CGX Awarded Patent for Three-dimensional Automated Flat Mailer

HOUSTON—June 26, 2013—Consolidated Graphics (CGX), one of North America's leading commercial printing companies and the world's largest digital printer, was recently awarded a patent for the company's CGX Flex Mailer, a unique, eco-friendly mailing solution that generates significant postage savings by enabling non-machinable items to be mailed as automated flats through the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. Patent #8,376,212 was awarded to Consolidated Graphics for the automated flat mailer consisting of a highly flexible outer "skin" coupled with a unique inner tray design. The outer skin is tight enough to allow flexibility on both vertical and horizontal axes, while maintaining sufficient surface tension to limit variations in thickness to under 1/4 of an inch. This means that anything mailed within the CGX Flex Mailer is classified as an automated machinable flat, generating significant postage savings for customers. The packages are produced using wind energy and soy-based inks, making it an environmentally-friendly mailing alternative for socially responsible clientele.

"We are extraordinarily proud of this patented design and the cost savings it offers to clients of Consolidated Graphics," said Michelle Yun, president of Tucker Printers, a Consolidated Graphics company in Henrietta, NY, where the CGX Flex Mailer was conceived and developed. "The Flex Mailer provides an excellent example of the innovative solutions we are constantly researching and developing to meet the evolving needs of our clients, and we've received overwhelming interest from clients faced with escalating postage costs."

Developed as a custom solution for a promotional products and fulfillment customer that needed a cost-effective mailing solution, the CGX Flex Mailer is available in six sizes and can accommodate items as small as a USB drive to as large as a t-shirt, while still remaining a USPS-approved automatable package. Package tracking is possible through the Intelligent Mail Barcode that can be printed directly on the piece.

"The market is demanding a product like the CGX Flex Mailer," added Yun, "and now we have a vehicle that satisfies our customers' needs and saves them money, yet still allows companies to communicate their brand in creative, attention-grabbing ways."

For more information on the CGX Flex Mailer click here.

About Consolidated Graphics
Consolidated Graphics (CGX), headquartered in Houston, is one of North America's leading general commercial printing companies. With 70 printing businesses strategically located across 27 states, Toronto, Prague, and Gero, Japan, CGX offers an unmatched geographic footprint, unsurpassed capabilities, and unparalleled levels of convenience, efficiency and service. With locations in or near virtually every major U.S. market, CGX provides service and responsiveness of a local printer enhanced by the economic, geographic and technological advantages of a large national organization. Consolidated Graphics' vast and technologically advanced sheetfed and web printing capabilities are complemented by the world's largest integrated digital footprint. By coupling North America's most comprehensive printing capabilities with strategically located fulfillment centers and industry-leading technology, CGX delivers end-to-end print production and management solutions that are based on the needs of our customers to improve their results.

Source: Consolidated Graphics.