As you consider when and how to make the transition to an Intelligent Mail workflow, start with the most fundamental question: Can I print the barcode? Without the essential ability to produce a readable IMb on your mailpieces, your Intelligent Mail future will be a thing of the past.

Of the two primary printing camps, inkjet operations have bigger concerns than laser users. The widely variable quality of different inkjet systems requires careful coordination as you begin to produce IM barcodes; check with your equipment manufacturer to see if your current hardware and drivers are up to the task. Keep in mind that barcode quality is no small matter: Without printed codes that meet minimum USPS readability requirements, your mailings may well face delays or outright rejection by USPS MERLIN inspection technology.

Considerations:

• Once any printing and font issues have been resolved, you'll find that getting the IMb on your label is easy - except the 65-character code is much bigger than POSTNET, so you may have to adjust the size of printed address data on your labels in order to get them to fit.
• Barcode quality issues are a hot postal topic, and Bell and Howell's family of barcode analysis tools can help get your mailings through USPS inspections the first time.

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Design Requirements

There are issues of both appearance and content to resolve in barcode design. This section discusses these issues and the resources you need to resolve them.

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Hardware and Software

The following hardware and software items are used in barcode design and production. You may have these items already, such as an inkjet printer for labels, but will have to reevaluate it in light of Intelligent Mail specifications. Your mailing software vendor may have already incorporated features like the barcode fonts and encoding/decoding algorithms, in the mailing software you already use.

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Procedure

The following procedure illustrates the steps required to generate an Intelligent Mail-based barcode. It uses a mailpiece barcode for illustration, but supply the proper input and it should work for tray and container levels as well.

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