The new industry standard for direct mail and lettershop production

Bell and Howell’s Producer inserters are designed for environments that demand mailpiece quality and integrity controls, high production volumes and low operating costs. Producer inserters are built to last, are easily maintained and can be productive in the most challenging environments.

The requirement to meet high production demands with the fewest number of machines and the lowest possible labor costs is causing the industry to rethink the approach to high-speed mail production. Bell and Howell Producer inserters yield the highest production with the fewest number of operators. An array of productivity enhancements designed to reduce operating costs, optimize every machine cycle and automate paper handling processes are available. These inserters have the capability to process a variety of application types at speeds that are perfectly matched to your business and production needs.

The Bell and Howell Producer 16 inserter operates at speeds up to 16,000 letter envelopes and 10,000 flats envelopes per hour. Designed for 7/24 operation, this heavy-duty inserter provides a long life with very low parts usage and minimal down-time. The Producer 16 is extremely flexible and easily handles a wide range of applications with the availability of different feeding technologies to process almost any application.

Simplicity

The inserting method used by the Producer 16 reduces the number of moving parts, simplifies the flow of material and reduces stoppages, which increases up-time and reduces the burden on the operator. Operator efficiency is further increased by easy access to the inserting area and feeder hoppers.

The Producer 16 inserting system utilizes a true “in-line” process. Insert and envelope feeders are located on the operator side of the system over the main collation track and inserts and envelopes travel in the same direction. Operation is further simplified as a result of envelope feeding and opening being accomplished in a very short, direct delivery path. Reduced complexity for the operators translates to higher productivity and a significant reduction in scrap and rework.

The processing speed and efficiency of the Producer 16 inserting system reduces cost per mailpiece, making your operation even more competitive.

Flexibility

The Producer 16 inserting system uses rotary feeders as the primary feeding technology. Benefits include the following:

• More versatile—handles wide range of paper types and conditions
• Uses vacuum separation for positive control of the material
• Eliminates wear mechanisms associated with other feeding technologies
• Dual-gripper design eliminates skew compared to lower-cost single gripper designs
• Captured cams allow much higher speeds without “cam lofting” typical of lower-cost designs
• Large diameter feeder drum minimizes feeding problems

Additional feeder options are available for a wide range of production requirements, including rotary feeders with separator disk, shuttle feeders and friction feeders. All insert feeders are modular and can be changed after installation.

Navigator system controller

The Producer 16 also features the Bell and Howell Navigator system controller, which acts as a master command center for virtually any device. With Navigator, operators are free to engage in their operational duties while communicating with the system using the optional voice command. This allows them to focus on keeping the system running and lowering your cost per piece.

Easy to use and set up

This operator-friendly inserter uses simple and easy-to-use setup enhancements, such as tool-free adjustments throughout the system. All feeders have integrated hand-wheel and kip-handle adjustments that allow for quick format and size changes by the operator. Adjustments to the inserting area are simple, intuitive and easy to access. Complete job changeovers can be accomplished within minutes. The operator interface provides setup instructions using plain text and graphics.

Reliability and service

The Bell and Howell Producer 16 system is ideal for use in self-service environments because the system uses industry-standard control electronics, motor drives, motors and sensors. Thanks to its rugged design and construction, the Producer 16 consistently demonstrates lower parts consumption and lower maintenance costs compared to other vendor’s systems.

Optional features

• Ink-jet addressing, including read and print capability
• Back-up feeding
• Insert matching and ZIP sorting using envelope markers or envelope offsetting
• Various postage meter options
• Envelope diverters
• Envelope delivery conveyors
• Envelope reading, tracking and verification capability using the Bell and Howell JETVision Express or JETVision Platinum advanced vision reading systems

Specifications

Max cycling speed

• 16,000 cycles per hour for #10 envelopes
• 12,000 cycles per hour for Brokerage #14 envelopes
• 10,000 cycles per hour for 10” x 13” envelopes

Feeder types

• Rotary
• Shuttle
• Friction
• Pick and place
• Card feeder

Configurations from 4 to 8 feeders per system

Envelope sizes

• Minimum: 4" × 7" (101.6 mm x 177.8 mm)
• Maximum: 10" × 13" (254.0 mm x 330.2 mm)
• Maximum collation thickness: 0.4” (10 mm)

Insert sizes

• Minimum: 3.2” x 4.3” (81.3 mm x 109.2 mm)
• Maximum: 9” x 11.8” (228.6 mm x 299.7 mm)