07.22.2024
Racami introduces Alchem-e Batch, a system that helps print and mail companies counteract the rapid increase in USPS postage fees while also achieving the benefits of batch processing physical print production. This new product improves the way batching is set up and run, but also links to other parts of the process such as billing which can be complicated when batching multiple customers jobs into one. Alchem-e Batch considers all the stakeholders involved in the production process that are affected by batch processing from customer service through accounting. This product is built for marketing companies, transactional processors, commercial printers, and others that perform printing and/or mailing in production volumes.
Racami’s Alchem-e Batch is a standalone product that is compatible with the Alchem-e Ops Platform and also with 3rd party automation and homegrown systems. It is built to be incorporated into existing automation environments whether on-prem or in the cloud. The product offers embedded pre-configured USPS postal processing for First Class mail, which reduces set up times and the need for users to know how to configure postal processing software. Other classes of mail are also supported.
Combining work through Alchem-e Batch also generates production efficiencies and can reduce paper wasted during job setups.
An industry practice that is not discussed as much as comingling jobs, is the ability to unbatch or separate jobs after printing, so they can run on multiple mail inserting machines. Racami’s Batch system intelligently adds divider sheets, barcodes, and creates separate inserter control files for each job in the batch. Users can tune their batching process to lean towards postal savings, or production efficiencies, and unwinding batches is an important feature for companies to achieve their goals.
“Batching is not a new concept”, says Matt Mahoney, EVP of Sales and Marketing. “Companies have been exploring the benefits of combining jobs since the beginning of production printing, but many can still squeeze out more than their current batching systems offer. We created something that makes setting up a batch job take as long as making your morning coffee and benefits everyone affected by combining work from Customer Service to Accounting. Matt continues, “Instead of writing complex code, or using simple batching tools that don’t handle all the scenarios and don’t connect to other business management systems, Alchem-e Batch better fulfills the promise and economies of scale that businesses seek.”
