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On October 10th,
the Postal Service published
notices of proposed changes in
letters and flats. These
changes, found in the Federal
Register, may affect the way you
design your mail.
For letters:
-
A new
address standard - The
Postal Service wants all
letters mailed at discounted
rates to have addresses
printed in no smaller than 8
point type. The preferred
font is Ariel, though you
can use other fonts.
-
The font
you use cannot have
characters that touch or
overlap. A descender (g)
cannot touch an ascender (f)
nor can the letters touch
(fl)
-
The Postal
Service wants no more than 3
blank spaces between the
various elements of an
address. You need to have a
floating City/State/Zip line
instead of fixed print
locations.
For flats:
-
A new
barcoding standard - Any
flat size mail for
First-Class, Periodicals,
Standard Mail, Bound Printed
Matter, Media Mail or
Library Mail that is sent at
discounted rates is to have
a delivery point (11 digit)
Postnet barcode or
Intelligent Mail barcode.
-
A new
address placement standard -
Flat size mail for
Periodicals, Standard Mail,
Bound Printed Matter, Media
Mail or Library Mail that
are sent at discounted rates
are to have the addresses in
the upper portion of the
mailpiece. This would
facilitate the carrier being
able to read the address
above his bundle of letter
size mail while on his
route.
-
A new
address standard – The
Postal Service also wants
flat size mail to have
addresses printed in no
smaller than 8 point type
with no characters touching
or overlapping.
The Postal
Service wants these changes to
aid in the mechanical processing
of mail. The placement standard
for flat size mail is different
for pieces that are enveloped
vs. pieces that are bound or
folded. If you need
clarification on where your
address needs to be, please
contact me at
jmerchantz@superiormailing.com
These are just
proposed changes. A final
ruling will be issued in
January, 2008, and will allow
for approximately 1 year before
becoming mandatory.
The Postal
Service would welcome your
written comments. Comments are
due by December 10, 2007. They
can be sent via US Mail to:
Manager, Mailing Standards,
United States Postal Service,
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room
3436, Washington DC 20260-3436
or via fax at (202) 268-4955. |
