Mail Piece Design
& Guidelines
Mailing Services
Printing & Mailing Services offer professional expertise and services to ensure your mailing project receives the best postage discounts and ensures highest level of delivery accuracy. Some of the services we offer:
- Inkjet Addressing
- Fixed Message Lines
- Address Labels
- Folding
- Perfing/Scoring
- Inserting - Manual and Machine
- Stamp Affixing
- Tabbing
- Hand and Machine Collating
- Variable Data Printing
- Black & White Copies
- Color Copies
- Envelopes
- Envelope Sealing - Manual and Machine
- Glue Dots
- Mail list processing (CASS certify, Dedupe, NCOA, Remove non-deliverables)
- Presort First Class Mail, Standard and Nonprofit Rate Mail, Flat Size Mail
Turnaround Time
Mail List Processing
1-3 business days, this includes any mail merging and variable data setup.
Postcards
1-2 business days after mail list processing and proof approval. This includes the printing, cutting, sorting, and mailing.
Letters & Flats
2-5 business days after mail list processing and proof approval. This includes the printing for envelopes and letters, folding, stuffing, sealing, sorting, and mailing.
Note: times may vary for detailed mailers requiring hand stuffing.
Creating a Direct Mail Piece
The format you choose sets up the way your message is presented. When deciding on a format for your mail piece, consider:
- What is the goal of mailing?
- What is the most important thing I want people to remember?
- How much space do I need for my message?
- What format is best for conveying my message?
Once you have your situation clearly defined, choose the format that will best satisfy your goals. It should allow you to say and show everything that you need — nothing more, nothing less.
Letter Fold: 8.5" x 11" minimum stock weight 28lb Bond or 70lb Book
Single Fold: 8.5" x 11" minimum stock weight 28lb Bond or 70lb Book
Double Parallel Fold: 8.5" x 14" minimum stock weight 28lb Bond or 70lb Book
French Fold: 11" x 17" minimum stock weight 28lb Bond or 60lb Book
Mail Piece Formats
Postcards
Postcards can be used for:
- Announcements for new services
- Move notifications
- Special events and announcements
Letters
Letters can be used for:
- Introduce your services
- Provide news and updates
- Include reply envelopes
Flyers & Self-Mailers
This larger format gives you more space to elaborate on the details of your message, communicate key points and visually describe your services.
Brochures & Booklets
Brochures can be used for:
- Offer information about your services
- Introduce new services
- Communicate special events
Mail piece Design Considerations
All mail pieces require:
- Return address
- Delivery address
- Postage field (permit imprint, postage stamp, or meter stamp)
Postcards
Avoid putting any design elements in the specified USPS no-print zones. Any color elements in these areas cannot exceed 7% opacity.
Letters
Large Envelopes (flats)
Pieces that are rigid, non-rectangular or not uniformly thick, pay package prices.
Packages
Measuring Instructions
Length + girth combined cannot exceed 165 inches and up to 108” in length.
Length: the longest side of the package.
Girth: measurement around the thickest part perpendicular to the length.
Length x Width x Height = Girth
Organizing
Your Mail Lists
Organizing Your Mail List
To assist with efficient professing of your mailing list and ensure accurate delivery, please use the following guidelines.
We accept the following formats: Excel files (.XLS, .XLSX, .CSV), Text files (.TXT) and Database files (.DBF).
Databases come in all different formats including required address fields or variable data fields. We recognize as a result, mailing lists might not always be formatted exactly to specifications. Lists that do not comply to standard specifications and need manipulation to meet data standards, will incur additional fees in order to proceed.
Creating Address Files
- Each line is limited to 35 characters
- Eliminate all punctuation (except the hyphen in the ZIP+4)
- Use 2-letter state abbreviations
Use common abbreviations (ST., AVE., APT., etc.) - Address labels created in WordPerfect and Word cannot be used.
- Use universal fonts, such as:
Arial
Courier
Lucida Console
Times New Roman - No symbols or hard returns, please!
Address Block Design
- No more than five lines to an address
- For international mail: place the country name and zip code on the last line of the address block
Some standard formats for an address block are shown here:
ADDRESS 1
CITY STATE ZIP
FIRST LAST
COMPANY
STREET
PO BOXES
CITY STATE ZIP
COMPANY
STREET OR PO BOX
CITY STATE ZIP
COUNTRY
Data Services
The most important aspect of a successful mailing is the quality and accuracy of the list. We use the following processes to achieve that.
Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)
CASS certification is required by USPS to claim automation discounts on presorted mailings. CASS examines an address and appends ZIP+4 if possible. CASS does this by comparing each address to the current National ZIP+4 directory, a table of valid address ranges for every street in the United States.Address Standardization
Addresses in your list will be standardized according to USPS specifications. For example, Avenue will be abbreviated to “AVE” and “#” will be replaced by “STE” or “APT.”Address Correction
CASS validation will attempt to correct misspellings and add required information if it’s missing, such as ZIP code, +4 code and carrier route.
Address Updating
Occasionally a street name or rural route will change, in which case CASS validation will update the record with the new address.
Delivery Point Validation
DPV, also a USPS requirement, takes CASS a step further by comparing each address to the current National DPV directory, a table of every valid delivery point for every street in the US. Rather than just verifying the address down to the block face, it verifies the address down to the exact delivery point, a much more precise verification.
NCOALink
The USPS keeps a database of all those who fill out a Change of Address form when they move. We are licensed to compare mailing lists to National Change of Address database, which provides us with a list of the matches with the new addresses. Change of Address is valid ONLY for 6 months after an address change is submitted.
Duplicate Removal
Eliminate costly duplicate records within your mailing list, or between multiple lists, with our advanced address matching capabilities. Fields containing name and address info will be compared. Only records that contain duplicate name AND duplicate address info will be removed.
National Change of Address (NCOA)
How NCOA Works
NCOA is a data base product of the United States Postal Service (USPS) used to provide updated and accurate addresses for individuals, families, and businesses.
The addresses in the database are specifically designed to match the USPS requirements. It is a secure dataset of approximately 160 million permanent change-of-address (COA) records consisting of names and addresses of individuals, families and businesses who have filed a change-of-address with the USPS. Access to it is licensed to service providers and made available to mailers.
The rewards of using NCOA are improved discounts on postage and reduced:
- Returned mail
- Mailing cost of bad addresses for postage, materials (paper and envelopes), and production labor
- Time and money spent re-mailing a second time
- Undeliverable mail
Note: The deduping process looks for EXACT matches. If there is any variation between the names or addresses of two records, the duplicate will not be removed. Also, only the first record will be maintained. For example:
Will not be deduped (last names do not match):
John Smith
John Smth
123 Main St.
123 Main St.
Corvallis OR 97331
Corvallis OR 97331
Will not be deduped (address field does not match):
John Smith
John Smith
123 Mian St.
123 Main St.
Corvallis OR 97331
Corvallis OR 97331
Will not be deduped (common first name in long/short form):
James Smith
Jim Smith
123 Main St.
123 Main St.
Corvallis OR 97331
Corvallis OR 97331
Mailing Class
& Rates
Class & Description
First Class
First Class mail is processed by the USPS on a priority basis, it goes to the front of the USPS line. Locally, first class will typically be delivered in 1-3 days and nationally; all of it should be delivered in about 4 days. Recipients who have moved within the last 6 months will have their mail forwarded at no charge. If it’s undeliverable, it will be returned to you at no charge with the reason for non-delivery.
Presort First-Class
If you have 500 or more identical mail pieces, Presort First-Class offers about a 20% postage savings! It’s handled with the same first class priority processing, but to receive the lower postage rate, the addresses must be NCOA address updated, CASS certified, and put in to a presort order. Leave that to us, just send us your mailing list and we can begin!
Standard Mail
Standard Mail is the new term for “bulk mail.” Standard Mail is processed by the USPS on a “time available” basis. There is NO guaranteed delivery time, only “typicals”. Local mail is typically delivered in about 3-6 work days, national mail can be 1-2 weeks.
The “pros”: It’s the least expensive postage mode, a bit more than half the price of 1st class, which enables you to mail lots more for less. It also allows up to 3.5 ounces, all for the same low postage rate. And if your mail is heavier than 3.5, the weight surcharge increase isn’t too much more.
The “cons”: NEVER use Standard Mail if you have a rapidly approaching event or expiration date. Standard mail is not forwarded and not returned if undeliverable. It merely goes in to the USPS recycling bin.
Non-profit Rate
Non-profit is simply a favored postage rate within Standard Mail. It’s processed exactly the same, so the same delivery times apply, but gets even deeper discounts that can be 70% less than the cost of first class.
Note: Non-profit postage prices are available only for domestic mail, not for international mail.