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What are Address Printers?

Address Printers are high-speed machines designed to work together with your current computer to print large volumes of mail pieces such as envelopes, postcards, newsletters and more. These machines significantly reduce the amount of time it would take for some one to manually affix a label on to each piece and run at speeds much faster than standard laser printers.

Within minutes your mail can look professional and personalized. An address printer can add text, photos, logos, barcodes and other graphics. The software package makes it so simple, you can create elegant pieces without any artistic training. Most software packages help you to create the look you want in a relatively short amount of time.

After you receive your address printer, the first thing you want to do is install the software that comes with the machine. The software for all of the address printers we carry can be installed on any Windows based computer. Installation is simple and there are prompts to guide you along the way. The software allows you to input the addresses in the same manner you would enter labels in a standard Microsoft Word package. The difference is if you were going to use a laser printer to print labels, you would then have to manually apply the label to each mail piece. Or you could use your laser printer and print directly on envelopes and more, but you would never get the rate of speed found in an address printer. Any address printer is going to print out mail pieces at a rate that is at least two times quicker than your standard laser printer. A printer alone simply cannot process thousands of pieces her hour. Most address printers load and dispense mail pieces at a rate excessively higher: five or even six times faster than a laser printer.

Address printers are perfect for addressing sales and marketing pieces, starting your own mail campaign, printing barcodes and shipping codes onto pieces, creating professional letterhead, newsletters, customized envelopes and more.

The Right Address Printer for Your Needs
Finding the right address printer to fulfill your need is simple. But here are some things you may want to consider:
  • What type of material am I going to be printing?
    An important consideration when buying an address printer is ensuring the machine can handle the type of piece you would like to run through the machine. Each machine has specific dimensions for length and width to handle different size material. Some can only handle envelopes while other machines can print on to tri-folded newsletters or bulk mail pieces. Make sure that the machine you buy is designed to handle your specific need.

  • What result am I seeking from my mail campaign? What type of piece am I sending out?
    The DPI (dots per inch) resolution determines the quality of print. The higher the DPI, the more precise and clearer the print. Our standard is roughly 600 dpi or higher for professional looking mail pieces, but this is entirely subjective. If you're first concern is to create a mail piece that will beat out your competitors, go with the higher dpi resolution for maximum results, especially if you're going to be printing graphics in addition to text.

  • What do I want to print on to each piece?
    Some address printers only print text. These printers also have a maximum amount of lines they can place onto each mail piece. Other printers handle text, photos, barcodes and shipping labels, logos and other graphics-for the utmost professional results. Color is also very important; some machines print in color whereas others can only handle black and white.

  • How many people am I mailing material out to? Will this machine process the amount of mail to meet my deadline? What other factors could affect my production and mailing schedule?
    Speed and output rate are the most important factors to consider when purchasing an address printer. Each machine processes a specific amount of pieces per hour. Set aside creation time and then add it together with the rate of each machine to ensure that your pieces will be created in time to be released out in to the world, especially if you have a deadline that you need to meet. Pay special attention to how many pieces can be loaded into the feed at a time and how many pieces the catch tray can hold. It is standard for the amount to be loaded in and the amount loaded out of the machine to vary, which means an individual will need to place material on to the feed and remove the material once it has been printed.

Glossary

  • Catch Tray: Mail pieces are dispensed from the machine into this shallow flat receptacle with a tilt to hold it in place; meant to be a tray for material to pause in place before being manually removed for continuous dispensing.

  • Conveyor: Belt that can vary in size to slide material down to the catch tray.

  • DPI (Dots per inch): this is the smallest, single most identifiable part of an image (dots) that indicate its sharpness and clarity.

  • Feed(er): Pieces are placed in to this top tray to be pulled in through the machine.

  • Hopper: Part of the machine equipped with a conveyor so that material can simply be stacked and pulled in to the machine.

  • Inkjet: A cartridge that dispenses a stream of color ink to create various pigments on the page.

  • Laser Printer: Standard printer; produces very high-quality print and is capable of creating an unlimited variety of fonts and graphics.

  • Port/ Interface: point of interaction or communication between a computer and another entity, in this case between the printer and your computer.

  • Resolution: the fineness of detail distinguishable in an image; resolution is measured in dots per inch.

  • Thickness: the maximum amount of stacked paper, measured in inches.