Bell and Howell, a provider of solutions and services for paper-based and digital messaging, has been recognized with an honorable mention award for Technology of the Year at the 2012 Xplor Conference and Vendor Forum, held recently in St. Pete Beach, Fla.

The officials from Bell and Howell said the company was recognized for its Navigator and Harmonix software. The Navigator software combines all of the latest technologies into one low-cost, easy-to-implement system that enables dramatic improvements in usability, operator and system productivity, and overall system management, officials said. With Navigator, operators are not tied to a system display for interacting with a system. Instead they can focus on handling their operational activities, such as loading inserts and BREs, sweeping mail and removing spoiled pieces, while communicating with the system using voice commands.

 “Our annual awards act as a barometer that gauges the innovation and adoption of technology and applications in the industry,” said Skip Henk, president and CEO of Xplor International. “As an association that supports this industry, we are honored to recognize the people and organizations that are shaping the future of how companies communicate using print, electronic and mobile technologies. This year Bell and Howell really impressed us with their advanced solutions that will reset the benchmark.”

Harmonix can improve inserting productivity using real-time machine, operator and application information, enabling mailers to achieve an improvement in net throughput and a reduction in processing time and cost. Harmonix synchronizes the interaction between operator, machine and the mailpiece, resulting in each application running at the optimum speed throughout the entire run.

“We are very pleased to accept this award, and proud to be a member of Xplor,” said Mike Maselli, Bell and Howell’s vice president of marketing and product management. “The Xplor events offer members a great opportunity for education and industry networking, and we appreciate the recognition for our best-in-class products.”