Graph Expo: Postal Equipment a Big Draw

THE LATEST USPS regulations may have inspired visitors to Graph Expo to be more aggressive in their purchasing habits. Across the show floor, mailing equipment vendors reported a lot of interest in their wares. Here’s a look at what was available.

BCC Software demonstrated its Mail Manager 2010 mail preparation solution. It is USPS-certified to deliver top encoding and presorting performance, and is fully compliant with all recent Postal Service rate and regulation changes. A new 2010 premium option, the deluxe automation product Job Manager, was demonstrated at the show. It uses watchfolder technology to provide unattended mail processing operations.

Böwe Bell + Howell highlighted its new Turbo Premium high-speed inserting system, which employs new, intelligent material-handling technology. Since each document set can vary in thickness and enclosure content, the Turbo Premium optimizes the forces and transport of each set based on its individual composition, providing superior control of the set throughout the inserting process. Turbo Premium boasts automated changeover capability and can process dual-input print streams at cycle speeds up to 22,000 envelopes per hour.

Another Böwe Bell + Howell inserter was the Phillipsburg Mark II with Printegrity, which was paired with an ink-jet solution for high-speed personalization of mail pieces. Also shown was the Enduro inserting system with pneumatic gripper arms and Smart GRIP intelligent learning technology.

Böwe Bell + Howell’s booth featured a Connectivity Showcase demonstrating multi-vendor online connectivity. The company’s enterprise management software was connected to many of the leading finishing, printing, sorting and converting suppliers to demonstrate the integration between these products. Some of the participating vendors included BCC Software, Duplo USA, Eastman Kodak, Lasermax Roll Systems, Nipson, RISO, Rollem International, Solimar Systems and Xerox.

Buhrs exhibited two envelope inserting systems: the servo-driven Buhrs BB700, with inserting speeds of up to 14,000 products per hour, and the Buhrs BB300-10K, with an increased speed of 25 percent to 10,000 products per hour. These inserters were configured as a manufacturing cell, enabling one operator to monitor both machines.

Ink-jet Address Printers

Domino Printing Sciences launched its L-Series ink-jet solution, which can print to all USPS postal standards including the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode. The system delivers high-resolution (600x300 dpi) printing, at 375 feet per minute and offers a competitive price-to-performance ratio.

Neopost introduced a new line of address printers. The AS-700 and AS-710 models use shuttle-head technology while the AS-830 and AS-930 models incorporate fixed-head technology. These printers offer a range of speed from 7,000 postcards per hour up to 39,000 postcards per hour. Fixed-head technology is ideal for high-volume, high-speed repetitive address printing applications. Shuttle-head technology is the best choice for customers whose mailings require a high level of personalization. This technology allows the printing of graphics, logos, codes or conditional messages of any length anywhere on an envelope. Neopost’s new line of Addressing Printers reduces mailing costs by leveraging postal automation discounts through automatic address validation and correction, and by eliminating duplicates sent to the same address.

Rena Systems introduced the ink-jet address printer Envelope Imager XT, models 3.0 and 4.0. The Envelope Imager XT offers greater speed, more memory, increased material thickness and a larger image area than previous models. The 3.0 version has an image area of up to 3x17˝; the 4.0 version offers up to 4x17˝. Imagers can print up to 26,000 #10 envelopes/hour and offer four levels of print quality from 150 to 600 dpi.

Also new from Rena was the XPS-ProMail ink-jet console system, designed as a high-performance, single-operator ink-jet printer. It offers a 4˝ total print area from four individual print modules. It has AccuTrak vacuum transport, an integrated cartridge storage system, 64 MB of RAM and a USB 2.0 port. It runs at up to 34,000 pieces per hour.

The Secap Jet 1 addressing and imaging solution utilizes Picaso ink for aqueous substrates and the SIMS (Secap Ink Management System) to lower ink usage. Secap Jet 1 maximizes productivity with production speeds of up to 30,000 envelopes and 600 dpi printing.

Videojet Technologies’ 4210 ink-jet addressing system prints addresses, personalized messages, barcodes and serialized numbers using solvent- or water-based inks. It can be configured with up to four printers, each with two print heads, for a maximum 24 lines of printing. Typical system throughput is 20,000 mail pieces an hour in multi-line mode. Its Windows-based controller can interface with external equipment and provides a graphical production screen.

Vijuk Equipment exhibited the 321-T saddle stitcher with a new Domino in-line digital, variable data ink-jetting system. It can personalize, address, date, number, barcode and print variable graphics at the stitcher’s maximum speed in high resolution, configurable to any orientation. Dual heads simultaneously ink-jet the inside and outside of booklets via a Windows-based controller. The Bitjet graphics print head can image 2.13˝, while a Domino JetArray can personalize eight lines of reader reply and subscriber data on the interior of the book.