Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 - (Page 22)

Management Mail digital By Edmond Francis Implementing Understand the issues involved to ensure success R ecent advances in scanning/opening technology and software with the intelligence to identify recipients and automatically route mail images to the appropriate party make digital mail a cost-eﬀective option for most organizations. If you are considering implementing a digital mail system, however, an understanding of the issues involved is essential for success. What are these issues, and how should they be handled?  What locations, departments or functions cannot or should not have their mail scanned? Some organizations may want to exclude certain sensitive areas such as human resources.  Who should do the scanning? Existing mail center personnel can do the scanning. It can also be cost-eﬀective to have it done by a scanning service bureau that already has the equipment, personnel and procedures in place.  Where should mail be scanned and by whom? Many organizations elect to have their mail scanned oﬀ premises to reduce the threat of biohazards.  Should third-class mail be scanned? Most organizations that implement digital mail do not scan or deliver third-class mail.  How is personal mail to be handled? Mail address to an organization is legally con-     sidered to be company mail, just as email is considered company mail. Individuals who do not want their truly personal mail scanned should not have it sent to their place of business. Should accountable mail be scanned? Accountable mail is usually delivered unopened since it often contains sensitive information. By what time of day must all mail be scanned and the images delivered? In the digital world, mail is “delivered” as soon as it is scanned, as it is immediately accessible electronically. If scanning capacity is matched to inbound mail volume, people can have their mail shortly after it arrives in the mail center. Should mail be scanned in color and at what resolution? Unless there is a compelling business reason to scan in color, gray scale should be used because color images create extremely large ﬁles. Mail should be scanned at 300 dpi in order for the OCR engine to convert images to text. How long should physical mail be retained? As a general rule, it is advisable to keep physical mail at the scanning center for a week in case a letter has to be re-scanned or the original document is requested. After that, mail should be handled in accordance with your organization’s document retention policies. 22 JULY-AUGUST 2008 | WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM http://www.mailingsystemstechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer The Economics of Inkjet Addressing Virtual Mailstream Management Guarding Your Internal Documents Top It Off With Training Implementing Digital Mail Saving You Money Kate’s Slate Products & Services Advertiser Index Sho Time Who’s Who Company Profiles BCC Software BÖWE BELL + HOWELL Collins Ink Corporation Datatech SmartSoft Endicia Hasler, Inc. Kern, Inc. Kirk-Rudy Mail Quip, Inc. MCS, Inc. Melissa Data MidSouth Technologies, a NPI Company Neopost NPI Parascript Pitney Bowes Inc. Rena Systems Satori Software, Inc.

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

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