Mailer Solutions

Follow these shipping tips to streamline your orders and increase efficiency, courtesy of Donna Barrett, public relations manager, United Parcel Service, Atlanta. • Make smart transportation choices. If you do not know the dimensions of your final package(s), the total shipping charges can show up on your bill after the customer has already received the order—leaving you responsible for additional charges. When it comes to shipping costs for high-end products, consider all available options to ensure customers receive constant quality service. And, to leverage your total transportation buying power, use a multi-modal transportation provider. • Maintain visibility. The ability to see where an order is in

On May 14, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will enact shape-based postage. For the first time, postage rates will reflect the fact that certain types of mail require higher processing costs. First-class mail will see an average increase of 7 percent across the board, but postage rates for certain classes of mail—flats and parcels—will rise as much as 40 percent to 60 percent. However, the new system includes pricing incentives to encourage mailing efficiency, giving businesses an unprecedented opportunity to reduce the impact of the new pricing system. Bob Makofsky, general manager for Conformer Expansion Products, Great Neck, N.Y., pointed out that

New York City-based Intellareturn is a technology company focused exclusively on NFC (Near Field Communication) technology and RFID automation. The company has researched and developed technologically advanced postal envelope and Intelligent Mail applications with patented solutions combining Internet with mail applications across package delivery services, airline baggage and reverse logistics. Intellareturn—innovator of the world’s leading microchip-based postal automation solution, Smart Stamp—introduced its Append Envelope Technology at the Envelope Manufacturers Association’s (EMA) spring meeting, held April 18 to 21 at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, Tuscon, Ariz. The Append microchip-based “Smart Stamp” system links supplemental text, audio and video files to

Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Pitney Bowes has added production intelligence to the mail stream with its new Sure-Feed AT3 Product Attaching System, bringing industry-leading processing speeds, unique product attaching opportunities and high-quality documents to service providers and transactional mailers. It features a synchronized servo card feeder for precise product placement, and an operator-friendly touch screen for on-the-fly adjustments. The AT3 boasts changeover times of less than 15 minutes for new applications, and a 6' collection conveyor for easy unloading. Typical applications include attaching phone cards, real estate cards, business cards, credit cards, insurance cards, gift cards, magnets and certified mail. The product is especially useful

For the first time ever, the USPS is implementing a shape-based mailing rate system. The current weight-based system fails to address the fact that certain types of mail simply cost more to process—usually because they require human handling. On May 14, postage rates for certain classes of mail, such as flats and parcels, will rise as much as 40 percent to 60 percent. However, the new system does offer significant price incentives that reward efficient, automation-friendly packaging. Bob Makofsky, president of Conformer Expansion Products, Great Neck, N.Y., offers the following tips to take advantage of the incentives while tackling shape-based postal rates: 1. Educate

On May 14, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will enact its most sweeping change since the 1996 Domestic Mail Classification Schedule and Rate Schedule Change. A new weight- and shape-based postal rate system designed to reward mailers whose items are compatible with the USPS’s automated equipment is going into effect. Items requiring manual processing because of size or shape are going to cost more—a lot more. Mary Ann Bennett, president and CEO of The Bennett Group, Rochester, N.Y., and a leading expert in mail and postal regulations, explained the USPS is designed to move mail, not store and warehouse it. Mail must move

With only four months to go until the most significant overhaul of postage rates in years, four out of five executives are unprepared for proposed price and rule changes destined to have a large impact on their business operations and marketing strategies. A recent survey of more than 500 business executives nationwide indicated that 79 percent of respondents are unaware of the forecast changes in postal rates and regulations. The widespread lack of knowledge about an important business event cuts across all organizational sizes and all regions of the country. The proposed overall 8.4 percent rate increase would bring the full cost of first

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) 4-state customer bar code greatly increases the amount of information carried within a bar code, yet uses less space, providing greater data capacity. The new bar code integrates the delivery information of the zip-plus-four and delivery point with a detailed tracking number in a single, height-modulated bar code featuring four distinct vertical bar types—full, tracker, ascender and descender. The 31-digit 4-state customer bar code (65 bars) is slightly longer than the 11-digit POSTNET (62 bars), and offers mailers certain flexibility in choosing the height and width of the bar code. Effective Sept. 2006, mailers

BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, Wheeling, Ill., introduces the Printegrity inkjet solution, a cost-efficient system that provides mailpiece personalization options to mailers. Featured during Graph Expo 2006 in Chicago, the Printegrity inkjet solution offers flexibility for targeted and one-to-one marketing with the use of color printing on envelopes and a range of other media types. The inkjet solution features the capability to print a range of items, including graphics, barcodes, addresses, variable messages and time and date stamps. Printegrity can print dynamic and fixed graphics, as well as logos and text to draw attention to mailpieces by highlighting promotions, specials, discounts and more using a

Take steps to ensure your bar code products make the grade By Stacey Wenzel Bar code products continue to be a profitable niche. As a result, customers are becoming more demanding of the quality of the bar codes. According to Don Pistilli, OEM and national accounts sales manager for BST PROMARK, located in Elmhurst, Ill., research shows that this approach is a more effective means of evaluating the true quality of bar codes than hand, pen or laser scanners. "Verifying the readability and quality of a bar code as it is printed is crucial," said Pistilli. He explained that one of the many standards for bar codes