We have yet another change in mailing specifications coming March 29, 2009 and it is an important one. In our seminars we have instructed our attendees that this was coming but for those of you who did not attend, this is the pertinent information. It requires that all mailers place delivery addresses in the top half of all Standard Mail, Package Services and Periodical flats mailed at automation, presorted, or carrier route prices. Additional standards relate to address characteristics and apply to all commercial flat-size pieces, including First-Class Mail.
This means if your mail piece is a flat, an example would be an 8.5×11 newsletter or a 9×12 envelope. The area where you place the address must be at the top of the page or in the first 5.5 inches of the right hand side if positioned as a landscape .
If not addressed in the correct area, it will slow your delivery because it will not be machinable at the USPS and you will not receive bar-coded automation rates. Below are the postal rates if done correctly and incorrectly;
Automation: Postage – .496 Non Automation: Postage .558
Non Profit Automation: Postage .362 Non Automation: Postage .424
On a mailing of 10,000 the difference between placing the address in the correct position vs the incorrect position is $620.00 in postage.
