to address these opportunities, and AutoViri services the state-of-the-art production equipment speeds of today and tomorrow, with high reliability and dramatically reduced labor and risks. AutoViri Trayer Robotically picks an empty full or half tray from the De-nester unit, presents the empty tray to the inserter machine(s), robotically sweeps completed envelopes into the tray and places the completed tray onto automated takeaway. A single robot trays mail on one to four inserters simultaneously. AutoViri Sleever Integrates into new or existing conveyor with a small footprint and robotically sleeves filled mail trays. With a large sleeve queue and fast cycle time, this application works in any production environment. AutoViri Palletizer Robotically picks strapped and sleeved mail trays, performs multiple separations and builds postal pallets for shipping. It s already happening with multiple AutoViri units in live production at premier mail production facilities, mailing millions of pieces daily. When organizations consider the risks of higher quality standards from the USPS, additional fee assessments for noncompliance and the tool (IMB) to police it, a true ADF implementation is not only justifiable, it s necessary now more than ever. CapStone Technologies, LLC is a vendorneutral business engineering firm specializing in process efficiency improvement implementations in the print-to-mail industry. CapStone delivers a full range of services, including its patented AutoViri Robotic Mailing Solutions. For more information, visit a NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

4 PRODUCTS ADDRESS QUALITY AND CORRECTION COMPANY: BCC SOFTWARE BARCODE QUALITY ASSURANCE COMPANY: BCC SOFTWARE DIRECT MAIL EQUIPMENT COMPANY: WALCO SYSTEMS LLC BCC FILE PROCESSING BCC File Processing provides USPS Move Update service for any company concerned with address quality, regardless of your mailing software or even if you use no software at all. Submit lists through a secure FTP-based gateway and choose between DPV, NCOA Link LSP (for the most recent 18 months of Change-Of-Address data) or NCOA Link FSP (the full 48 months of COA information). With typical turnaround times of 15 minutes or less and BCC s dedicated live customer support, BCC File Processing is an invaluable address-correction resource. BCC is a non-exclusive NCOA Link Full and Limited Service Provider of the United States Postal Service. MAIL VERIFIER PLUS BCC Software s Mail Verifier Plus (MVP) is a unique sampling tool that measures the compliance of printed barcodes and piece reflectance against USPS DMM specifications. The commercial version of a product developed for the United States Postal Service, it verifies USPS POSTNET, PLANET and Intelligent Mail barcodes, using established USPS MERLIN criteria to deliver reliable on-demand confirmation of a mailing s compliance. Fast, easy-to-read reporting enables quick identification of pass/fail results in active mailings, providing an invaluable opportunity to adjust a mailing prior to USPS acceptance tests, while avoiding significant cost overruns or delivery delays BT BUMP TURN The 240BT Bump Turn provides an inline solution for rotating products 90 degrees from their in-feed orientation. This unit is capable of turning a large range of material sizes and thicknesses left or right. Easy integration coupled with versatility makes it the right choice for your turning application requirements. It features quick and easy setup; variable speed transport; non-proprietary components; and adjustable belts and guides. Uncompromising Drivetrain: Large Diameter Steel Shafts 12 Wide Steel Rollers Steel Drive Pulleys Sealed Shaft Locking Collar Bearings Specifications: Turn Direction: Left or Right Material Size: Min. 5 L x 3 W Max 8.5 W x 11 L HIGH-VOLUME CUTSHEET PRINTER COMPANY: INFOPRINT SOLUTIONS COMPANY INK CARTRIDGES COMPANY: PURE GREEN SUPPLIES, LLC INK DEVELOPMENT / MANUFACTURING COMPANY: TRITRON USA INFOPRINT PRO C900 Offers print speed up to 90 ipm color or mono (letter/a4); air-assisted feed maintains speed with heavy stocks; recommended for up to 240,000 impressions per month (letter/a4); and versatile scanning capability (printer with scanner model) for printing and uploads. The InfoPrint Pro C900 printer can help you capitalize on the growing color printing market. With high color accuracy, advanced color management, variable data printing (VDP) facility and a wide variety of finishing options, this printer can fit the needs of departments and businesses that are producing collateral, direct mail, Print On Demand, books and TransPromo. REMANUFACTURED POSTAGE METER INK CARTRIDGES Mail Green re-manufactured ink cartridges for Pitney Bowes, Hasler and Neopost postage meters have been tested in many of America s largest and most demanding mail centers and have consistently delivered on our promise of quality, reliability, cost savings and value. We leverage the proven design of the OEM and add value with our professional remanufacturing processes and precisely engineered ink formulas. The end product is our highly reliable, earth-friendly, Mail Green brand replacement cartridge that is both cost effective and covered by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. CARBON BLACK INK Tritron USA is a division of Tritron GmbH and has been in business since 1991 and are the developers and manufacturers of ink for HP TIJ 2.5, PIJ, MPIJ and CIJ technologies. Our inks serve the mail addressing, package coding, data card and wide format printing industries. We develop solvent based, water based, and alcohol-based inks, which are pigment or dye based in formulation. Tritron is known for its expertise in producing exotic and specialty inks as well as standard use inks NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2009 a

5 INKJET PRINTERS COMPANY: RISO, INC. INSERTING SYSTEMS COMPANY: BÖWE BELL + HOWELL INSERTING SYSTEMS COMPANY: BÖWE BELL + HOWELL COMCOLOR RISO presents the ComColor series of fullcolor inkjet printers, five powerful machines engineered to print high volumes at ultrahigh speed, year after year. Designed to give you the ultimate in ease-of-use, these advanced printers require virtually no operator training. They are extremely economical and consume minimal electricity: Unlike a copier that constantly heats a photoconductive print drum, the ComColor series use very little energy. It all adds up to the ideal solution for high-speed, high-volume, on-demand color printing with the ultimate in versatility, cost efficiency and ease-of-use: the fastest, leanest, toughest, greenest inkjet printers available today. COMBO14 INSERTING SYSTEM The Combo14 inserting system combines the functionality of multiple inserters and is designed to answer the mail processing industry s demand for a fast, extremely flexible, cost-effective inserter. The Combo14 inserter is the first product in the industry to truly meet these requirements by enabling swift changeovers from letters to flats, yielding the increased productivity that can accelerate ROI. The Combo14 runs at up to 14,000 cycles/hour for #10 and 6 x 9 envelopes, 12,000 for #14 envelopes and 9,000 for flats. With the Combo14, operators can easily move from job to job and meet the needs of the most challenging environments. BBH MAILSTREAM INVELOPER The BBH MAILStream Inveloper system transforms mail processes by combining envelope manufacturing and mailpiece assembly into a single, continuous workflow. It frees operations from the limitations of traditional envelopes, including storage, handling, long lead times and package disposal, creating a more green-and-lean process. The system leverages transpromotional capabilities and improvements in color digital printing to convert envelopes into truly costeffective marketing vehicles Some of the advantages enabled by the MailStream Inveloper are speeds of up 30,000 mailpieces/ hour, lower material cost and increased throughput. This flexible system accommodates letters to flats, closedface and windowed material applications. MAIL AUTOMATION SOFTWARE COMPANY: SAP BUSINESSOBJECTS SAP BUSINESSOBJECTS POSTALSOFT No matter the size of your mailing operations, SAP BusinessObjects Postalsoft software can be customized to precisely meet the mail automation software needs of your business. All of SAP s commercial mail solutions are CASS- and PAVE-certified, whether DeskTop Mailer, Business Edition or Professional Edition is the right choice for your business. From address correction and encoding to mail preparation, these packages consist of the same proven modules, and no matter the size of your operations, you ll find that SAP BusinessObjects Postalsoft is the perfect fit for improving your mailing efficiency and saving you money. MAIL CENTER EQUIPMENT SERVICE COMPANY: INSERTECH LLC MAINTENANCE SERVICES Over 30 years of experience and continuing education in mail center equipment repair and service, including maintaining, trouble shooting and repairing of all types of mail center equipment, including folders, tabbers, swing arm inserters, cutters and banders. InserTech specializes in maintenance services for all types of swing-arm inserters. We are a third party provider of service for most BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, Sensible Technologies and other related systems. MAILING SOFTWARE COMPANY: MELISSA DATA MAILERS+4 MAILERS+4 will process your mailing lists for maximum discounts and direct mail savings. Both the Professional and Standard versions offer the features necessary to qualify mailings to meet USPS requirements for discounted mailings: CASS address verification; deduping; NCOA Link processing; PAVE Gold presorting; and printing of POST- NET and Intelligent Mail barcoded labels and container tags and postal forms. For added value, our new AddressPlus add-on complements USPS Suite Link processing to append missing suite numbers to residential addresses. Add-ons enable Canadian address verification, geocoding and delivery type indicators. a NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

6 PRODUCTS MAILING SYSTEMS COMPANY: ROLLEM INTERNATIONAL MATCH MAILING SOLUTION COMPANY: CLEAR IMAGE TECHNOLOGIES SELF MAILER COMPANY: KERN MAILSTREAM Mailstream is a unique system capable of taking full press sheets and converting them to finished mailpieces in one process. Its high level of automation performs multiple processes all inline with a small footprint and high output. Perform trimming, slitting, scoring, perforating, tipping, hot and cold glue, remoist glue and folding in one system. Process mailers with self-reply and remittances, folded mailers with tip-ons, coupons and much more. Easily customizable to individual needs, and it meets new postal requirements or multi-sided closures, all while maintaining ZIP Code order for direct delivery to mail bins. PICTURE PERFECT MATCH SYSTEM The Picture Perfect Match System is a match mailing solution for retrofitting your existing inserter for inserting two to four matching mail components. The system can be purchased as a low-cost visual match system that requires the inserter operator to monitor the screen and stop the inserter in the event of a mismatch or upgraded to a smart OCR system that will stop the inserter automatically. Matches can be first, last or full name or sequence number. The OCR system can also write to a file for in house or customer quality control and proof of matching or of mailing. KERN 515 EASYMAILER The Kern 515 EasyMailer empowers you to connect more personally with your prospects and customers through personalization and eye-catching full color. K515 EasyMailer, is a turnkey self-mailer that turns an 11 x17 form into a unique, complete mailpiece. Now you can maximize your marketing messages by using all sides of the envelope for added graphics and text inside and outside of the mailpiece. The K515 EasyMailer delivers 1,250 unique mailpieces per hour with the ability to insert up to three documents and an insert into each piece. SOFTWARE/POSTAL AUTOMATION COMPANY: SATORI SOFTWARE, INC. TABBING COMPANY: KIRK-RUDY, INC. VERIFICATION SYSTEM COMPANY: INSPECTRON BULK MAILER BUSINESS No matter the size of your mailing operation, with Bulk Mailer Business, you can be more efficient with your time and resources. Role-based sharing allows your data processor and print operator to access address lists and common task templates from a central location, and one user can correct addresses on one or more lists, all while presorting and printing others. Plus, using Bulk Mailer Business guarantees that the Intelligent Mail barcodes generated by each processor are unique. KR 535HK TABBER The new KR 535HK Tabber from Kirk-Rudy can apply tabs up to 2 in diameter on the lead, trail and side edges of booklets and selfmailers in one single pass. This allows customers to meet all of the new USPS specifications for self-mailers and booklet tabbing regulations using a single tabbing system. The KR 535 HK handles large, 16 -diameter rolls and runs all major types of tabs as well as pressure-sensitive stamps and labels of various shapes and sizes. Multiple tabs or labels can be applied in a single pass. The KR 535HK runs in line with most standard addressing systems. The system features side register belts for tight tabs, quick setup, automatic tab location and side-to-side tabletop adjustment. MINI-CAM Inspectron Inc. announces its new Mini- Cam product line, offering cameras with a resolution of 640 x 480, frame rate of 60 FPS, 6mm microlens, and an integrated six high-output LED light source. The Mini-Cam is designed to fit into small places within manufacturing lines driven by a PC with standard firewire (IEEE-1394) cables. The Mini-Cam is controlled by Inspectron s DocuCheck software. DocuCheck allows for reading of a multitude of symbologies, such as 1D barcodes, OCR, DataMatrix, IMB, PDF-417, Inkjet void and streak detection and grayscale (light/dark) print inspection NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2009 a