Delivery point validation using fusion Pro & Mail Manager 2010

MrMark

New member
I recently started usiing Fusion Pro. We presort our mail in Mail Manager and then place the Variable Data Fields onto our mail piece with Fusion Pro. I have failed the Merlin Test on the first two jobs attempted. Merlin could not read the delivery point validation. Is this something that should be exported with the presorted data out of mail manager or am I missing something or a step/setting in Fusion Pro. thanks in advance for any and all help. Mark
 
Re: Delivery point validation using fusion Pro & Mail Manager 2010

Two resources I wanted to make you aware, both found here.

http://www.printable.com/vdp/desktop.htm

One is the FusionPro mailing list, the other the Knowledge base.

OTOH, there are many reasons that your PostNet barcode could fail Merlin. One trick is to take the barcode you know that works and compare side-by-side to the one that fails. Even consider folding one in half vertically and placing it on top of the other. Notice that the bars should be about the same size and the same number of bars. The order of tall and short bars will be different, of course. Also, notice that the barcode always starts and finishes with a tall bar.

A third resource for FusionPro knowledge will be the Life of Print blog, http://lifeofprint.com Some of the FusionPro developers (past and current) are bloggers on this blog. There are no FusionPro specific entries yet, but there will be some soon. You can subscribe to the blow with email subscription on the top left side of the webpage or use a RSS feed reader.

Printologist
http://lifeofprint.com
 
Re: Delivery point validation using fusion Pro & Mail Manager 2010

I am assuming you are using PostNet barcode and not the Intelligent Mail (4-state) Barcode.

If you are printing a zip + 4 with delivery point validation information, you should have 12 digits.

5 for the zip
4 for the plus-4
2 for the delivery point
1 for the check digit

Is your barcode field in Mail Manager 2010 providing you with all of the digits?
Is there an unnecessary hyphen that does not belong in the Postnet barcode?

Are you placing a 12 digit field into Fusion Pro and asking Fusion Pro to create a Postnet Barcode, again.
Doing so would create an invalid barcode.

I think that Fusion Pro would be looking for 11 digits and it would calculate its own check digit to make a 12 digit barcode.

After all is said, and done, you should have 62 bars for the Post Net Barcode.
That would be 5 bars for each number and a stop and start bar.

It might be that you are using the incorrect character for the frame bar (stop and start bar).
Some software requires a "!" for the frame bar. Others will use a "/". This too, would make the barcode unreadable.

I emailed some specs on the width and height of Postnet barcodes, along with the maximum width of a barcode.

I hope this helps.

Theodore Frimet
Bucks Digital Printing
 
Re: Delivery point validation using fusion Pro & Mail Manager 2010

Hi,
The post office themselves should give you more information about the precise nature of a Merlin failure. If this happens with us, usually it is because the position of the barcode is too low/high in the address block or some other prepress related issue. If the barcode font is corrupt, you need to look at that. We've been succsful with ZipCode Barcode at 16 pt. We also use FusionPro + MM2010 for some work.

Jeff Lazerus
Director, Digital and Imaging
Annex Print and Mail Solutions
Denver, CO
 

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