magazine
34
Mailing Survey
A winning combination
As part of a strategy to reduce
the amount of paper in its offices,
Lancashire County Council has
introduced two OPEX AS7200 scanning
platforms combined with Model 72
rapid extraction desks.
The combination of a Model 72 desk
and AS7200 scanner enables an operator
to open envelopes, extract contents
and scan everything in one step, on one
platform, with little or no prep.
The council is using the scanning
solutions to improve document
management in three of its departments:
social care records, the pension service
and Blue Badge team. According to
Katherine Holt, Head of the Document &
Record Management Service at Lancashire
County Council, OPEX’s technology has
already delivered significant benefits.
“This system ensures we can accurately
input documents, while also saving time.
We are able to monitor every aspect of
the processing and we’re very happy with
how it has performed for us. For example,
we monitored the scanning for one service
for two months and identified no scanning
errors. Like all councils, we’re looking at
ways to save money. As well as saving our
staff time, it’s also reduced the amount of
space needed to store files of paperwork,”
she said.
“It gives us electronic access to all our
records, which helps our teams have the
information they need in a timely and
efficient way.”
Continuous process
OPEX describes the OPEX AS7200 as
the world’s most efficient out-of-the-
envelope scanning platform. It enables an
operator to open, extract, capture, process,
print an audit trail and sort mail contents
without a separate preparation process.
Featuring a new imager and improved
feeder, the AS7200 can perform in-line
recognition of barcodes and recognition
systems. Optional VRS Technology adds
image optimisation features such as
content-based rotation and background
smoothing. Together, these new
features deliver excellent image quality,
recognition and cleanup at full speed, in
full colour and full resolution.
The AS7200 greatly reduces
preparation, paper handling, post-
processing and other labour-intensive
How OPEX is helping Lancashire County Council
digitise paper documents
tasks required in conventional scanning
processes, even when used to scan
irregular, folded or damaged media. As
documents are removed from envelopes
and scanned in one step, operators can
view each image to ensure it is properly
captured, reducing the need to re-scan
later.
Milling cutter
At Lancashire County Council, the AS7200
has been integrated with an OPEX Model
72 next generation Rapid Extraction
Desk (RED) featuring an all-new feeder;
auto-jog transport, which shifts envelope
contents away from both cut edges;
and milling cutter – the first time this
technology has been available on an
OPEX Rapid Extraction Desk.
Offered in addition to OPEX’s
traditional slicing technology, the milling
cutter is useful for opening thick and
over-stuffed envelopes, as its smaller cut
depth significantly reduces the risk of
damage to contents. This makes it perfect
for the Model 72 RED, which is designed
to handle all mail, including thicker items
that were previously difficult to process
on an extraction desk, such as multi-page
forms and financial documents.
With its new feeder, the Model 72
can handle non-sorted envelopes up to
0.375in thick, automatically adapting to
the envelope thickness without operator
intervention. In addition, the entire
envelope path has been optimised to
accommodate irregular envelopes.
Other new features of the Model 72
RED include enhanced ergonomics, an
optimised mail tray and 20% more desk
space.
01204 388838 •
Low awareness
Survey respondents show poor awareness
of the benefits of mailing technology: just
half think mailing technology can help
them cut postal costs and even fewer
(42%) believe it can help reduce their
carbon footprint.
This might make it harder for
businesses to justify the cost of
investment in new technology and could
explain why 50% cite lack of budget as the
main factor stopping them from investing
in mailing technology.
The second most important factor is
that digitisation of communications is the
main focus. This suggests that too many
businesses still view digital and
postal communications as separate
rather than linked activities. Just
12.5% say they have used printed
QR codes that open up a linked
web page when scanned with a
smartphone or tablet.
Manual processes
Business Info
readers continue to waste
time on inefficient manual processes.
Almost half (44%) of respondents fold
items to reduce the cost of postage, yet
none uses a folder-inserter to do this
automatically.
This figure is surprising considering
that 80% of respondents produce some or
all of their marketing mailings in-house.
Having a folder-inserter would remove the
need for staff to fold and stuff envelopes
by hand, saving time and improving the
presentation of documents.
It would also give organisations more
scope to personalise mailings. Half of
respondents already use variable data
techniques to personalise printed marketing
material. A folder-inserter would make it
easier for businesses to customise envelope
insertions as well, or include marketing
material with routine correspondence.
To read the findings in fulll, please visit
...continued
Neopost folder-
inserters save time
by automatically
folding documents
and inserting them
into envelopes.
