Inline envelope converters
provide economy of scale,
versatility, and efficiency
to high volume mail
service providers.
The Quest for Letter
Perfect Mailing Systems
Inline envelope conversion is the latest technology to shake up the
mailroom. By Jeffrey Steele
A
s communication grows ever faster and
more personalized, and mailers look to
keep up with the Internet's ability to transmit information, inline envelope converters
offer exciting potential. They can speed the
entire mailing process, reduce inventory
and other expenses, and add greater customization to
mailings. But they are not for everybody.
Before considering the major expense
of an inline envelope converter, wouldbe buyers must consider factors ranging
from mail volume and software requirements to operators' learning curves,
among many other considerations.
"This is a very specific niche within the
market," says Andrew Schipke, vice president of sales and marketing with W+D
North America. "That's particularly true
because of the volumes required when
you're talking about inline envelope
converting that allows you to create an
envelope and the material within it in
12
QUICK PRINTING / July 2013
one pass.
"You're printing the envelope,
addressing the envelope, personalizing
it, inserting personalized or static content into the envelope, and putting it
into the mail system in one pass. You
need something like five million packages a month for you to be in the type
of mailing volume justifying this expenditure."
But the volume alone doesn't make
the purchase of this equipment the right
move. Companies that do choose this
path, says Schipke, "are basically dictat-
The Kern PageMailer offers
a considerably smaller footprint than other systems .
ing" that they will be
using inkjet as their
primary envelope printing process. That
requires customers to embrace inkjet
from the standpoint of quality and color,
and that they accept "this concept of an
inline system," he says.
These days, many envelopes, particularly those to be used in direct mail, are
w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m