Are there any other Connect users on this forum that regularly presort data for print and mail?
I work for a service bureau that processes, prints and mails account statements and daily notices for credit unions, as well as utility bills and some direct mail. Everything we print gets mailed, and all our print data is presorted to USPS Full-Service specifications, which requires pages for each mailpiece to be defined so weights and thicknesses can be calculated.
Our data is processed and presorted through BCC’s Ignite product, which is built in Redpoint Data Management. Redpoint outputs print ready text data. Records are delimited by unique characters at certain positions (three asterisks “***” on line 1, col 100, for example) and pages within each record are channel skip delimited (“1” on line 1, col 1). We have used this format for 16 years with PlanetPress 6 and 7.
We have configured our Redpoint process to produce reports defining the number of statements, pages, sheets, selectable inserts, envelopes, etc. that are produced/consumed for each mailing. These reports help us reconcile that all statements and pages were printed, as well as assist in billing and inventory.
I have recently learned that Connect will not reproduce the output pages 1 for 1 with the data, and that transaction lines in a dynamic table do not flow to the next page via defined page breaks. So, the possibility exists that Connect could produce statements with less pages than originally defined in the data, and the reports.
Does anyone have any recommendations on how to reconcile this discrepancy? While I expect an occasional statement with 1 less page than calculated in the presort is negligible, in a mailing of 300,000 statements, it could add up. Is there a reporting function in Connect, perhaps in Workflow, that could accurately define how many pages a print job actually contains, and how many sheets of paper are actually used?
If any member has an experience with this situation, I would appreciate their advice.