Mailing/Fulfillment - Hardware

WASHINGTON, DC—November 21, 2007—Yesterday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), in a 5-1 vote, determined that Coated Free Sheet (CFS) paper imports from China, Indonesia, and Korea were not injuring nor threatening to injure the domestic industry. As a result, the anti-dumping and countervailing duties previously announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will not be imposed on CFS from these countries, and any deposits that have been collected will be refunded. The ITC vote terminates the year-long investigation. The investigation was initiated in 2006 by one U.S.-based paper supplier, NewPage Corporation; the industry as a whole did not petition for this investigation. The

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

PHYSICIANS MUTUAL relies on direct mail as one method of reaching prospects for its individual health and life insurance products. The ability to connect with potential customers has enabled the Omaha-based insurer to write more than one million policies. In 2006, Physicians Mutual’s 73 full-time print and mail shop employees were responsible for 71 million pieces of mail, including promotional and fulfillment mailings. About 60 percent of those pieces were printed on the Mail Processing Center’s Océ Pagestreams and Xerox color and black-and-white printers, which include a new Docu Color 8000. Though the operation

Printers that are offering mail processing and fulfillment services, or are considering it, should make plans to attend Graph Expo in Chicago, September 9-12 (www.gasc.org). A Mailing & Fulfillment Center will be in full operation, giving you a chance to see all the latest equipment and software in action. In addition, a special theater will be set up offering numerous educational sessions. Here’s the schedule: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 11:00 am – 12:00 noon What You Need to Know About Cameras and Matching Systems 12:30 – 1:30 pm What Have They Done to My Barcode? 2:00 – 3:00 pm Become a Direct Mail Champion –

Louisiana State University Manager of Mailing Services: Paul Ramirez Prior to the increase, we did a rate comparison to let our customers know what kind of an increase to expect on the more commonly used mail categories (First Class, Priority, Media and Library Mail). Knowing that rates on flats and parcels would be increased dramatically, we decided to focus on customer education first. About three weeks out, we sent a memo out to all customers to make sure that they knew the rate increase was coming as well as to inform them that the flat and parcel categories were going to be hit really hard. We

As the postal rate increases take effect this month, Leo Raymond, director of postal affairs for the Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association, provides some insights for in-plants in the next issue of IPG. The increases, he notes, are a sign that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has finally acknowledged that different mail shapes have different processing costs, enable different levels of processing efficiency and so deserve to be charged different postage rates. Three overarching themes pervade the rate case: • Shape matters • Address and barcode quality matter • The best prices are offered to the most efficient mail Whether or not in-plants handle mail processing, they

FOR THOSE of us who work in the postal world every day, a rate case is an interesting but not overwhelming event. Most of us generally understand where it comes from, how it’s litigated and what it all means in the end. But for many professionals—such as printers—who may be less directly involved in the production of mail, the arcana of postal matters gets even murkier when there’s a rate case. So, as the rate increase takes effect this month, it might be useful to step back, consider what it’s all about and draw some general conclusions. First, don’t get confused by the process.

IN-PLANTS WITH mail imaging capabilities do more than address their customers’ mail; they offer their clients added convenience and improved service, which ultimately leads to satisfied customers. “The main advantage is that one of our departments can come to us, hand the project to us and they are done. We address it, tab it, fold it and mail it. We take care of it all,” says Dwayne Weaver, manager of campus mail at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Ga. Today’s mail imaging equipment can go way beyond simple addressing. Some in-plants are equipped to print colors, graphics and a variety of fonts

THE GREATEST opportunity to increase your print revenues is sitting smack in the middle of the U.S. Postal Service’s postage rate increase next month. The USPS is proposing that we change the way we calculate the postage on First Class mail. Currently, postage rates are based on the weight of the piece: one ounce, two ounces, etc. But in May the First Class rates are proposed to be calculated using a combination of weight and shape. This is not a new concept coming from the USPS. In fact, weight/shape-based rate calculations have been in place for Standard mail since 1992. Essentially, the USPS

Request Reconsideration for Some Mail Classes; Approve Shape-Based Pricing Board of Governors Set May 14 for New Prices WASHINGTON, DC—03/19/07—The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) today approved an increase in the price of a First-Class stamp to 41 cents, authorized the issuance of the Forever Stamp, approved shape-based pricing, and set May 14 as the date for implementation of these changes. (See chart below.) However, they delayed implementation of new prices for periodicals and requested reconsideration for some mail classes. USPS proposed new rates on May 3, 2006, and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its recommendation on Feb. 26, 2007. The Governors spent considerable