| NEWS |
PALO ALTO, CA, September 24, 1999: Envelope Manager Software® offers a wide range of mailing automation products and services
designed specifically to take advantage of rapidly-evolving Internet technologies. For ten
years, Envelope Manager Software (EMS) has been a leader in desktop mailing software,
providing PC users with advanced mailing solutions designed to maximize the benefits of the
evolving technology of the Internet. Among its more notable achievements, the company was
the first to offer address verification via Internet or modem, the first to propose a
PC-based postage meter to the USPS and the first to offer instantaneous change of address
updating over the Internet.
Dial-A-ZIP®
Dial-A-ZIP connects to the national address information via the Internet and verifies all
addresses in the mailing list, free of charge. A recently announced enhancement, Turbo Dial-A-ZIP,
builds on the original concept by dramatically increasing the speed and power of the process.
Turbo Dial-A-ZIP users can verify up to 3000 addresses per minute, using their desktop PC and
standard modem.
PC Stamp
PC Stamp includes a small box, about the size of a modem, that electronically stores postage and
attaches to a desktop computer through a standard serial port. Envelope Manager verifies and corrects
the address, accesses the postage stored on the box and automatically calculates the correct amount.
With one pass through an ordinary laser or inkjet printer, the software prints the postage indicium,
the delivery address, automation barcode and any other desired information on the envelope or label
for the most accurate and efficient mail delivery possible. Internet access prevents users from running
out of postage, as they might with traditional postage meters, and from waiting in line to purchase
stamps.
Internet Move Updating
The USPS requires that all First-Class discount mailers update their address lists every six months
to qualify for postage discounts. Prior to the release of Envelope Manager's Internet Move Updating
service, mailers had to export and submit their data to a service bureau, wait for the list to be
processed and then compare the returned data with the original file. With the integration of Internet
technology into Envelope Manager's software, mailers can process their address lists in minutes (instead
of waiting several days for it to be processed by a service bureau), without the exporting and re-importing
hassles. Envelope Manager also provides automatic record matching, presenting each updated address
with the "old" address and then updating the file. Recently, the high-speed Turbo Dial-A-ZIP
technology was incorporated into Envelope Managers' Move Updating service, providing list processing
at speeds eight to ten times faster than previously available. Customer use has yielded results of
6,000 addresses checked in one minute from a standard PC and Internet connection.
For further information about Envelope Manager's use of Internet technology or on any of our
mailing products, please contact Envelope Manager Software at 800.576.3279
Envelope Manager Software patented the first version of Dial-A-ZIP in 1990 to provide real-time
address verification and correction using a modem. Prior to Dial-A-ZIP, mailers traditionally
relied upon a database on CD-ROM to perform the address verification and correction (also known
as CASS certification) required by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for all discount
mailing. However, because this database is continually updated, the CD-ROMs require frequent
renewals, making this method both expensive and inconvenient for users.
Envelope Manager Software, working in conjunction with Neopost, developed PC Stamp, a hardware-based
IBIP (Information Based Indicia Program) solution that utilizes the Envelope Manager application
as the interface. This low cost, easy-to-maintain solution is a revolutionary way to apply postage,
allowing the purchase of postage via the Internet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and printing
"digital" stamps directly on envelopes or labels.
EMS also offers Internet Move Updating, the only real-time address correction technology that provides
bulk mailers and address list managers real-time access to change of address information, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. The process checks to see if any of the people in an address list have instructed
the USPS to forward their mail to a new address. Similar to the Dial-A-ZIP process, mailing lists are
compared to the change of address data via an Internet connection.