Mailers can now cost-effectively implement a valuable new route to consumers, enabling vast postage savings and enhanced customer communications

BOULDER, Colo. and LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Ricoh Company, Ltd. and Zumbox, the leader in digital postal mail services, today announced an alliance to empower mailers with a new, highly secure and cost-effective customer communication channel. Mailers can now opt to provide their customers mail via Zumbox, the world's first digital postal mail system. For mailers, this provides per-piece cost savings that can exceed 50 percent, a user-friendly, bi-directional means of communicating with their customers, shorter time-to-payment and the ability to increase overall sustainability of the mail operation. This unique offering leverages existing print-to-mail investments and is enabled by the InfoPrint Automated Document Factory (ADF) solution.

Zumbox is the world's first digital postal system. It allows consumers to receive their important postal mail,such as bills, statements, insurance documents, warrantees, government mail, stock and brokerage disclosures and annual reports, in one central online location, stored securely forever, for free. Digital postal mail is an exact copy of the mail and documents people receive today on paper, but is instead delivered digitally and securely online. Mail received via Zumbox can be augmented with bill-pay optionsas well as two-way communication options, including live-links to customer service or new products. This new route to homes is one that will not only ultimately save paper, printing and postage costs for organizations, but also enable them to build deeper consumer relationships.

Ricoh is uniquely positioned to offer customers currently using its market-leading InfoPrint ADF solutions to enable the Zumbox service. The company provides these transactional print customers with Zumbox delivery, confirmation and reporting, and removal (culling) of Zumbox subscriber mail from the print datastream. The Ricoh solution can also coordinate mailer-specific messaging to be included with the digital postal mail delivered via Zumbox.

"Consumers are seeking a superior user experience when making the transition from paper to electronic communications," said Matt Swain, InfoTrends' leading analyst covering digital mailbox services. "We estimate that 15 percent of U.S. household bills and statements will be paperless this year, with growth slowed by consumer concerns around archiving, security, and ease of use. Once a critical mass of mailers is enrolled, we expect consumers to recognize that digital mailbox services provide a superior,trustworthy experience. This is an ideal time for Ricoh and Zumbox to announce a partnership."

"At our core, Zumbox and Ricoh share a particular fundamental mentality – listen to your customers," said John Payne, CEO of Zumbox. "We have both listened and implemented their thoughts into an extremely secure and effective solution to help mailers reduce their overall costs and capitalize on new revenue generating opportunities. Ricoh's presence in the transactional, financial and government space is wide-reaching, and together, we'll open the doors for more and more consumers to access their bills and statements via a convenient and secure digital mailbox."

At GRAPH EXPO 2011, in Ricoh's booth #2600, attendees can experience firsthand the power of Zumbox's easy-to-use and secure consumer user interface. Mailroom experts will be on hand to educate and inform those interested in a demo on the value this offering provides directly to printers and their customers.

"We have always been a solutions company that strives to meet and exceed the demands of our customers by offering unique, proven and cost-effective products, services and solutions," said Enrico Parodi, vice president of software and professional services, Ricoh Production Print Solutions (RPPS*)."Today's customers need vendor partners that can provide flexibility and a wide portfolio of integrated technology options to address these needs. Our digital mail work with Zumbox, the only company today providing such a solution, is a testament to our dedication to our customers."

To make an appointment at GRAPH EXPO 2011, please contact Tracey Sheehy at [email protected].