Fiery Command Workstation 5 and Mailing

[pmkprog]

I am new to much of the digital processes and using the Fiery Command Workstation 5 software (i.e. I have had no training). I am wondering if anyone out there is using the vdp to print mailing labels and barcodes directly on the pieces as they are printing them.
If you are doing this process, what are you using to create the barcodes? Are you having any issues where this does not work well? If you are presorting, how are you managing that?

 

[[email protected]]

Disclaimer-I work for Ricoh.
If you want to use the Freeform functionality of the Fiery go to Fiery Command WorkStation5 Support for VDP tutorials. You'll still have to use the mailmerge functionality of your application but the Fiery will do the merging instead of your PC so the jobs will process to the printer more efficiently. You might also consider products such as PTI's FusionPro or Objectif Lune's PrintShop Mail that can output ppml which is a more efficient way of processing VDP and will also let you include variable images.

If you've recently installed a production printer from Ricoh then the VDP training is included so contact your sales rep for more info.

 

[MailGuru]

oooooh, pmkprog, if it were only that simple. Merging your document with mailing data is the least of your worries.

The fiery will do it, and, so will a thousand other programs. You can even use the mail/merge function of Microsoft Word. Your biggest problem is that you will need to either purchase a Postal Presort program, or, outsource that function.

Effective Jan 2013 (just a few weeks from now), the only barcode permitted in order to receive a presort discount will be the new IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode). Part of that barcode includes your USPS MID (Mailer Identification) number, so, in order to print the barcode in the first place, you need to fill out the forms and apply to the USPS to get your MID. Once obtained, your presort software (we use BCC MailManager from Bell & Howell), will generate the characters that will convert to the barcode. The presort software will append a field to your data that looks like a long string of "F",s "A"'s, "D"s, and "T"s. It will look something like this:

"TFFADFTTAAFDFTAFDDTDTDFATTTFATTTADTTFFATDDFFTDAAAATTTAAAAADTAFAFA"

You can download the actual IMB Font free from the USPS's web site to convert it to the barcode, but, the ones you buy from a 3rd party will work better.

If you are new to the mailing biz, let me caution you that just being able to print mailing information and barcodes on your mail piece doesn't necessarily mean that you can receive a presort discount. There are a myriad of rules and regulations ranging from the physical dimensions of your mail piece to how it is prepared and trayed that you will need to be familiar with.

 

[Datwangster]

We use FusionPro Creator 8, (actually 7.2, installing 8 on tomorrow.) This works great for addressing & barcoding, but the real benefit is for booklets that have variable data on multiple pages, because we then output it to a PPML file and let the CommandWork Station do the imposing - awesome fast using the PPML workflow. Not a quick program to learn, but we have a cheat sheet of the steps we take for each mailing setup. If you go with FusionPro, let me know if you need a copy of it.