Mailing Systems Technology - September/October 2008 - (Page 43) PRODUCT APPLICATION BCC SOFTWARE Mail Verifier Plus Offers Total Address-Block Quality Control It’s true that the United States Postal Service has delayed full implementation of the Intelligent Mail Barcode, next-generation address-management technology that is already being used in some forward-thinking mailing operations, and that will eventually replace POSTNET and PLANET codes and more. But these delays don’t mean mailers should hold off on examining their approaches to address-block quality control, says Chris Lien, Executive Vice President of BCC Software. Quite the contrary, he says: the immediate benefits are as obvious as the barcode on your mailpiece. “With mandatory Intelligent Mail adoption coming before you know it,” he says, “everything mailers can do today to prepare for the inevitable will pay off handsomely for them in the long run.” IMB is not the only technology tool being developed to improve addresses and mailing, Lien observes. For example, March 23, 2009 has been set as the implementation date for necessary address block changes to support the USPS flats sequencing system, which will allow large mailpieces to be sequenced in delivery point order and thus streamline mail carriers’ route-preparation practices and improve overall delivery times. “FSS is another sign of the new emphasis being placed on total address quality,” Lien says. “It’s not just about the barcode. The USPS is refining everything about the address block, right down to the spacing between words. “All of these initiatives are predicated upon having an address block that’s readable by postal automation equipment. Without a reliable tool at your disposal to assess the quality and compliance, before the mailing is completed and submitted to a postal facility, you’re really taking a tremendous risk of time and money.” Increasingly, Lien says, mailers are turning to offline verification as an essential qualitycontrol workflow stage. “In-line verification certainly has it uses, but let’s face it: once an in-line QC device is examining your mailpieces, it’s really too late for some mailers – you’re already running the mailing. It can’t be used for testing in all circumstances. Using an offline solution, there’s still time to react and make the proactive changes that can make a big difference in turnaround times and ultimate ROI for that job.” BCC’s Mail Verifier Plus is an example of an offline solution that helps mailers assess barcode quality as well as other address block details, before the mailing job has been submitted to the Post Office, and even before the job has begun processing. Slightly larger than a shoebox and powered by standard household current, the Mail Verifier Plus houses a high-resolution digital camera that captures the image of a supplied mailpiece, and GUI software (easily installed on any Windows-equipped PC) that finds and reads postal barcodes within the image field, while also analyzing the print-versusmailpiece contrast ratios that must fall within specific ranges in order to pass a MERLIN inspection. (Envelope reflectance and physical barcode characteristics, the distance between the bars and their printed angles on the piece, for example, are also electronically inspected for compliance.) Data from each mailpiece scanned is preserved in individual reports which, along with the images themselves, may be saved to the host PC for future reference, or printed and deleted. “The MVP is a validation tool for the entire address block, not just the barcode,” Lien says. “It’s like having a Mailpiece Design Analyst on site at your disposal.” (In fact, the device is the commercial version of technology developed for USPS analysts by BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, BCC’s parent company.) Then, Lien adds, there’s the IMB, already offering value-added services to early adopters, and with mandatory implementation looming on the horizon. “The encoding technology that gives the Intelligent Mail Barcode its mailpiece-transforming power also makes it unreadable to the naked eye,” he says. “You’re not going to want IMBenhanced mailings to leave your shop without checking them out first. The Mail Verifier Plus can do that, and much more.” Contact Chris Lien at ChrisL@bccsoftware.com. For more information about the Mail Verifier Plus, visit www.bccsoftware.com/mvp. | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2008 WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM 43 http://www.bccsoftware.com/mvp http://www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com
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