Durham, N.C. -- BÖWE BELL + HOWELL will have a major presence at this year's National Postal Forum, May 17 through May 20 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. In addition to displaying unique, industry-leading products and solutions in Booth No. 367, the company is hosting a Customer Symposium designed to inform participants of the latest innovations and cost-saving solutions.
 
The Symposium will present an opportunity for BBH customers to learn how to maximize postage discounts and ensure compliance with USPS regulations with particular focus on Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB), Move Update and the USPS Rate Case for 2009. Customers will be able to interact directly with BBH product managers and executives on these topics and more.
 
"We developed our IMB-ready solutions for mailers to not only meet USPS mandates, but also go far beyond it for maximum postal savings and improving quality," said Mike Swift, president of BBH's Postal Software and Sorting division. "Our focus at NPF will be to help our customers and visitors to the booth identify the best solutions for their individual operations."

"Given the current economic climate, our customers are looking for solutions that will produce genuine cost savings and efficiencies," says BÖWE BELL + HOWELL President John Lombard. "BÖWE BELL + HOWELL's innovation, industry expertise and customer service can point them toward previously unrealized opportunities."
 
Product and Service Lineup Announced
Visitors to Booth No. 367 will see a number of cutting-edge solutions that incorporate BBH's renowned modularity with new, increased flexibility.

Sorting Solutions

- Criterion APEXä Sorting System, Powered by NetSort
The Criterion APEX sorter is designed with the latest technology to increase productivity, process a wider variety of mail, and ensure greater flexibility for ever-changing needs. The Criterion APEX sorter runs smoothly at speeds up to 35 to 40 percent faster than previous models while providing the ability to read more mail than ever before. The APEX sorter can be configured as a multi-line optical character reader (MLOCR) or barcode reader, and is available in multiple models.

Designed to handle the full spectrum of mail, the APEX sorter efficiently processes mail in uniform batches or mixed with various types and sizes. The BBH Controlled Gap Feeder features constant gap and pitch control, constant pressure and pick-off speed to ensure the highest throughput, keeping the processing time of every job to a minimum.
 
Other options for the APEX sorter include the doubles detector (which helps to maintain integrity by detecting and rejecting doubles), a metal detector, height detector, indicia detector, thickness detector, the WayMarkâ in-line weighing module (future), linerless in-line high-speed labeler, and a significantly extended magazine.
 
- PTI–45ä Multi-Tier Sorter, Powered by NetSort
The PTI–45 has long been recognized for its quality, performance and ease of maintenance. With a focus on providing customers with cost-effective solutions, the sorter features more bins per square foot than competing models, enabling deeper sort on the same footprint and higher revenue potential. The newly developed Friction Feeder provides additional flexibility by handling most mail types the standard vacuum feeder cannot.
 
Optional upgrades include: NetSort sorting software, which meets full-service Intelligent Mail requirements and allows both PTI and BBH sorters to combine/share mailing information; using the existing one-tier bins to expand the sorter to two tiers; and the BBH Sorter Control, which allows the use of all the OCR and BCR reading technology and other software upgrades available from BBH.
 
- NetSort Sorting Software Platform
NetSort supports full-service use of the Intelligent Mail barcode. IMB-specific functionality includes the ability to manage unique mailpiece IDs for the required 45 days across multiple sorters and sites; manage uniqueness and relationship of/between trays and containers; and create and submit electronic mailing reports.
 
Other NetSort functionality includes the use of templates for quick job setups, the ability to set security levels for individual users, improved sort scheme functionality, and the use of remote diagnostics to resolve issues quickly.
 
Significant additional USPS discounts can also be earned with NetSort's ability to merge mail from multiple-site operations. NetSort also minimizes the probability of errors by using item-level tracking and centralized data for mail moved between sites.

Inserting Solutions

- Combo Inserting System
The Combo inserting system combines the functionality of multiple inserters and can process applications for any mailing operation. This revolutionary system is designed expressly to answer the mail processing industry's demand for a fast, extremely flexible, cost-effective inserter. Typical applications include #10, 6" x 9", #14 and flats. The Combo's base cycle speeds are 12,000 cycles per hour for letters and 9,000 cycles per hour for flats.
 
The EASE (Every Application Setup Easily) system incorporated into the Combo inserter dramatically reduces the steps required to change over from one job to another. The Combo inserter includes the new patent-pending Control Document Collator, a unique invention that allows the operator to collate the control document and inserts in a variety of ways.
 
Vision Systems
 
- JETVisionâ Platinum
The industry-leading vision solution helps companies lower costs and automate quality and integrity controls to ensure that every item processed satisfies postal, corporate and industry standards. JETVision supports a wide range of applications that are produced on virtually any new, legacy and third-party inserting system, and is ideal for letters, flats and 6" x 9" mailpieces.

Communication and Automation Management
 
- BÖWE One
The BÖWE One software suite integrates the industry's leading technologies into one modular and scalable solution. BÖWE One consists of four modules that address production management, item management, data management and customer service.

BÖWE One helps users in operations, marketing, IT, customer service and accounting increase overall quality and efficiency; enhance marketing and message relevancy; provide real-time visibility and analysis; protect investment; and lower operating costs.

Service
 
- BBH Services
BBH Services will showcase its extensive service capabilities by running live site-monitoring feeds from the BBH Command Center in Durham, N.C. The Command Center provides 24x7 monitoring and drives service escalation when issues develop, thus enabling customers' operations to maximize throughput, efficiency and ROI on critical equipment.
As one of the premier service organizations in North America, BBH Services can help customers transform service challenges into competitive advantages. BBH Services offers a comprehensive suite of maintenance, training and support options that accelerate ROI by integrating leading-edge technologies, robust performance analytics and proven methodologies.
BBH Services offerings include preventive maintenance services, software services, remote monitoring, multi-vendor services, authorized service partner programs, business continuity/disaster recovery services, product reconditioning services and customer productivity solutions.
 
For more information on BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, contact Eileen Sarro at 919-767-7625 or [email protected], or visit www.bowebellhowell.com.