Camera verification (including personalized document matching) has become common through the print, mail, & packaging industries. Older used mailing equipment will be updated more and more with new camera verification attachments and software. Most new direct mail equipment either already has the capacity to match mail, or it has very easy procedures to upgrade the unit.
The move towards computerized verification arises from two major trends within industry:
1 - An increased regulatory climate. More government regulations require companies to account for all documents or mailing pieces that run through their equipment. Especially in the insurance, financial, and healthcare industries.
2 - Increased focus on targeted marketing. Marketing products (whether they're printed, online, or via text messages) are increasingly targeted towards a particular audience. Such printed documents tend to be more expensive to make and in addition they include more personalized information. This trend makes it important to ensure each prospect receives the best material and that some type of certifiable report can prove accuracy.
Adding camera verification to mailing equipment was previously a pricey endeavor, but improved technology and "off the shelf software" has substantially reduced the cost to upgrade equipment and use camera verification systems for mail matching, inserter read-write, and OCR (Optical Character Recognition). It's now easier (and less expensive) than ever to generate reports to prove the accuracy of the job running throughout your mailing equipment and binding machines.
The absolute most traditional way of verification is ensuring that all customer statements have successfully exited a package inserter. This can be a simple matter of reading a sequential number or decoding a personalized Intelligent Mail Barcode or IMB via a window envelope, and "checking off" each document that leaves the machine. If a document is removed or if you have a "double-feed", the report will show the missing document prior to the mailing is complete.
Other traditional examples include ensuring that two variable documents match each other within a package, matching a personalized document to the pre-printed address on the exterior of a package, or matching charge cards or gift cards to personalized carriers.
But camera verification systems are now able to do so much more 먹튀. Newer trends for output verification include:
Checking to ensure you will find no blank documents. This can happen throughout the printing process, but a camera can detect a blank sheet on folding equipment and other bindery equipment.
Checking for correct orientation On a Printed Page. If an operator merges two stacks of printed material, imagine if they place a small number of pages upside-down or backwards? A camera system can detect this and stop a folder or several other little bit of finishing equipment.
Read-Write & Track. When you have a personalized document, page, or signature, and it has to match an outer document that's also personalized, it's much easier to print the surface material "on the fly" instead of pre-printing and matching.
These are only the tip of the iceberg. Camera verification has turned into a powerful tool, effective at countless verification & reporting tasks. From logging files to sequencing to file auditing, the power is readily available. What's more, the purchase price for such camera verification equipment has come down substantially in the past years. To begin verifying your jobs with camera systems, contact your mailing equipment vendor and learn what's readily available for your specific budget.