AusPost offers metered mail discount

Australia Post has finally made some price changes that help rather than hurt the printing industry, giving printers an up to 8c discount on metered mail from the beginning of this week.

Though the new price is still an increase from 60c in last July before the stamp price rose to 70c, it makes personalised printing and distribution of mail more commercially viable as the profit margin between stamped and metered will be bigger than before.

Australia Post will also give meter users a 2.5 per cent rebate when they top up their meter accounts, effectively bringing the cost down to 60.5c on the regular delivery timetable.

Metered mail is considered a good option for smaller volume businesses because unlike bulk mail there are no minimum volume quantities; it can be hand addressed and does not have to be sorted or barcoded; and it can be sent via a post box with no lodgement documentation, instead of over the counter at a post office.

[Related: More Australia Post news]

Darren Higgins, senior marketing manager at mailing equipment manufacturer Pitney Bowes, says the price changes make now a good time for printers to add value to their business by diversifying into mail finishing services.

“The fragmentation of media could lead to a renaissance of mail, and printers should be positioning themselves to take advantage of it,” he says.

He says with barcoding, effective mass postcode targeting and other options, printers could eventually get their letter costs below 50c.

Higgins says investing in a digital mailing system allows printers to offer personalised services to their clients and turn previously plain envelopes into a powerful marketing tool.

He says devices like Pitney Bowes’ Connect+ series can print targeted sales or marketing messages across the top of the envelope, barcodes, QR codes, or even full colour graphic designs – effectively turning the back of an envelope into a flyer.

The systems also include a franking machine for printing the metered stamps, meaning the envelopes come off the device ready to be mailed.

Higgins says with printing margins getting tighter, offering mail finishing could be an effective way for some printers to improve their bottom line.

“It could bring in trade work as well as being able to provide end-to-end work for commercial clients,” he says.

Higgins says the Connect+ series, which includes the 1000, 2000 and 3000 models, starts at $60 a week on a competitive leasing arrangement.

Printing speeds range from up to 180 envelopes a minute for the 1000 to 18,000 an hour for the 3000, and all come with four colour printing at 1200dpi.

The company claims it is the only full colour postage series on the market and that the 3000 model prints postal indicia faster than any machine. It also sells mail folders, and larger envelope printers able to support C4 size.

Pitney Bowes just completed its Productivity Expo tour of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – offering advice to businesses including printers on how to improve their operations.

Higgins says: “The expo has got the conversation going about how mail is something businesses can take on themselves. We are very happy with the level of interest and have just had our best sales month for quite a while.”

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