AM&M staff working with the Neopost UK DS-1200

UK-based mailing house AM&M is set to double production with a specially adapted Neopost DS-1200, one of the biggest enclosing machines in the world. 

The machine was specially adapted for the company’s complex, high-volume mailings and installed just in time to meet peak demand on the mailing house floor.

Working at three times the rate of the company’s existing kit, it will speed up the dispatch of hundreds of thousands of council tax demands, saving time and taxpayers’ money.

‘We work with eight councils, so spring is a pretty busy time for us,’ said Ian Cameron, founder and managing director. He said, ‘Traditionally, we’d hand-enclose certain matched bills due to the complexity of the data, but this year we will process those packs on the new machine.

‘The DS-1200 is the largest of its type anywhere in the world and exceptionally flexible. It can insert thicker items than most other enclosing machines and work at a rate of up to 12,000 packs an hour.’

A sophisticated design and bar code reader means the machine automatically detects the size and weight of enclosures and diverts from a DL to C4 envelope accordingly. With a 70 gsm to 6 mm thick feed, it can handle finished pack sizes of up to 10 mm thick at an accumulation speed of up to 26,000 sheets per hour. 

‘The main benefit of the machine is the 2d bar code matching and the ability to collate multiple personalised pages and decide if the pack will be too big for a C5 envelope,’ said Ian Cameron. ‘It also has the ability to enclose thicker inserts, meaning more hand enclosing tasks can move to the machine, such as annual reports or charity newsletters, saving the client money and time as we can process the packs a lot quicker.’

The significant cost of the DS-1200 marks the last phase of an investment venture that will see AM&M move into a new era. 

Mr Cameron explained, ‘The machine compliments our hybrid mail solution, which allows clients to send items to print from their PC for us to pack and mail out from here.

‘As the machine is so fast, it means we can really look to expand our business. It makes us more competitive because we can produce work faster, match multiple pages and has virtually doubled our capacity. Working with the hybrid solution, we can encourage large businesses who produce a lot of print, to work smarter and reduce their costs.’