I swear by my KAS Mailmaster Compact
Printing World, 09 March 2009
A client asked us to look at the feasibility of taking on a printing and mailing job with a tight 24-hour schedule in terms of speed, security and cost effectiveness.
It comprised the enveloping of a policy document, which range from one page to 20 different pages and two publications, into either C5 or C4 envelopes. These publications also vary depending upon the policy documents. We had two bigger but older mailing and inserting machines, which were not suitable enough for the project so we invested in the KAS Mailmaster Compact. It's a well-built, mid-range machine. Its top speed is 5,000 envelopes an hour and we normally run at 4,000-5,000 an hour depending on the documents. The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) reader matches the documents and provides extra security when we are mailing personal and confidential documents.
Ed Clarke, production manager, FastAnt Marketing Materials Management
Insurance firm WPA looks to KAS to revamp its mailing operation
Adam Hooker, PrintWeek, 31 January 2008
Medical insurance company WPA has upgraded its mailing department with a new KAS Mailmaster 465HS.
The envelope inserter was brought on board following a review of the company’s in-house printing department.
It comes with four feeders, a barcode reader and double feed sensor.
According to Karen Jacobs, leader for the post and imaging team at WPA, the new machine has enabled the firm to cut out hand filling.
She said: “The new machine can pack into C5 and C4 envelopes – before we could only do C5. With the barcode reader and double feed sensor, we get added security.”
At its Taunton headquarters, WPA has six digital presses as well as its mailing department, which sends out statements and confidential information to customers.
WPA’s print arm employs 14 staff. In total, the company employs more than 150.
As well as bringing in the Mailmaster, the department underwent a complete redesign to make it more efficient, however, no other kit purchases were made.
Newham council brings finishing in-house
Staff, PrintWeek, 28 September 2006
The London Borough of Newham has brought all its mailing and fulfilment work in-house with the installation of a KAS Mailmaster 465HS enveloping machine.
The kit has been supplied with customised software and brings an end to the council outsourcing its inserting.
Previously, all work was outsourced except for the distribution of cheques, which were processed on a small desktop-mailing machine.
Paul Bull, contract and printing services manager, said: "We wanted to reduce the time it was taking to send out cheques, bills and other documentation.
"By setting up our own on-site mailing unit, we have significantly reduced the turnaround time. The KAS 456HS means we are now able to despatch work in two working days instead of anything between five to nine days."
OCS buys KAS Mailmaster for centralisation plan
Ben Bold, printweek.com, 19 March 2008
OCS Document Management has installed a KAS Mailmaster Compact C4 enveloper to consolidate its internal document processing at its Waltham Abbey site.
The firm, which specialises in document management and support, is currently implementing an SAP system across its entire business and realised that by centralising its document management function into one office, it would readily be able to access up-to-date information on its business performance.
One of the areas that required centralisation was the processing and distribution of invoices, statements, remittance advices and credit control letters. The company envelopes about 1.4m documents per year. These processes were previously managed at individual sites and in many cases involved staff manually folding documents and putting them in envelopes.
As well as using the machine to manage its own enveloping, OCS is offering the service to its customers. The company estimates that the machine, which cost in the region of £75,000, will pay for itself in about 18 months.
Graham Proudfoot, the OCS's managing director, explained that the KAS Mailmaster fulfilled the company's needs in terms of its capacity, versatility, durability and, for a large machine, small footprint.
The machine was supplied with a sheet feeder folder with OMR reading. Features allow quick changeover between jobs and include touch-screen control and feeders that can handle thicknesses ranging from single sheet to 7mm. It operates at a rate of up to 5,000 envelopes per hour and can insert up to 12mm into a C4-sized envelope.
OCS's first project is to centralise the distribution of payslips for its 40,000 employees.
BGL Group adds second KAS Mailmaster as volumes grow
Steven Kiernan, printweek.com, 13 July 2007
The BGL Group has taken delivery of a second KAS Mailmaster following the success of an installation earlier this year.
The three-station KAS Mailmaster 565HS will allow the document logistics arm to cope with large volumes of diverse mailings, both from BGP brands and for its partners.
Document Logistics senior manager Paul Thomas said: "In the last three years, our requirements have changed as we have taken on the printing and mailing of insurance documentation for a number of affinity partners.
"Previously, when we were only mailing our own brands, we had large volumes of homogenous work."
The Peterborough-based firm, which sends out in excess of 500,000 mailings per month, took on the initial six-station Mailmaster in February. The £76,000 system included a sheetfeeder and accumulator folder with barcode reader.
It has since ploughed £31,000 into this second, smaller-footprint Mailmaster to support its existing client base and in order to attract further customers.
Thomas added: "Since we installed the [first] machine, it is taking on more work than we initially envisaged. This is because of the print-on-demand work, which we receive throughout the day.
"We decided to go for the more robust KAS 565HS three-station machine, which can support the volume and type of work we are doing and will be doing more of in the future."