From the very first impression, Mail Factory struck me as a very, very cool program. Once I began working with it, I realized that the old adage of "Don't judge a book by its cover" did not apply in this instance, because my first impression was right on. The program is very, very good. I got started right away, without needing to use a manual. I commissioned my granddaughter, Gabi, 9, to do the creative part with the design of the labels and envelopes. In less than five minutes, she had successful designs; it's that easy. It's an elegant and very powerful application.

Given all it does, Mail Factory is a bargain. This application lets you design and print envelopes, shipping labels, and address labels on your Macintosh. You can do single or batch printing, fast. It comes with many ready-made designs as well as over 500 clipart images. Or you may insert your own graphics and custom images such as your own company logo. There is a built-in iPhoto browser which allows you to preview and select photos from your iPhoto library. It includes over 50 image masks, and has controls for transparency, color tinting, rotating, and cropping.

Special features include the ability to print USPS, POSTNET, and Royal Mail barcodes on labels and envelopes; FIM-A-Code (Facing Identification Mark) can be printed on envelopes with US addresses; there are over 100 "handling labels" for envelopes and packages. It also correctly formats addresses according to the postal standards of more than 50 countries in addition to handling their barcodes.

The Inspector helps to format the text, address fields, and choose a preferred format. Mail Factory allows you to select your contacts from Apple's Address Book, Entourage, Eudora, Now Contact, vCard data source, a text file, MS Excel, or FileMaker Pro. This very elegant feature integrates your address book, no matter which address book you happen to use.

Printing labels couldn't be easier. Mail Factory supports hundreds of label templates: from Avery, Sigel, APLI, A-One, DYMO, Xerox, MACO, Decadry, Pimaco, and others. It is also compatible with a DYMO printer. If you want professional, personalized labels and envelopes either for company use or personal use, Mail Factory is the application for you.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 apples.