Practice Statement Print

On each page (on the RECTO side) at the bottom right, EasyPost adds a steering code to the document. The steering code ensures that the correct documents are merged into the envelope. This is a crucial element to ensure correct processing. 

Control code position: 

• 8mm from the right side of the page 
• 17mm from the bottom of the page 
• The Control code measures 8mm by 8mm

4.6 Production line capacity

EasyPost has two print and envelope filling production lines: 

• Off-line RISO - Fusion Lite - Kelenn 
• In-line: RISO - Minibridge - Kelenn 

The Off-line setup includes the following:

• Printer from RISO to print the documents
• Envelope-filling machine Fusion Lite. Acts as a closed-loop  machine to keep letters confidential. 
• EPOD OEM Kelenn PN 300 printer for printing envelopes (for personalized envelopes).

The Fusion Lite inserter concerns an all-round machine and represents the pinnacle among envelope machines. This envelope inserter processes transactional mail with the utmost precision and stability. This envelope inserting machine stands out for its high speed and extraordinary capacity to process both large and small jobs. The Fusion Lite is the ideal envelope inserting solution and is perfect for anyone looking for first-class technology and flexibility. 

A Kelenn printer was added to the RISO - Fusion Lite printing and envelope-filling setup. The Kelenn is a color inkjet printer. It can print addressing, logos, advertisements or commercials and bears the name 'OEM Kelenn PN300'. 

Formats: US, C4 up to 10mm thickness. 

In-line setup includes:

• Printer from RISO to print the documents.
• Closed bridge to the inserter (insertion machine from Böwe). The bridge is closed to keep the letters (and their contents) confidential. 
• Kelenn PN300 printer for printing envelopes (for personalized envelopes).

The Kelenn PN 300 printer was added to the setup to create a 'white paper factory'. 

4.7 Printer capacity & franking machines capacity

Printers: Documents are printed at a theoretical speed of 160 pages per minute (= 9,600 pages per hour) per machine, in both color and black and white. The paper can weigh between 46 and 210 g/m2. EasyPost's machinery has three printers. However, EasyPost always uses 75 g/m2 paper.

Paper type: Discovery 75 g/m2 210x297 mm LG fastpack FSC Mix 70%

EasyPost owns a new envelope-filling machine (Fusion Lite) combined with an EPOD. This machine has a processing capacity of 20,000 envelopes per hour (envelope type: C4 and US).  

As EasyPost has three RISO printers and two envelope-fillers which run 24/24 hours, a theoretical printing capacity of 1,382,400 pages per day is obtained, with the envelope-fillers achieving a theoretical capacity of 480,000 envelopes per day. 

Franking machines:

• Blue Crest Vantage: 840.000 letters/day/machine. 
• Blue Crest Varisort: 144.000 letters/day/machine. 

Thanks to the above machinery, where EasyPost uses sophisticated BlueCrest machines, large volumes of mail are processed efficiently, correctly and safely within the predefined deadlines.

4.8 Print

EasyPost opted for a 'white paper factory' set-up. This addition is equipped with an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder).

The machine requires no human intervention. This avoids margin of error and ensures document integrity.

When a print job is sent to the printer, the documents are printed by the RISO printer. Before the printing process starts, the documents are enriched with a 2D QR code (steering code) on each page and a Mail-ID barcode / barcode registered mail (see 4.5 Enrichment barcodes). 

2D QR code: Contains detailed and necessary information, which the setup needs to ensure the integrity of the generated shipment.

Mail-ID barcode / barcode registered mail: For each letter, a Mail-ID barcode is placed above the address in the display window. For this, the user must take into account where the address will appear in the letter. The available address frame (zone in which the address should always fall) can be consulted by the user when configuring the workflow. Thanks to this barcode, the distributor, Bpost, does not have to read and sort the addresses itself, but simply scans the barcode. Barcodes for registered mail are also applied to the document above the address.

After printing of the documents by the RISO printer, the documents are transferred to the envelope-filling device via the bridge. At the various stages of printing and before merging and folding, the control code is read out. At each anomaly, the machine stops and the three dispatches before and after, are sent out to reject boxes. Automatically, these failed dispatches are resent to the machine in a reprint-flow. Damaged or incorrectly printed documents that were sent out to the reject boxes are immediately destroyed in a shredder. EasyPost uses the Fellowes Microshred 225Mi with a P3 protection level for this purpose. The technical specifications of the paper shredder are available.

The shredded paper is kept in a separate container. This container is collected daily by a waste processing company. The waste disposal company guarantees that transport to the waste disposal company is safe and takes all appropriate (security) measures to this end.

The user can, through the task configuration (see earlier), add one or more attachments when creating the workflow. Once added, the attachments are automatically added to every shipment sent as part of that workflow.

Once the documents have been processed in the envelopes, these filled envelopes proceed to the Kelenn PN 300 / EPOD printer. The envelopes leave the envelope-filling machine 'face up', allowing the envelopes to be personalized, for example by printing a logo on the envelope.

EasyPost opted to provide a setup in duplicate (both in-line and off-line setup) to ensure a fully continuous system. In addition, EasyPost works with an external printing partner, should a general breakdown occur. This is to avoid jeopardizing production and to guarantee continuity.

Printing: The prints are printed using FORCEJET technology. 

Designed specifically for professional printers, this technology is based on a high-quality inkjet technology. It is unique on the market and is the only one that allows very high-speed color printing. 

Consistent print results and "business color" reproduction guarantee high-quality documents. 

The inks are oil-based and are resistant to discoloration and water. Thanks to FORCEJET technology, they can penetrate deep into the paper's fibers, ensuring the durability of printed matter. 

Adding a 5th color (grey tone) on top of the CMYK inks ensures faithful color production, subtle transitions and rich colors.

4.9 Envelope

Machine processing: Once the documents are printed, they are automatically forwarded via the bridge to the envelope filler, which places the documents in envelopes. To prevent the documents from being viewed at that time, the bridge is closed with a flap to ensure the confidentiality of the contents.  

The barcode contains the logoID associated with the shipment. The logoID is placed on the machine when the workflow is validated. When the barcode is read by the machine, it can be linked to the correct logoID. The logoID is the customer's logo placed on the envelope.

The machine is equipped with a Kelenn camera that reads the steering code. Based on the information in the code, the machine can know how many documents to put in the envelope. 

The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) records the time and status when an envelope has left the printer and the envelope filler.  

White envelopes with windows are used, as envelopes without windows are often considered advertising print. Window envelopes make the link to transactional mail faster. The following envelopes are available:

• US envelope window right (Z-fold)
• US envelope window left (Z-fold)
• C4 envelope window right (no fold)

Type envelopes:

• Envelopes offset white 80g/m2 114x229 mm window right gummed flap for autofill blue standard - 100% PEFC Certified 
• Envelopes offset white 80g/m2 114x229 mm window left gummed flap for autofill blue standard - 100% PEFC Certified 
• Envelopes iMail white 90g/m2 229x324mm window right gummed flap for auto-fill inner blue standard - 100% PEFC Certified 

Number of pages per envelope: The documents are folded and placed in a blank windowed envelope. If the document contains more than five pages, the documents are automatically sent in a C4 (large format) envelope, so there is no need to split the shipment. After all, when folding a document with six or more pages, there is a risk that due to the thickness of the folded document, the address will no longer appear in the reading window of the envelope. An envelope with more than five pages is aesthetically less attractive.

 Maximum number of pages per envelope type:

• US format : 5 pages
• C4 format : +60 pages

Personalizing envelopes: Working from a 'white paper factory' means that EasyPost starts from blank paper and blank envelopes. This ensures that the entire printing process can be done in-line, so no manual intervention is needed. This way, the customer does not have to invest in a stock of pre-printed envelopes. 

As a result, EasyPost offers additional flexibility towards envelope personalization. Many printers today work with double window envelopes in order to avoid a stock of pre-printed envelopes, limiting the customer's freedom, as this means that space can only be provided in the second window to place the logo. 

The documents are printed via the RISO printer and transported via the bridge to the envelope-filler device, where they are placed under envelopes. The white sealed, filled envelopes leave the bridge and the envelope-filling device. A second Kelenn camera, set up at the beginning of the Kelenn PN300 printer, reads the Mail-ID barcode through the window of the envelope and is processed in EasyPost's database. Based on this data, the machine is told which logo to print on the envelope (applicable only for personalized envelopes). All logos are forwarded to the printer before a job starts. A correctly printed envelope will be marked as complete by the ADF. If errors should occur, the envelope will be diverted to the reject bin and will be automatically reprinted.   

The Kelenn PN 300 printer was added to the setup to create a 'white paper factory'.

Putting a return address on the envelopes is part of the personalization of the envelope. This is required by the universal service provider. The return address is configurable in the workflow configuration.

Cover sheet: Consideration must be given to where the address should be placed in the letter. This is because the Mail-ID barcode will be printed above the address and will also appear in the reading window for further machine processing. If the recipient or addressee's address does not fall within the Address Window coordinates, the user has two options: 

• Either the user adjusts the layout of the supplied documents. 
• Either EasyPost uses a cover sheet. This cover sheet contains only the address and Mail-ID barcode, which are in the correct location so that they fit correctly in the envelope reading window.

EasyPost provides a handy/visual tool on the platform that allows the user to easily see if the address is in the right place to work without a cover sheet.

4.10 Franking

Apply Mail ID barcode (except for registered and international mail): For each letter, a Mail ID barcode is printed above the address in the reader window. This is done by taking into account where the address should be placed on the letter. Thanks to this barcode, Bpost no longer has to read and sort the addresses itself, but simply has to scan the barcode. EasyPost thus offers the lowest postage costs. Unlike EasyPost, most printers use their customers' Mail ID barcode. EasyPost works with its own Mail ID contract and can therefore bundle all its customers' mail to deliver a certain volume of Mail ID mail to Bpost. In return, EasyPost receives a discount on postage from Bpost and shares this with its customers. Any customer, large or small, can therefore enjoy this discount, as EasyPost bundles the mail volume of all its customers.

Franking: The envelopes are passed through the BlueCrest sorting machine. During this run, the barcodes on the shipments are linked to the address (including the postcode), the number of shipments is linked to billing and the shipments are franked. Shipments are franked with a PB number. A PB number stands for "Port Paid" and can be considered as EasyPost's contract number. All items are franked with the EasyPost PB number. The items are sorted according to the Bpost sorting plan, i.e. by postcode. Because the items are sorted according to the sorting plan, the mail is clearly pre-sorted for EasyPost's partner Bpost, which does not have to carry out any additional processing. In this way, Bpost immediately knows where the mail should go.

4.11 Quality control

Quality Application: Besides the portal that provides an initial signaling whether the document to be sent was processed correctly, there is an additional quality check. Via the quality application, EasyPost can indicate the shipments where it is noted that things may have gone wrong. Following error messages can be indicated: 

• Address error: In this case, the address is incorrect or incomplete, so it will not be able to be processed by Bpost. 
• Document error: When there is a structural problem with the PDF document, such as a missing font. 

Consequence of error message in case of: 

• Non-prior and Prior shipments: The shipment is immediately destroyed by the operator and given a 'rejected' status in the EasyPost Connect platform. 
• Registered mail: The shipment will still be sent even though it has one of the above error messages. 

SLA internal processing time: To guarantee that the delivered documents are processed in accordance with the agreed SLA, EasyPost uses a dashboard that shows the status of each document and/or whether the agreed service levels are respected. This dashboard is actively used by the production staff. Should a certain standard be compromised, the production employees are notified. 

If a certain service level does exceed , the Operations Manager is notified and a plan of action is discussed to ensure that this can be avoided in the future.