Easing the Pressure
For companies that do high volumes of self-mailing, envelope-inserters are the usual, tried-and-true method. But are they the most efficient? Pressure seal systems are an attractive alternative, allowing businesses to quickly send out checks, payroll documents and more. Moving to a new system may seem daunting, but thanks to some thoughtful input from industry professionals, Print+Promo has the information you need to take the pressure (get it?) out of transitioning to pressure seal.
WHY CHANGE
Getting past the hefty price tag associated with pressure sealers is one of the biggest challenges to overcome, and industrial-volume pressure sealers don't come cheap. A quick Google search returns some machinery in the $80,000 price range. The good news is that pressure seal equipment has come down in price over the years, and other, more affordable options are now available.
Some medium-volume pressure sealers sell for less than $5,000, and low-volume tabletop systems can be purchased for $2,000. This has given pressure sealers a competitive edge over envelope inserters, according to Larry Willman, senior product manager for Wilmer, Coldwater, Ohio. "Because the price points of desktop folder/sealers are much lower these days, the pressure seal market has really opened up to users that couldn't afford an automated solution previously and are still inserting envelopes by hand," he said.
Increased output also makes up for the initial cost. "It's all about the volume," Willman said. "The more documents you can convert to pressure seal, the easier [distributors] can help customers justify [the cost]." He added that many departments within an organization often share one unit to help offset the initial investment.
While cost of production, labor and machinery needs to be taken into account, there are long-term benefits that can save a company time and money. Art Waganheim, vice president of operations for Paitec USA, Davie, Fla., expanded on a few of them. "For single-page documents, there really is no benefit to using an envelope, which then requires an inserter machine," he said. "Folder/inserter machines are slower and more expensive than pressure seal machines. Plus, by using pressure seal machines, the mailer saves the cost of the envelope and having to find storage space for boxes and boxes of envelopes in their office."
Waganheim went on to say that the true cost-benefit of pressure seal systems becomes clearer after prolonged use. "Certainly copy paper and a cheap envelope will cost less than a pressure seal form," he reminded. "But when you look at the labor and time costs of running a slower folder/inserter machine compared to a faster pressure seal machine, the true production costs become more comparable."
HOW TO EASE THE TRANSITION
Some clients may feel that changing their method of operations would result in an awkward transitional phase, with the learning curve slowing down production cycles. But the shift isn't as difficult as it seems.
"If a client is processing and mailing single-page documents-or can convert a multi-page document to a single page-then pressure seal technology should be presented to the client as a quicker, [more] secure and less costly process for sending those documents," Waganheim said.
Dan Hopkins, national sales manager for InfoSeal, Roanoke, Va., assured that many pressure seal systems are user-friendly, and don't require too much work. "Complications are few and rare-all can be avoided by testing and USPS approval of the mail piece in advance," he said. "The learning curve is quick and easy. Customers who have inserting equipment adjust to and
appreciate the pressure seal world very quickly."
So how can distributors guarantee that clients get the right equipment for their needs? Hopkins pointed to the power of education. "Educate the prospect regarding the options and flexibility of pressure seal to include fold configurations, different sizes available, possible postal savings, etc.," he said.
Waganheim cautioned distributors against taking shortcuts. Technical features such as feed table size and motor speed are all things that need to be considered. "Many distributors and resellers are focused on the annuity of forms sales, and simply sell their clients the least expensive pressure seal machine they can," he said. "Doing so often causes operational issues, as a client who processes 10,000 forms a month-but only processes them a few times per month-will need a higher capacity machine than a customer running 400 forms every working day of the month."
Willman raised some concerns of his own. Before resorting to the cheapest option on the market, distributors should consider the client's expected growth rate. "You don't want to sell [customers] a machine if they might quickly outgrow that model," he said. "You don't want to sell them a machine that would be maxed out based on their current volume when they anticipate growth of 20 percent within the next 12-to-18 months."
Brendan Menapace is the content director for Promo+Promo Marketing.