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Digital Printing and the Postal Stream

October 28, 2008 Do the rigors of the postal stream cause you to think twice about using digital printing? Digital inks and toners are not as “tough” as offset ink, and some marketers have hesitated to use digital output for fear that the damage caused in the postal stream will be greater than for offset print.

Todd Butler of Butler Mailing Services has spent a lot of time in postal facilities running its packaging designs through the USPS mail processing equipment and recently offered some suggestions for improving the ability of digital output to withstand the rigors of the postal stream.

• Using a coating.  Digital output can go through postprocessing, and many digital presses now offer inline coating options.
• Increase the basis weight on direct mail. Minimum should be 12-point stock instead of the standard 10-point. This will help to prevent curling.
• Increase the basis weight on the outer cover of booklets to 70-pound. Covers that are 50-pound or less get shredded by the feeder mechanisms.

For details on the USPS postal processing equipment and more insight into how and why these recommendations are critical, read the entire post.

Have questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at info@digitalprintingreports.com. For more information on primers for marketers and small businesses on digital, 1:1, Web-to-print, and personalized URL applications, visit Digital Printing Reports. You can also keep up with all of my posts on EBS, The Inspired Economist ("Greening Print Marketing"), and other blog sites by following me on Twitter.

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on October 28, 2008 | Comments (0)