Quad Expands East Coast Commingling Center

SUSSEX, WI—Quad/Graphics Inc. is strengthening its direct marketing platform with a multimillion-dollar expansion of its East Coast commingling center in Westampton, NJ. The expansion includes six new letter sorters housed in newly-leased space that will enhance clients’ postal savings opportunities and mail delivery efficiencies.

“Given the recent exigent postal rate increase, marketers are more pressured than ever to find solutions to offset their total cost of production and distribution without having to cut into important sales and revenue-generation activities such as prospecting,” said Steve Jaeger, president of direct marketing for Quad/Graphics. “Direct mail remains one of the most effective channels for engaging consumers and driving response, and our expanded commingling platform helps marketers optimize delivery of this powerful print channel to achieve their business goals.”

The commingling process merges individual letter-size mail pieces from multiple clients into a single mailstream that qualifies for U.S. Postal Service presort discounts and dropship savings. The process appends mail pieces with an Intelligent Mail (IMb) barcode to qualify for the most advantageous postage rates while also giving marketers the ability to track their campaigns at the per-piece level. Quad/Graphics feels its commingling volumes drive maximum postal savings while speeding in-home delivery predictably and efficiently.

“Commingling makes sense for our clients,” Jaeger added. “Mailers who wouldn’t qualify for reduced postage because of the size of their mail file can realize sizable savings when part of our multimillion-piece pool.”

Quad/Graphics opened its East Coast commingling center in April 2013. To date, the center has been located within the company’s direct mail production facility in Westampton. The new center—a five-minute drive from the existing direct mail production facility—will start up next month and is expected to be fully operational in the third quarter.

Quad/Graphics’ East Coast commingling center is complemented by a Midwest commingling center in New Berlin, WI, just west of Milwaukee.