CGX Garners Patent for Flexible Mailer

HOUSTON—Consolidated Graphics (CGX), one of North America's largest commercial printing companies, was recently awarded a patent for the company's CGX Flex Mailer, an 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 number 8,376,212 was awarded to CGX 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 less than 1/4 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."