Stamford, CT, June 15, 2007-- Pitney Bowes today announced that its Multi-Line Optical Character Reader (MLOCR) letter sorter product line has received U.S. Postal Service MASS (Multi-Line Accuracy Support System) vendor certification for the upcoming Cycle L Requirements, scheduled for implementation on August 1, 2007.

Each year, MLOCR sorting equipment, along with mail sorting operations, must achieve MASS certification in order to continue to sort mail and achieve workshare postage discounts from the USPS. This year the equipment certification process was particularly challenging due to the new and more stringent requirements from the USPS designed to curtail Undeliverable As Address (UAA) mail.

The current MASS certification requires sorters to perform DPV (Delivery Point Validation) and LACSLink (Locatable Address Correction Service) processing which dramatically increases the processing requirements on mail sorting equipment. The sorter is designed to capture the image of the mailing address, perform a database lookup and validation and then print a barcode at processing speeds of up to 36,000 mail pieces per hour.

“This certification is the hallmark of quality for mailstream products,” said Patrick Brand, President of Pitney Bowes Document Factory Solutions.  “We are dedicated to engineering hardware and software products that continue to increase profits and ROI for our clients.”

The DPV database contains every known address in the United States. The former USPS database only contained address ranges such as 1 to 99 MAIN STREET. If an address fell within that given range, such as 53 MAIN STREET, then it would process as a valid address. However, under the latest MASS Cycle L with DPV processing, each unique address is listed in the database. So if 53 Main Street is an empty lot rather than a valid mailing address, then DPV processing will reject the mail piece. The Pitney Bowes MLOCR letter sorters will separate these mail pieces with invalid addresses so the mailer can correct the address. This ensures delivery of important mail pieces and eliminates costs associated with UAA mail.  Pitney Bowes also provides address quality software solutions that can correct mail pieces that failed DPV processing.

Pitney Bowes has worked closely with the USPS for 87 years. Their engineers and software developers are charged with optimizing mailstream operations for clients by developing best-of-breed hardware and software solutions that consistently earn USPS certification.