Origins
Software for Bell & Howell Mailstar series inserters which were widely used across the USA to stuff letters automatically in envelopes.
Atari ST compatibles ran these inserters from 1987 to 1996 till Atari Corporation's demise. Long after that Bell & Howel still acquired second hand ST and Falcon030 computers to keep the older stations alive. Due to Mailstar's simply maintenance, it was calculated that one Mailstar inserter could operate for 50 years.
User herbertmathews wrote on YouTube comment:
"I worked for Bell and Howell in the Inserting division I was tech support for the inserter software, we used mega2s and later falcon 030s to control the inserting systems, they still have brand new 030s in stock but they are not cheap.?
Inserters are machines that put documents automatically into envelopes, search for "bell and Howell mailstar500" to give you some idea. Yes it ran inhouse software called crt2 it was standard until about 1997 when, due to Atari going out of business we switched to a pc, There are many old B+H inserters out in the field so the falcons are kept for supporting any old systems that were not upgraded, the equipment is not cheap with may units costing $400,000 and up. They are extremely well made and can last 50 years or more with good maintenance. The Atari computers were extremely reliable, many of the systems they were on worked 7x24 and we had very few problems with them.?"
Follow this link to learn more of this specialized industry machine.
Here's a video of the 1995 model in action powered with Atari STe.
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