Techs/operators of Pitney Bowes inserters

Hey everyone,

The company I work for is considering buying a Pitney Bowes inserter, and I want to make sure I understand what we’re getting into in terms of maintenance and repairs. Hoping to get some insight from those with experience.

A few questions:

• How often do these machines break down or need replacement parts?
• Are parts easy to find, and can they be replaced in-house, or is it better to have a service contract?
• What are the most common parts that wear out quickly?
• Are parts from different Flowmaster models interchangeable? If we go with an older unit, would we be able to use parts from newer models?
• Any general tips for keeping these machines running smoothly?

Appreciate any advice, thank you!

Are you looking at a big floor inserter, or a table top model?

We're looking at big floor inserters, like one of the flow-masters. Do you have any experience with those?

We have an older 6 pocket Bell+Howell inserter and an accumulator. I'm not familiar with the PB/Flowmaster models, but I assume they're pretty similar.

1. They're much more mechanical than electrical, so you have to do things like lubricate the chain and tighten up loose parts from vibrations. Nothing major, but it will take a little experience to learn how to fine tune things.
2. We've been using it for years, and the only major maintenance we've needed was a new vacuum pump. Otherwise we just keep a bag of suckers and replacement "pushers" that sometime break off the chain if we get a bad jam.
3. The biggest issue for ours is mostly just getting things fine tuned with envelope feeding and making sure pieces go into the envelope properly. Big jams will often knock a bunch of stuff out of place, and then it can take a few minutes to get things running smooth again. It'll likely be annoying to run at first, and then feel really easy once you've used it more often.
4. We don't have direct service, but we have a local company that specializes in mailing, and it was pretty easy to find someone to service it and tune it up as needed.

We almost exclusively just do 6x9 envelopes for an insurance client that have between 1 and 7 sheets of 60#text. I do about 500-3000 pieces a day depending on volume. I've used it for #10s as well, but we have a small table top inserter that's simpler and always set up for those.

namelessentity said:

We have an older 6 pocket Bell+Howell inserter and an accumulator. I'm not familiar with the PB/Flowmaster models, but I assume they're pretty similar.

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The major difference is the way the material feeds.

B&H or Phillipsburg inserters (also known as "swing-arm" inserters) feed primarily by air suction (suckers attach to the bottom of a piece and pull it down where the swing arm grabs it and drops it on to a path combined with other pieces that will be pushed in to the envelope).

I prefer this type of inserter because of the ease of setup and maintenance. They are very reliable and have been in use since the 1950's If you have a piece to insert that is not conducive to a suction feed process, you can fit one of the pockets with a "stream-feeder" that will switch that pocket to a friction feed

PB inserters are friction feed.

The "Flowmaster" was supposed to blend the best features of both the B&H and the PB in to one all-encompassing inserter. They're great machines, but, are usually very expensive, even on the used market. If you looking to procure one, make sure you have the volume to justify the expenditure.