Most newspapers print bundle tops to attach to the bundles of papers they distribute to carriers. The bundle top information allows distribution personnel to count and load the bundles correctly and informs the carriers of any changes on their routes. Bundle tops are the primary means of communicating to carriers any delivery pattern changes, starts, stops, messages, complaints, and compliments about their work. You enter bundle information using this option, and then print the bundle tops using the Bundle Tops option.

You can enter distribution information for products and dates that are not in the current publishing run. Business Rules determine whether the truck sequence can be changed using this option. Business Rules also determine whether minimum bundle sizes can be used, as well as the default entries in the Print Key Bundles Only checkbox and the Separate Option field.

To enter bundle information:

1. Select Enter Bundle Info from the Distribution menu to display the Distribution Information window.

2. Click the Add Distribution Info icon ().

   
3. Enter distribution information in the Product through Truck Sequence fields (described below).

4. Click Next and complete the remaining fields.

   Fields	Type	What to enter
   PRODUCT	setup	Enter the product for which you are defining distribution information.
   RUN DATE	date	Enter the publishing date for which you are defining distribution information.
   EDITION	N/A	This field will default and cannot be changed. Note: This field is replaced by the Paper Section field in the Advance Processing version of this program.
   DEPARTURE	setup	Enter the truck departure sequence that should be used. The departure sequence is the order trucks follow on a given day departing from the dock. Examples are “Monday-Friday” and “Holiday.”
   TRUCK SEQUENCE	setup	Enter the truck sequence for this product and publishing date. The truck sequence is a pattern that determines which routes are dropped by which trucks and in what order. Examples are “Daily” and “Sat-Sun”.
   DEPARTURE ORDER, DROP ORDER	display	The departure order and drop order, which determine whether bundles are printed in ascending or descending order among trucks and within each truck, are displayed. These values are set up in Business Rules.
   MIX NAME	setup	If you use InsertPlus and are inserting a mix in this publication, enter the mix name here, or press “*” to multi-select mixes. The insert combination code may be printed on the truck manifest and bundle tops (as governed by Business Rules) and be used to determine bundle sizes.
   BUNDLE SIZE OPTION	predefined	You will need to assign a standard, minimum, and maximum size for your bundles. Indicate here whether you wish to define the bundle size by delivery method (carrier, motor, and single copy), AAM zone, AAM zone by delivery method (both AAM zone and delivery method), truck, edition, or insert mix. “Insert Mix” will be a choice only if you have InsertPlus. You can define bundle sizes for each insert combination of the mix(es) entered in Mix Name. If there will be routes with no inserts, enter a record with a mix name of “*”. Also, a sequence of “*” can be entered to specify the bundle size for all combinations of a mix that do not have an individual bundle size record.
   PRINT KEY BUNDLES ONLY	predefined	Most routes will receive one odd bundle that is below or above the standard size. These are called “key” bundles. For example, if a route has 37 papers and the standard is 10, there could be 3 standard bundles and one key bundle of 7. Indicate here whether the bundle top should print only for the key bundle (always), print for all bundles (never) or print according to the route.
   SEPARATE OPTION	predefined	Indicate whether hand-tie bundles tops should be printed separately at the end of the bundle run (hand-tie) or with the other bundles (none). A hand-tie bundle is a bundle below the minimum size that often must be hand-tied. If you use InsertPlus and have routes that require special handling (based on a preprint demographic defined in Business Rules), select special. Select both if you want special and hand-tie bundles to be printed at the end of the run.
   ROUNDING MODEL	N/A	This field is active only for advance processing.
   PRINT ROUTE LISTS PRINT ORDER	yes/no predefined	Select this checkbox if you want a route delivery list to be printed on the route’s bundle top. The PRINT ORDER field will become available to select the order in which the route list should be sorted. The possible choices are address, postal route, and delivery sequence order. If a TM product or other publication is delivered with the main publication, it will appear in a separate column. See Route Delivery List for more information on route delivery lists.
   PRINT AD ZONES, PRINT INSERT LIST, PRINT INSERT MIX	—	These fields are used when generating bundle tops in InsertPlus. They are not used in Circulation.
   INCLUDED PRODUCTS	setup	Specify any additional products to include on the truck manifest. Additional publications must have the same truck sequence and truck departure as the original publication.
   COMBINE WITH FINAL ON	N/A	This field is active only for advance processing.
   CREATE ONE FILE SET	yes/no	This field allows you to override the Business Rules settings that create separate bundle top and truck manifest files by publication and edition. When this checkbox is selected, one combined export file for all multi-pack editions is created (i.e., instead of separate files), and the remaining editions are exported as before (based on File Map setup). A Business Rule, Should the export file set for multi-pack products default to 'One File Set' in 'Enter Bundle Info'? (Route Processing section), allows you to set the default value for this checkbox.

5. Enter stacker information, bundle sizes, and messages for this run (see below).

6. Click OK to accept the bundle information.

Entering Stacker Information

After you have completed the above fields, you can enter stacker information on the Stacker tab.

To add stacker information, click the Modify Stacker button on the Stacker tab, complete the fields described below, and click OK.

Entering Bundle Sizes

Bundle sizes are defined on the Bundle Size tab. To begin entering bundle sizes, click Add and enter the standard, maximum, and minimum bundle sizes for each bundle size option. The “standard” you specify here is the standard size of your bundles. There will most likely be an odd-sized bundle among the standards, known as the key. The key will not be over the size specified as “maximum”. If the key is under the “minimum” size, the key bundle will be considered a “hand tie” and can be printed separately from the other bundle tops depending on Business Rules.

• Bundle Size Option is taken from the main window.

• Details allows you to enter a specific AAM zone, delivery method, truck, etc., depending on the bundle size option specified.

• Standard is the standard bundle size.

• Maximum is the maximum size of key bundles.

• Minimum is the minimum size of key bundles, below which a bundle will be considered a hand-tie bundle.

• Max Stack Bundle is used for stacker interfaces. It is the maximum size of a stack of newspapers coming off the stacker.

• # Stacks/Bundle is the number of stacks coming off the stacker that comprise one bundle.

Entering Messages

If you want to enter a message for all carriers or carriers of a specific draw type, click the Messages tab. Then, click Modify Messages and type the text in the appropriate field. Click OK when you have finished.

Copy Distribution Info Range

The "Copy Distribution Info Range" option can be used to copy, update, or delete multiple records depending on the date range passed for selected weekdays in the specified range.

To use this feature:

1. Select the required Distribution Information from the Advance Distribution Information table and click on Copy Distribution Info Range button.

   
2. A pop-up window will be displayed to add, update, or delete records depending on the date range passed for selected weekdays in the specified range.