There are a number of specialized data processing functions which
we offer—some which are used for almost every list, and some more
exotic functions used for special purposes. This section provides a
brief description of the majority of them.
File Conversion.
Mailing lists come from a number of different sources, everything from
computer mainframe files to the latest contact manager. We’re set up
to take the files on any media (disk, tape, CDROM, Zip Disk), or you
can send them to us via email. Some of the file formats we can work
with:
Data Input. Sometimes you can only
get a mailing list as a hard-copy. We can take this and key-in names,
addresses, and other information The same is true for capturing data
from returned mail such as reply cards and other forms. In addition,
we can update existing databases based on returned cards and forms.
Normalization. Some mailing
lists are not always stored in an orderly fashion. For example, the
contact name will sometimes be in the “Name” field, and sometimes in
the “Address” field. We can take these files and process them so that
the list is organized and can be used for mailing. We use our
experience and specialized software to:
Distinguish between name fields, titles, departments, companies,
street addresses, cities, states, zip codes, & phone numbers.
Examine each field in a record, figure out what you’ve got, and
“right field” the data, moving names into name fields, companies
into company fields, etc.
Optionally, move primary addresses into a consistent field for
better zip encoding.
Reorganize city-state-zip into your preferred format.
Recognize foreign addresses and mark them for further
processing.
Presorting. Presorting saves you
money because you can mail at reduced postage rates. We are set up to
do multi-level presorts for the following types of mailing rates:
First Class Presort
First Class Automation Presort
Standard Presort
Standard Automation Presort
In addition, we will CASS certify (standardize addresses) your list
and we can update it using the NCOA (National Change of Address) list
from the U. S. Postal Service.
Merge/Purge. Our merge/purge
services help you increase your mailing and marketing efficiency, and
better manage your information. Using sophisticated, flexible data
matching and merging, we help you build the best and most accurate
mailing list, eliminate duplicate records, and perform special
selections and suppressions.
Here are a few of the features and list management solutions our
experience and software provide:
Data matching logic along with flexible, customizable matching
techniques.
Precise customer matching within and across diverse data
sources.
Merge variable customer data into one complete record.
Delete-mark unwanted duplicate records.
Detailed reports about the contents of your customer records and
mailing lists.
De-Duping. Sometimes thought of as
a subset of Merge/Purge, often a simple de-duping of your list is all
you need. This process is performed on a single file, and lets you
select one mail piece per person or one mail piece per address. In
addition, the duplicate can be found by searching for exact matches
only, or by close matches, which we can review before deleting.
Personating / Genderizing.
To get the most response from your mailing, it is often preferable to
make the client/prospect’s name and address look “perfect”. To do
this, we use specialized software to:
Add the correct prefix to the person’s name if it is missing
(Mr./Ms.) for most common names.
Accurately split full and inverse name fields into their
components.
Split city/state/zip fields.
Recognize multi-word name parts like “Dr. & Mrs.” or “de la
Rosa”.
Make salutations for letters.
Add Genderizing prefixes (Mr./Ms./etc.) when possible using
multiple levels of precision.
Output “Dr.” as the correct prefix for professional titles like
“MD” or PhD”.
Split double name fields (two individuals) by recognizing
connecting phrases like “and” or “trustee for”.
Handle input name fields in mixed formats (e.g. Full name list
with some Inverse names).
Stylizing. Stylizing is the perfect
tool to control the formatting of mailing list data. Now you can
quickly add the personal look that will boost your mailing's success
-- and yours. Lets say you have something that looks like this:
D/M J MCHUE JR PHD
GM
GM 21 NW ST LOUIS ST
S SF CA 94080
After stylizing, it will look like this:
Dr. & Mrs. J. McHue, Jr.
Ph.D.
General Manager
General Motors
Corporation
21 NW St. Louis Street
South San Francisco, CA
94080
As seen above, stylizing enhances the data's appearance. This makes
labels and letters look more personal and more attractive to the
recipient's eyes. It has converted the data to U/L case, added proper
punctuation, and expanded abbreviations.
Laser Addressing. The laser
addressing method is most often used for “upscale” mailings, such as
invitations and business letters, although it is also popular for
statements and invoices.
The combined sheet output of our primary production printers is
about 4,800 sheets/hour, and about half that amount for envelopes. We
use production-printing software which allows almost any TrueType or
Adobe font to be used. In addition, barcodes and special messages can
be printed at the same time the envelope is being addressed.
We also offer MICR toner laser printing for checks.
Ink Jet Addressing. We
have two high-speed production Ink Jet systems available. Both of
these systems can use virtually any TrueType font, and can also print
static message lines and bitmapped graphics.
These systems can handle mailpieces from postcard size to thicker
magazines.
Labels are still used for some applications (for example, if the
mail piece is varnished and can’t be addressed with an inkjet or
laser). You have a choice of using dot matrix printed labels for
economy, or laser printed & hand-affixed labels for a special look.
Folding. We’re primarily set up to
fold 8-1/2” x 11” sheets, but can also automatically fold 8-1/2” x
14”, A4 and other size sheets. For special sizes, hand folding is
available.
Collating. Depending upon the type
of mailing, multiple inserts can either be collated and inserted by
machine, or by hand. As a part of the collating service, we can also
nest pieces inside of each other.
Stamping/Metering. We offer
two choices (in addition to a preprinted Indicia) for affixing the
postage: stamps or a meter. Stamps are most often used for
invitation-type mailings, or when you want to make a business mailing
look more personal. Metering is mostly used as a lower cost
alternative.
Traying/Bagging. This is the
process of putting mail into USPS mailing trays and/or bags according
to prescribed sort orders and is used for presorted mailings. We have
the experience and software to print the tray tags, sleeve & strap the
trays.
