Intelligent Mail Barcodes, Interlink & YOU!

By now most mailers are familiar with the term Intelligent Mail Barcode or IMB. As it pertains to newspapers, the primary interest in IMB is that it is to replace the current POSTNET barcode as the requirement to claim automation rates when mailing.

It comes as a relief to many that the requirement to move to IMB in May 2011 has been delayed by the United States Postal Service. Making the move to IMB requires mailers to obtain a mailer ID, software modifications and a printer or inkjet system that will support the new format.
No new date has been announced yet but rest assured that Interlink Circulation will have support for basic IMB at no additional cost when it is required to ensure that those precious, even necessary, automation discounts are preserved.

Printing the new IMB is a point of concern for many as there currently are no impact printers (dot-matrix) capable of natively printing the new barcode. Interlink is one of few vendors to print to impact printers using native fonts wherever possible, often speeding printing by up to 300 percent! Without IMB support built in to the printer, dot-matrix users may be left printing in a slower graphics mode.To reduce the impact of IMB on our customers, Interlink is collaborating with Epson to find an alternative method of printing the IMB on their printers with as little slowdown as possible.

Mailers using 2-up adhesive Avery-style address labels with a laser printer can expect full compatibility with IMB at typical print speeds, and most modern inkjet addressing systems have upgrades available that add support for spraying the new barcode.

We encourage anyone considering the purchase of a new printer to explore an inkjet addressing option with their commercial printer and consider the other benefits before making a decision.

Support for IMB in Interlink Circulation will be announced in the release notes of a future update, as well as in our newsletter and on www.ilsw.com. For updates on IMB from the Post Office including notification of rescheduled requirements, visit or subscribe to the DMM Advisory at (http://pe.usps.com/dmmadvisory.asp).

If you have any questions about Interlink support for IMB or how it may affect you, please call us at (888) 473-3103 or write to support@ilsw.com.