Exstream Software, Inc. announced today that the État de Vaud, Canton of the Swiss Confederation, is successfully using its AFP Jazz! software to optimize the production and delivery of correspondence to 380,000 tax payers. The État de Vaud estimates annual savings of 100,000 CHF ($76,000 USD) using AFP Jazz! for print stream optimization, sorting, bundling and consolidation of advanced function production (AFP) files. The UID-DFIN, IT unit of the Canton of Vaud finance department, initially selected AFP Jazz! for its robust capability and performance in consolidating high-volume AFP print streams, its user-friendly graphic interface, and its ease of integration with existing systems. Each tax notice sent out by The État de Vaud comprises seven or eight pages based on three to five templates produced by two different systems. Using AFP Jazz!, the État de Vaud is able to merge print streams from the two systems, regroup the documents, and print the correspondence two-sided, reducing postal costs by two-thirds. Further, the État de Vaud reports increased productivity using the AFP Jazz! intuitive graphic user interface to execute the most complex operations. Previously, these operations required resources with an in-depth technical knowledge of AFP structures. “When you wish to work with the AFP format, AFP Jazz! is the solution of choice,” said Monique Losey, project manager of document production services at UID-DFIN État de Vaud. “AFP Jazz! has allowed us to solve our problem of high-volume print production while taking into consideration our specialties, specificities, and particularities.” In the future, the État de Vaud plans to reduce costs and improve productivity even further using Exstream's AFP Viewer software, which allows users to preview and make changes to AFP documents online before printing. Additionally, the État de Vaud will investigate the use of Exstream's AFP products for optimizing lower volume document workflows. “Pricing imposed on the État de Vaud by the Swiss postal service made the optimization of documents sent out to tax payers a priority,” says Jean-Jacques Joly, managing director of Exstream France & Southern Europe. “We are very happy that Exstream's AFP productivity solutions are allowing the État de Vaud to attain considerable postal savings while providing an even better service to its taxpayers.”