Where Does It End?
Savvy managers like Dan Leverington engage in a new thought process that considers the waste handling function as an integral part of the print to mail process rather than as an afterthought downstream from the action. Mailroom managers, for example, must consider whether their printers, folder inserters and other equipment meet current and future production needs and cost-cutting objectives when planning their budgets. But in many cases, managers neglect to consider their trim waste removal systems in the equation. Many also fail to consider how increasing printing and processing rates impacts their trim waste handling system. This type of thinking is changing in the mail center, however, as the emphasis on efficiency and cost cutting continues to dominate. In fact, change is accelerating as mail center managers at the vanguard of the industry consistently document substantial savings, crediting the improvements to their focus on the waste handling function.

Edge Trim By The Mile
Consider that a facility processing 100,000 pieces of mail per day generates approximately 34 miles of edge trim per day, and that’s without counting non-conforming and other paper waste. It’s no secret to mail center managers that they have been saddled with a lack of viable choices for handling this waste. Either use an outdated, outmoded system that comfortably handles a few thousand pieces per day before clogging and choking with dust or rely on costly manual laborers to push carts and heavy bins overflowing with edge trim through an otherwise clean facility, leaving a trail of paper and dust along the way. What has been a well-kept secret is that we have applied technology as important as that of the latest inserter to the waste handling function and automated the process. Our automated trim handling systems capture trim and paper dust between the printer and inserter and quietly whisk it away either overhead or under the floor where it is cut into confetti and piped out of the way for baling and recycling. The volume of waste is cut exponentially, the compact footprint opens floor space and manual laborer positions may be reevaluated. In addition, nearly 100% of the paper dust is collected safely in one place and the entire system may be monitored and shut down from a single control panel. Plus, our automated systems may be expanded even years after installation to accommodate increases in waste volume as a mailroom grows into a global output distribution center.

When a company succeeds the way Bank One has, it is common for executives to credit the expansion strategy. But in our industry, we know the finest expansion strategies can’t be implemented without a cost-efficient, effective mail center.