Volume 5, Issue 2 May 3, 2002

This NewsCast is being provided to you as part of your Group 1 product maintenance and support plan. It is not intended for distribution outside of your Group 1 user base. Group 1 has taken the best security measures possible to protect your identity on this announce-only distribution list.
Inside this issue of Newscast, look for articles concerning the following topics:

1. Technical Services Documentation Updates
2. MERLIN Issues Resolved for Flat Mailers
3. Local User Groups - Don't Miss Out
4. Group 1 University - Something for Everyone
5. Horizons 2002 - Building Better Relationships

    Archives and Links

1. Technical Services Documentation Updates

Group 1 recently sent the documents listed below to the primary user contacts on a maintenance plan via mass fax, mail, or with your product shipment. You may find these and other documents at www.g1.com/support. (Please have your user ID and password handy.) For our Fax-on-Demand system (FOD), please call 301-918-0781 and select menu option 4 to retrieve the document number indicated below. For LISTSERV, visit the Technical Support - Electronic Product Notification area of our web site to subscribe at www.g1.com/support.

On our Web site, customers may NOT have access to all information listed below. It is only accessible if your company licenses the particular product and/or platform addressed by the announcement.


INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS

REF#: NZ6_GB05 - Greenbar listing for the May 2002 EZ-6/CUE masterfile. Details file names and sizes.
LOC: WEB and FOD #6361 DIST: WEB and FOD PLAT: IBM Mainframe

REF#: SSCG2315 - Greenbar listing for the May 2002 CPC Reference File. Details file names and sizes.
LOC: WEB and FOD #6364 DIST: WEB and FOD PLAT: IBM Mainframe

POSTAL PRODUCTS

REF#: MSP6344d1 - This one-page letter provides customers with information regarding Preliminary Conversion Notes for MailStream Plus 6.3.4.
LOC: WEB and FOD #4666 DIST: Mass Fax PLAT: All LISTSERV: POSTAL_PRODS




2. MERLIN Issues Resolved for Flat Mailers

The USPS will lift the moratorium for assessing postage adjustments due to barcode readability errors detected by MERLIN on flat-size pieces on June 1. Effective June 1, the 60-day grace period will start at all activated MERLIN sites. This is part of the agreement reached between the high-level workgroup of the Mailer's Technical Advisory Committee and the Postal Service on MERLIN testing of flats.

** The earliest any postage assessments will be made is on Aug. 1. It will be for barcode readability errors on flat mail that fall below 80%. Once the USPS completes and evaluates the correlation tests of MERLIN within the next 90 days, a date will be set for raising the barcode readability threshold for flats to 90% from 80%.

** The USPS will increase training on MERLIN for employees and supervisors. Supervisors will have to review barcode readability failures before any postage adjustments that are set.

Read more about the MERLIN agreement in the April 29 issue of Business Mailers Review. Questions on this e-mail should be directed to muth@starpower.net.

~ Business Mailers Review



3. Local User Groups - An Opportunity for Everyone

Local User Group meetings are a great place to exchange information, share your ideas with others and learn more about Group 1 products. Please check the listings below and attend the meeting that is most convenient for you.

Local User Group chapters are open to ALL Group 1 customers. Membership and registration are handled on a local level.
Group 1 clients are invited and encouraged to join the group of their choice.

COLORADO
Location: Reed Business Information (formerly Cahners), 8878 South Barrons Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO, 80126
Date: Thursday, May 2, 2002
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Topic: TBA
Contact: Dennis Roy- droy@cahners.com

PHILADELPHIA AREA
Location: UGI Utilities, Inc., 225 Morgantown Road, Reading, Pennsylvania
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2002
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Topic: This meeting will be an in-depth training class for MailStream Plus led by Rob Sayne, Group 1 Software.
Contact: Dennis Bratcher - dbratcher@dimarkinc.com and Susan Miller - smmiller@ugi.com





4. Group 1 University Offerings

Informative. Rewarding. Beneficial. These are only a few ways to describe Group 1's education classes. Classes are currently are being offered in a variety of areas such as MailStream Plus and CODE-1 Plus. Don't miss out on this GREAT opportunity! For more information regarding our education classes, visit our Education department's web site at www.g1.com/education.


May 7 - 9, 2002 CODE-1 Plus & MailStream Plus Maryland
May 14 - 16, 2002 CODE-1 Plus & MailStream Plus for AS/400 California
May 21 - 23, 2002 CODE-1 Plus & Merge/Purge Plus for Open Systems California/Maryland
May 21 - 23, 2002 AS/400 CODE-1 Plus & MailStream Plus Texas




5. Horizons 2002 - Building Better Relationships

The time for Horizons 2002 is fast approaching. Group 1 Software will be holding its annual User Conference July 10-12, 2002, in Chicago, Illinois, at The Drake Hotel. If you haven't already made your reservations to join us, don't delay. For a limited time, you can get a discount on registration fees - 3 for 2! For more information, visit our website at www.g1.com/uconf for online registration and session information.

If you've attended the conference in the past, the popular sessions are back:

  • Developer and Platform Roundtables,
  • CODE-1 Plus,
  • MailStream Plus,
  • Postal Panel, and more.
This year also brings great new "beginner" level sessions if you are new to Group 1 products:
  • Dispatcher4 - Beginner,
  • Introduction to Canadian Products,
  • Building Your First DOC1 Application, and
  • Using Online Documentation, to name a few.
The Customer Communications Management (DOC1) and Database Marketing (DM1) tracks are strong and packed with information. The Mailing Efficiency and Data Quality tracks are honed and ready to show you the latest Group 1 has to offer!




Archives and Links


NewsCast is now being archived. Click previous issues to go the NewsCast homepage to review any prior issues.

Below are some links that may be of interest to our customers:

Group 1's Web Page - http://www.g1.com. The Group 1 Software web site provides customers with valuable information concerning different areas of the company. From this Web site, you can access education information, recent press releases, support and much more useful information.

USPS Web Site Business Section - http://www.usps.com/smallbiz

The USPS Web Site - www.usps.gov. This Web site allows customers to check out the latest information regarding postage rates and fees, news and events in the postal community, locations of local post offices and various other links. There is also a place where postal service customers can track the status of a package or access other online mailing forms.

Canada Post - http://www.canadapost.ca/splash.asp. This is the direct link to the Canada Post Web site.

USPS Postal One - http://www.pilot.uspspostalone.com. This is the direct link to the USPS Postal One Web site.

USPS Rapid Information Bulletin Board System - http://ribbs.usps.gov. This is the National Customer Support Center for the United States Postal Service. It provides you Mail Service updates, current weather conditions and other interesting facts pertaining to the Postal Service.

Postal Rate Commission - http://www.prc.gov. The Postal Rate Commission Web site provides information about the organization, its function and procedures, along with postal rates and fees. It also provides a location where you can voice your opinion to the Consumer Advocate.

Nonprofit Mailers - http://www.nonprofitmailers.org. The Alliance is the primary representative of nonprofit mailers before the Postal Rate Commission, at the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Headquarters, and on Capitol Hill.

Postcom - http://www.postcom.org. Postcom is the Association for Postal Commerce. Its web site provides you with up-to-date information regarding what is going on in the "postal world." It includes links to other helpful sites, as well as a place to contact your U.S. Senators or Representatives.




We welcome comments and suggestions regarding Newscast be sent to cc@g1.com. Please be sure to include "NEWSCAST" in your subject line. Look for your next issue to arrive in your e-mail box on or about May 16, 2001.

Newscast - Volume 5, Issue 1
Date: May 2, 2002
Editor: Becki Dustin (cc@g1.com) Asst. Editor: Denny Derr
Phone: 1-800-367-6950
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