Mailing Equipment

I had mentioned in an earlier blog that I would write something about symbologies used by the print industry for document identification / verification. Well, here it is!

When you are reviewing a camera system to purchase, the reading capabilities should be at the top of your list of considerations.

Follow up:

The print industry has been using unique identifiers or symbologies for personalized mailing for a long time. Until recently, this technology was mainly used by statement processors. Utility companies for instance use unique identifiers to accumulate and insert your utility bills. They need to make sure that John Doe receives John Doe's statement, and that he received the entire statement.

There are many different types of identifiers that are used in the print industry. The most popular are: OMR (Optical Mark Recognition), Linear Barcodes, 2D Barcodes, or simple account numbers, which are read and decoded using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology.

OMR: Optical Mark Recognition has been popular in the mailing industry for a long time. The devices used to read and translate OMR are inexpensive and accurate. Basically, you have a sensor which looks for color contrast. Marks -normally solid black lines- are placed on a specific spot on the document. The system is programmed to read the marks to determine if it's the first page of a set, how many pages there should be, the last page, etc... This works great for statement processing, like what utility companies send out. Again, it's cheap and accurate. This isn't ideal for marketing however. The marks on the side of the document are intrusive and this doesn't work well with read-print systems.

Linear Barcodes: Also known as 1-dimensional barcodes, linear barcodes are used in many of the same applications as OMR, but also in many others. Most 1-dimensional barcodes represent 1 - 15 characters. Some statement processing companies use both OMR and barcodes. If you look at statements you receive, you'll notice that many have the black lines on the side of the page, as well as a -or even- several barcodes. OMR will normally be used to accumulate the statement packages, and then barcodes might be used for output verification, internal tracking, or even return tracking (meaning that sometimes the barcodes you see on your bills aren't actually used until after you send them back). There are lots of different types of Linear Barcodes: Code 39, Code 128, UPC, etc...

2D Barcodes: Also known as 2-dimensional barcodes, 2D barcodes could be used in just about every application that 1D codes can be used; this doesn't mean 2D is always better though. 2D barcodes can be advantageous in several ways. Some 2D barcodes, mainly the Data Matrix Code, are popular amongst marketers because you can, as is true with all 2D barcodes, fit a lot of data in a small amount of space (currently, Data Matrix is best for these type of applications). Obviously, this is a benefit because you won't have those large linear barcodes interfering with your message. Linear barcodes however, do and will probably always have a place in the print industry. The hardware and software to read and translate linear barcodes is less costly than with 2D (although that gap is closing). And for every bit of height you add to linear barcodes, you're adding redundancy. The scanners only need a slice horizontally across the barcode to get a good reading.

OCR: Even with the smaller and more inconspicuous Data Matrix code, marketers are always striving to make their message more presentable. This is why for personalized marketing, it is becoming essential to have OCR reading capabilities to offer to your customers. With OCR, rather than having an ugly, intrusive barcode you simply have an account number, or even with our Lake Image Camera System, a name! Now to don my salesman's hat: most camera systems available for the mailing / printing industry have LIMITED OCR reading capabilities. Lake Image however, has very unlimited OCR reading capabilities. With most systems on the market, you are limited to reading just a few specific fonts and sizes. With Lake Image however, you're able to read any font with separated characters, and at just about any size - down to even 6pt font. With most systems, you're also limited to just numeric codes. Again, with Lake Image, you can match using alphanumeric codes or even the recipient's name; completely eliminating the need for barcodes, marks, account numbers.

Feel free to comment or call with questions about reading symbologies or anything related to the mailing industry: 800-398-5786. You can also check out our website to see some of the equipment and services that we have to offer: www.addresserbasedsystems.com