TechNO Expo

Going Postal: Mailing machines keep pace with changes in postal procedures.

Steve Miller
Branch manager, Neopost Minneapolis, St. Paul

Businesses can save a great deal of money through mail flow analysis and optimization. This is an especially important and relevant subject in light of the recent United States Postal Service postal transformation strategy. Shape-based pricing took effect in May 2007, and mail rates are now calculated based on class, size, shape, and thickness of the mail, in addition to weight.

Businesses can see an increase in postage expenses as high as 106 percent if they have not reshaped or reformatted their mail in accordance with the shape-based pricing structure. Inaccurate postage is becoming more common due to the changes. And as the U.S. Post Office becomes more stringent about address quality, more mail is becoming undeliverable as addressed.

The IJ-70 mailing system is de-signed for mid-volume mailing and processes up to 150 letters per minute, calibrating length, width, and thickness up to 5/8 inch to determine proper postage. When combined with the Neopost Dynamic Scale, the IJ-DS eliminates manual sorting and weighing of mail. This in-motion weighing system lets customers weigh large mixed batches of mail and calculate postage at speeds up to 120 letters per minute. The system can be paired with Neopost’s Mail Accounting Software to help companies track postage expenses.

Many companies are concerned about security and the ability to track mail. Neopost offers technology that matches a document to its recipient, protects against double insertions with sensors that measure document thickness, and automates the document preparation process.