Houston - Consolidated Graphics, Inc. announced its new patent-pending CGX Flex Mailer, a unique, eco-friendly packaging solution that generates savings in postage expense by taking items that are non-machinable and allowing them to be mailed as automated flats.

"The CGX Flex Mailer enables our clients to potentially save millions of dollars in shipping costs, shifting mailings to automated mail through the USPS," said Craig Reynolds, president of Tucker Printers, a Consolidated Graphics company. "We've received an overwhelming response from companies that were contemplating giving up distribution of promotional mail items due to escalating postage costs, who are now able to continue that aspect of their marketing strategy."

The CGX Flex Mailer was developed as a custom solution for a promotional products and fulfillment customer that needed a cost-effective mailing solution. Available in six sizes, the mailer can accommodate items as small as a USB drive to as large as a t-shirt while still remaining a USPS-approved automatable package.

The CGX Flex Mailer consists of a highly flexible outer "skin" coupled with a unique inner tray design. The outer skin is tight enough to allow flexibility on both vertical and horizontal axes, while maintaining sufficient surface tension to limit variations in thickness to under 1/4 of an inch. This means that anything mailed within the CGX Flex Mailer is classified as an automated machinable flat, generating significant postage savings for customers. The packages are produced using wind energy and soy-based inks, making it an environmentally-friendly packaging solution.

The CGX Flex Mailer is approved by the USPS, and is anticipated to save one Consolidated Graphics customer over $2 million in postage expense annually. It can also be tracked by the USPS through the Intelligent Mail Barcode that can be printed directly on the piece.

"Given the proposed USPS rate increase, there is an enormous demand in the market for a product like the CGX Flex Mailer. Now, companies can increase the number of touch points with their customers, building the relationships that will help their businesses grow," said Reynolds.