Hands-On Review--Mail Factory v.1.4
Here are Mail Factory's main features:
- Print single envelopes and labels or batch print addresses from Mac OS X's Address Book, Entourage, Eudora, Now Contact, MS Excel, FileMaker, vCards or any tab-delimited text files.
- Print USPS POSTNET and UK Royal Mail barcodes on labels and envelopes to help expedite delivery.
- Correctly format addresses for more than 50 countries. Mail Factory conforms to postal guidelines and supports FIM-A Codes.
- The unique Address Recognition feature allows the pasting of an address as text from other applications. Mail Factory automatically formats it to the chosen postal standards and applies correct the barcode.
- Mail Factory automatically supports DYMO LabelWriter printers and ready-made labels from most popular companies including: Avery, APLI, A-One, and more.
- The position of the initial label can be chosen so that partially used label sheets can be used.
- Add a personalized look to mailings with dozens of ready-made designs or insert custom images, apply masks and control transparency. More than 500 clipart images are included with Mail Factory.
Check out BeLight's Samples page for ideas on how to use Mail Factory.
We used Mail Factory to quickly make an address label for Macs Only!'s envelopes. Launching the application opened the Assistant:
We selected the label image in the upper left corner, Return Address Label from the pop-up menu and the label manufacturer/type from the left window. An image of the label sheet shows in the right window to confirm the correct selection. We clicked the "Next" button.
In Step 2 the design of the label is selected. We added Macs Only!'s original logo to the collection of clip art from a folder on our hard drive and clicked the "Next" button.
In Step 3 the address for the label is selected. We chose ours from Mac OS X 10.3.5's Address Book and clicked the "Finish" button. The completed label is shown below.
One can still edit the label further as needed. The editor has handy automatic alignment guides (the blue dashed line in the image above) that help to perfectly align logo and text.
Once again BeLight has released a terrific application. Like Business Card Composer, Mail Factory is very easy to use and produces outstanding results. Mail Factory is $29.95 (download version, $39.95 for a CD) or $59.95 when bundled as a download with the $39.95 Business Card Composer.
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