1.2.4. Mailing

An important supplement to correspondence, transcription and records man­agement is the efficient handling of mail, which comprises incoming, out­going and inter-departmental mail. No matter what size of firm the job must be done efficiently and economically, making the best use of staff and space.

The situation of the post room is important. It should be as near as possible to the ground floor. The next item to consider is the number of temporary or permanent staff and the extent to which mechanization can be usefully employed. There are inevitably 'peaks and troughs' of workflow and this can be helped by mechanization. Procedures must be established for incoming and outgoing mail and full use should be made of available machines of which the following is a brief summary.

Before posting, letters must be folded, inserted in an envelope, sealed and the postage charge accounted for in one way or another.

1. Folding, inserting and sealing machines. These machines can produce a neat consistent fold or a number of folds. Some machines can fold the main enclosure, then insert a second enclosure inside the fold. The price of this model is of course rather high. Other machines slit, score or perforate if necessary. Inserting machines usually have attachments that seal also.

2. Franking machines make the laborious task of sticking stamps redundant. They operate quickly, obviate the need for storing and guarding stamps, tearing, moistening and sticking them. The machine is purchased from manufacturers who are licensed by the Post Office (PO). A lever on the machine can be set for the desired postage; before it can be used, payment for the required amount of stamps to be used must be made to the PO. When this number is reached, the machine locks. Dials record postage used and sometimes unused postage.

The organization's trademark, or slogan or advertising message can also be imprinted beside the stamp impression. Franked mail now accounts for nearly one-third of the PO's postal revenue. One model feeds, seals, franks, counts and stacks letters at a rate well over 5000 an hour. Machines exist which do everything, i.e. collate, insert, seal, print advertisements, etc., meter the postage, count and stack at a rate of over 7000 per hour.

3. Letter openers and scales are useful. Some openers are automatic, opening several hundred letters in a few minutes, and they can also feed and stack. Scales for weighing letters are needed to assess correctly the postage for packets and parcels.

A high level of automation is now attainable in the mailroom. There are a wide range of small table top units on the market to automate the process of folding, inserting, collating and sealing. Most companies install their first paper handling equipment to dispatch invoices more quickly, to improve their flow of cash.

As there are many micros, minis and small business computers in use, an increasing number of companies are installing forms handling equipment, such as bursters and guillotines, to remove sprocket holes and convert continuous stationery into separate documents.

Bar codes printed by the computer on selected documents enable great selectivity to be practised in mailings.