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U.S. Postal Service Seeks Customized Postage Vendors

Request for Proposals Reflects USPS
Commitment to Meeting Customers' Needs

WASHINGTON, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Personal photos on postage could return as early as next month as the Postal Service moves into the second phase of an extensive test of this popular product that debuted last year. Customized postage allows a customer to personalize postage with pictures or images using PC Postage(R) technology.

The United States Postal Service today began looking for qualified PC Postage(R) vendors able to produce customized postage to be used on First-Class Mail, Priority Mail and Express Mail for personal use only. "We're combining the trust people have in the Postal Service with the technology and efficiencies of the private sector to bring customized postage to our customers," said Nicholas Barranca, Vice President of Product Development. "Customized postage allows us to make mail more valuable and more meaningful to people."

Customized postage will have two parts: a customer-supplied image and a state-of-the-art secure bar code. All customized postage is compatible with the Postal Service's automated mailing processing systems.

Like postage meters, PC Postage(R) facilitates customer access to postage payment and use of the mail. PC Postage(R) is not a stamp and the use of customized postage will not affect the Postal Service's production or commitment to postage stamps, Barranca said.

Customized postage will be limited to personal use only during the one-year test. This is the second step in the Postal Service's testing of the product to determine its appeal to customers and the value it may add to postal services. To become an authorized PC Postage(R) provider, applicants must be able to prove the ability to generate high quality, computer-based postage or metered postage and demonstrate they routinely use secure encryption technology to protect postal revenue.

"We want to make sure that anyone we authorize has the ability to produce postage in an efficient way," Barranca said. "While we continue to strive to meet the needs of our customers, we want to make sure that any product also meets our standards for quality and security."

USPS will require vendors to produce a product that meets current postal regulations and conclusively prove that all images produced and services provided abide by all federal laws, including copyright laws. Authorized vendors will determine pricing and are expected to price their products based on the value provided to the consumer. The Postal Service's role is to authorize and monitor qualified providers.

The formal request for proposals from qualified vendors will be advertised in the Federal Register on April 27. The year-long test is expected to last through May 2006. Vendors may begin offering PC Postage(R) within 20 days of being authorized by the United States Postal Service.

Since 1775, the Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 142 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services.

With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume -- some 206 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year -- and serves seven million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
Web Site: http://www.usps.com

SECAP ANNOUNCES A NEW SI3400 FOLDER INSERTER

• High Production Results in a Desktop Footprint
• Advanced Technology To Automate Outgoing Mail
• Makes Routine Office Tasks More Efficient

West Conshohocken, PA (January 4, 2005) – Secap announces the introduction of the Secap® SI3400 folder inserter. This powerfully advanced folder inserter automates the routine task of folding, inserting and sealing outgoing mail. The implementation of this solution in an office environment can drastically improve office productivity by enabling a business with a solution designed to get mail out faster and easier than ever before. This multi function product helps businesses beat deadlines, speed cash flow and improve response time.

If your business has personnel hand-stuffing envelopes, the Secap® SI 3400 offers a much better alternative. This Secap folder inserter speeds up mail processing and distribution and helps make mail preparation more accurate and professional while freeing up valuable time and resources that can work to grow business. The Secap® SI 3400 also helps ensure security of your documents and data. By preparing mailings in-house you can rest assured that sensitive information is safer and more secure. When employees are multi-tasking, hand-stuffing envelopes, answering phones or email and doing a wide variety of other activities, accidents can happen. The built-in electronic double document detection technology lets you accurately mail only what you intend.

The Secap® SI 3400 was designed for businesses with demanding mailing requirements. It boasts a compact footprint (38”L x 20”W x 24”H) and can be easily located on a desktop or a table top. It has an easy to use interface and can be programmed for up to 20 different jobs, enabling users with the ability to effortlessly switch applications. An office friendly design equips this unit with the ability to also process daily mail. A simple push button control panel and an on screen graphical LCD menu make operating this system intuitive and easy for anyone. The SI 3400 can process mail at speeds up to 3,500 mail pieces per hour, ideal for medium to large mailings. It is designed to handle #10 standard or window envelopes, and comes equipped with two fold trays and one insert only tray, and up to five sheets can be pulled from a single tray allowing this machine to tackle even the most challenging mailings. The SI 3400 can optionally equipped with Optical Mark Reader (OMR) technology, enabling intelligence to be incorporated into mailings so that only the right documents get mailed to the right contact, satisfying personalized application needs.

Janis Klugler, Credit Manager at Secap, offers the following opinion: “The Secap® SI3400 is a great solution for tackling some of our most challenging applications. We have multiple page invoices and, with the OMR technology, our customers only get the pages they need. Instead of spending hours manually preparing the mailing, we use the SI3400 to get our mail out with a push of a button. The product prepares the mail automatically and quickly and best of all I’m free do other tasks.”

Secap is located in suburban Philadelphia and offers mail stream management and solutions to organizations of all sizes. Secap offers a wide array of products and services to assist organizations in managing and controlling the costs in their organization’s mail stream. In addition to the new line of folder inserters, Secap offers a wide selection of desktop inkjet addressing printers, production and integrated addressing systems, mailing software, folder/inserters, tab and label affixing machines and shipping software solutions that are available throughout North America. For more details, call Secap at 1.800.523.0320

Contact: Mary Rokosz, Marketing Coordinator

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