Dead Tree Edition announces publication of the free "Unofficial Guide to Flats Sequencing" to clear up confusion regarding a new technology that may revolutionize the way magazines, catalogs, and mailed newspapers are produced and distributed in the United States.
The guide, which follows a question-and-answer format, with links to relevant documents and a video, can be found at http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2009/01/unofficial-guide-to-flats-sequencing.html
It attempts to unlock the mysteries of the Flats Sequencing System, which is a cornerstone of the U.S. Postal Service's efforts to reduce its costs of handling and delivering labor-intensive "flats" mail. Two of the enormous machines have been running in Dulles, VA for several months, and 98 more are scheduled to be up and running at 32 sites around the country by fall of next year.
"I have seen tremendous interest in our articles regarding the Flats Sequencing System," said D. Eadward Tree, pseudonymous "Chief Arborist" of Dead Tree Edition (http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com). "Our article Postal Service eyes mega-millions from FSS' (http://deadtreeedition.blogspot.com/2008/11/usps-eyes-mega-millions-from-fss.html) generated more than 100 comments, mostly at other sites that linked to it. Clearly there is much interest - and confusion - regarding FSS among mailers, postal employees, and other parties."
The technology may result in thousands of job eliminations, hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for the Postal Service, and significant changes for printers and mailers, according to the guide. In barely two months, flats mailers will have to change the way they place addresses on their publications, causing most magazines to start placing the addresses up-side down on the covers. Because the Postal Service has not revealed, or even decided on, all details of FSS, the "Unofficial Guide to Flats Sequencing" will be updated as more information becomes available.
Dead Tree Edition addresses a variety of issues regarding the production and distribution of ink-on-paper publications, such as postal issues, the paper market, printing technologies, and relevant environmental matters. In less than three months of existence, its articles have been cited by the Web sites of U.S. News & World Report, Editor & Publisher, Huffington Post, the Association for Postal Commerce (Postcom), Postalnews.com, and many others. Among its scoops were revelations that most paper prices started declining in late 2008; discussions of delays, missteps and miscommunication in the Postal Service's Intelligent Mail Barcode program; analysis showing that next year's increases in postal rates will be lower than originally anticipated; and the infamous "cardboard porn" story about the toll-free "Corrugated Recycles" number being taken over by a telephone-sex operation.