Patent ID: 8489231

Claim:
A method for processing a mailpiece returned as undeliverable, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the returned mailpiece into a reject encoding machine; in the reject encoding machine, automatically performing the following steps under software control— capturing a digital image of the returned mailpiece; inspecting the captured digital image to determine whether the mailpiece bears a predetermined machine-readable loop mode indicator; if the mailpiece does not bear a loop mode indicator, reading a new destination address of the mailpiece based on the captured digital image; if the new destination address is resolvable, determining whether or not a destination barcode on the mailpiece is readable; if the destination barcode is readable, determining whether the new destination address matches the destination barcode; and if the new address matches the destination barcode— over-labeling the mailpiece so as to cover an existing barcode label; marking the mailpiece for manual handling only; and directing the mailpiece to manual handling.