Mailroom Enhancements

In recent months, new products and capabilities have made mail imaging equipment even more useful to in-plants.

By Debora Toth

Digital mail imaging systems are increasingly being asked to print on various substrates and contend with errors in the mail stream. Recently introduced products are handling these challenges.

"There is a growing trend of printing direct mailing and fulfillment pieces on coated stocks," says Ron Gilboa, vice president of marketing at Kodak Versamark. "Our DS4350 UV printing system has the ability to print on multiple substrates, making it an effective printing solution."

The DS4350 ink-jet printing system is bundled with a UV curing ink station to print on a variety of substrates, including glossy stocks, aqueous- and UV-coated papers, plastic cards and films. It prints in the 20,000-page-per-hour range on any coated stock without smearing.

Other manufacturers are contending with coated papers by introducing special inks that dry on coated stocks. In 2005, Secap launched Picaso ink for its Secap Jet 1 system to address the growing demand for printing on aqueous and over-coated mail pieces. Picaso ink is a specially formulated cartridge-based ink solution that utilizes an inline dryer, such as Secap's 4000 watt dryer, to provide a rich, deep black with print resolutions up to 600 dpi.

To enable mail departments to address materials with aqueous coatings using standard ink-jet printers, Rena Systems introduced EasyInk Aqueous, an ink designed to dry on aqueous-coated stock. Exclusive to Rena dealers, the ink-jet cartridge is designed for Rena's new Envelope Imager 2XP tabletop ink-jet addressing system and its Envelope Imager III, a high-speed tabletop imaging system.

"Both of these Envelope Imager units can print spot color and both units have internal logic that detect misfeeds, paper jams or data corruption," says William J. Longua, marketing manager for Rena Systems. "If an error is detected, the unit will pause and wait for the operator to correct the situation. In the event of an error, the printers have the ability to backspace up to 20 addresses and reprint them.

"Additionally, both units can print USPS indicias on the mail piece," he continues. "They can also print electronic postage from programs like Stamps.com and the 2-D bar codes used in secure postage. Currently there is not a bulk mail digital postage solution, but that is not a limitation of the printers."

Earning Discounts With MERLIN

For in-plants seeking mailing discounts, mail imaging equipment manufacturers have answered the need. Since the United States Postal Service (USPS) has adopted a MERLIN (mailing evaluation readability lookup instrument) program to qualify mailers for automation discounts, camera-based quality assurance systems are working to be compliant. MERLIN verifies mail against USPS standards, including bar code readability and consistency.

"Camera-based bar code verification systems are being implemented to evaluate bar code quality," says Chuck Rothofsky, dealer support and communications manager for Secap. "At Print 05 in September, we displayed a brand-new camera-based option that sits on top of our Secap Jet 1 print station. This camera system evaluates the bar code quality, in terms of bar height, bar width, bar spacing, skewing and density, as they are printed in real time and alerts the operator if there is a quality-assurance problem in the mailing flow."

Getting postal discounts is essential for any in-house mail operation.

"Any in-plant that prints mailings of over a few hundred pieces should try to utilize a postal discount," says Brett Daly, BCC Software's marketing specialist.

BCC Software offers the TrayMate Pro, a small offline desktop direct thermal printer, to print USPS-approved bar-coded sack and tray tags for postal discounts.

"Our product does not print images or logos but produces tags that are applied to packages and pre-sorted for the postal discount," Daly says.

Both of Pitney Bowes' newest models—the DA950 and DA400 address printing systems—incorporate the SmartMailer Mail Management Software and ForwardTrak Net. SmartMailer 7 Mail Management software allows mailers to more effectively manage their address database. Its Duplicate Detection feature finds duplicate names and addresses and flags them for the mailer to delete, eliminating unnecessary and costly redundant mail pieces.

SmartMailer 7 also offers a variety of presort methods approved by the USPS that can help mailers earn significant postal discounts. Both printing systems also use the firm's Envelope Designer Plus and Clip Art to image fonts, logos, and graphics that increase openability and response rates.

ForwardTrak Net is a solution to the USPS Move-Update Requirement for presorted or automation-rate First Class mail to be updated within six months of the mail date. An option for Pitney Bowes' SmartMailer Addressing Software, the service enables mailers to identify changes of address online and qualify mailings for work-sharing discounts.

Ink-jet Quality Rising

Advances in ink-jet technology have made it the technology of choice for mail addressing.

"By installing an ink-jet printing system, [in-plants] will have a much higher-quality mailing system than a laser printer," says Bob Neagle, Videojet's graphics product manager. "In prior years, quality was not as high and production was slower; the in-plant would print the mailing on an offset press then re-roll it to be printed on a laser printer for variable printing. Now an in-plant can mount the ink-jet head inline after the offset press and save the expense of moving the job, and it is near offset press quality."

Videojet's new G4100 digital imaging system was developed with HP thermal ink-jet technology, which allows in-plants to customize mail pieces with up to 1,200-dpi resolution for addresses, message text and graphics at speeds up to 500 ft./min.

"They can separate their business from the competition by offering mail pieces with eye-catching messages and graphics," says Neagle.

Variable Images

Not only is quality improving with the usage of ink-jet mailing systems, but the use of variable images printed inline with the addressing is growing too.

"Since mail imaging equipment is able to print variable images, logos and messages, we're seeing a growing use in this segment," says John Palazzolo, product manager for Kodak Versamark.

For example, says Palazzolo, a new Starbucks store is opening and the company sends out a direct mail piece to promote it. The postcard will not only be addressed to the prospect but also include a variable map printed inline on the mail imaging equipment showing how to find the store. Or an insurance company sends out postcards to advertise itself and includes a photo of the local agent printed inline with the mail imaging equipment.

Rothofsky, of Secap, agrees.

"Variable images, bar codes and logos are all very popular," he says. "We'll see a large, nationwide real estate firm print all of its brochures in one central mailing plant but individualize the mailings for five or six different regions. Or we'll see a group of doctors, dentists or chiropractors produce one newsletter and then individualize it for each doctor with their name and address."

By integrating mailing into an in-plant's printing operation, a number of benefits are being derived.

"In-plant operations can cross-train and utilize existing labor to work more productively," says Rothofsky. "They can leverage labor savings and reduce production times as well as maintain the security of their database."

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