Quad/Graphics co-mailing volumes hitting record volumes

America’s largest catalogue and magazine printer and mailer, Quad/Graphics, Inc., has said this year it is breaking industry records for the postage savings it is achieving for customers through its co-mailing process. The company based near Milwaukee in Wisconsin combines mail from multiple customers into a single mailstream to create sufficient volume for in-house pre-sorting activities.

It means the aggregated mail can enter the US Postal Service network far enough along the process that it attracts maximum postage discounts.

Quad/Graphics, which became the largest firm of its kind after acquiring Worldcolor last year, said today it was expecting this year’s co-mailing volumes to hit 4.9bn pieces.

With USPS postage rates set to rise in January, the company said the advantage of its co-mailing process would become even more clear to its customers next year.

Dave Riebe, president of logistics and distribution, said: “We now have more volume, co-mail equipment and capacity than any of our competitors, but the key isn’t just size, it’s our unique co-mail optimisation software that analyses multiple cost components of the process – manufacturing, inline/offline co-mail, distribution and postage – to produce the maximum savings.”

One of the keys to the successful co-mailing service has been to increase its flexibility in accommodating a greater range of mail classifications, formats and versions, including different types and sizes of catalogues and periodicals.

“Many mailers have had some or all of their product locked out of a co-mail solution in the past, but our enhanced platform, volume and capacity are allowing us to be more flexible in accommodating these specialised needs,” explained Riebe.

Quad/Graphics has 60 print-production facilities, mostly in the US but with some presence in Canada, Latin America and Europe. The company has been engaged in a process of consolidation since acquiring the bankrupt Worldcolor back in July 2010.