participant guide april 2014 - pitney bowes · 2017-01-22 · mail coach participant guide page 7...

Mail Coach Participant Guide of 50 April 2014

Mail Coach Participant Guide

April 2014


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Contents

Course Description .......................................................................................................... 4

Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 4

Learning objectives ...................................................................................................... 4

Tools and Materials ..................................................................................................... 4

POSTAL FUNDAMENTALS FOR PREPARING COMMERCIAL FIRST-CLASS MAIL®

AND STANDARD MAIL® MAILINGS ............................................................................... 6

Workshare (Presorting) ................................................................................................... 7

Content Requirements .................................................................................................... 9

Eligibility ........................................................................................................................ 13

Move Update Standard ................................................................................................. 16

Processing Categories - Physical Standards ................................................................ 25

Postage Payment, Fees and Documentation ................................................................ 32

Mail Preparation ............................................................................................................ 38

Entry and Deposit .......................................................................................................... 46

Additional Resources .................................................................................................... 50

Note: Mail Coach, along with this training material, is intended to be used as a guide. Please consult the

local post office for additional specifications. Additionally, contents within this publication are subject to

change without notice. Please refer to the DMM® Advisory on Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.gov/

The Advisory keeps mailers informed about mailing issues that are important to businesses and

organizations. Mailers will find updates to mailing standards and prices, information about USPS® Web

tools, and helpful reminders about mailing issues. To subscribe to the DMM® Advisory or to send

comments and suggestions, email: [email protected]

http://pe.usps.gov/

mailto:[email protected]


Course Description

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to apply an understanding of commercial and automation

mail preparation requirements to comply with postal regulations, improve internal mail

processing efficiency and maximize cost saving opportunities.

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

Understand and communicate the benefits of automation mailings

Understand the requirements associated with preparing commercial mailings

including:

Content Requirements

Eligibility Standards

Processing Categories

Postage Payment Options and Mailing Documentation

Mail Preparation

Mail Entry and Deposit

Navigate to USPS® and Pitney Bowes Resources and Tools to learn more about

maximizing postal discounts for automation mailings

Tools and Materials

Participant Guide

USPS® Quick Service Guide (available online or download)

USPS® Notice 123 Price List (available online or download)

Pitney Bowes Shape-Based Template (available from pb.com/supplies)


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Postal Fundamentals for Preparing

Commercial First-Class Mail®

and

Standard Mail®

Mailings


Workshare (Presorting)

Definition: Basically, mailers prepare or presort their mail to one of many different sort

levels and in exchange, the Postal Service rewards them by reducing the amount of

postage required on each presorted piece. The more work a mailer does, the less work

the Postal Service has to do, thus the term ‘workshare’.

Business mailers have several presort options and methods to consider:

Presort the mailing list electronically before hard page copy is produced

Presort the mail manually (by hand in ZIP Code™ order) after the mailpieces are

created

Presort the mail using an electro-mechanical sorting machine

Give the mail to a presort service bureau. These organizations then sort the mail to

the deepest ZIP- sortation possible with the mail of other clients and deliver the mail

to the USPS®

Collect other company’s mail and co-mingle manually or electro-mechanically with

your own in order to qualify for discounts

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Mailer Benefits of Automation Mailings

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Content Requirements

Resources:

Standard Mail® Eligibility Decision Tree

USPS® Quick Service Guide

Publication 417 Nonprofit Standard Mail Eligibility on the

Postal Explorer® Web page

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First-Class Mail®

Service

Any mailable item < 13 oz. Hand or typewritten material,

personal information, bills, statements must be mailed

First-Class Mail®

, Priority Mail®

, or Priority Mail Express™ service

Service objective 1 – 3 days

Standard Mail®

Service

Non-personal, < 16 oz. Examples

Advertisements Flyers Newsletters

Service objective 2 - 9 days Regular and Nonprofit pricing


Standard Mail® Eligibility Decision Tree

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Standard Mail® Eligibility

Personal information may not be included in a Standard Mail mailpiece unless all of the

following conditions are met:

The mailpiece contains explicit advertising for a product or service for sale or lease

or an explicit solicitation for a donation.

All of the personal information is directly related to the advertising or solicitation.

The exclusive reason for inclusion of all of the personal information is to support the

advertising or solicitation in the mailpiece.

Standard Mail® Nonprofit Eligibility

Nonprofit organizations are eligible for additional savings on Standard Mail® mailings.

Eligibility to use nonprofit prices is based both on the eligibility of the organization and

the content of the mailpiece as established by federal statutes.

Simply being an IRS-approved nonprofit organization does not qualify an organization

for nonprofit prices. Generally, there are ten categories of organizations that may be

eligible. These include:

1) Agricultural

2) Educational

3) Fraternal

4) Labor

5) Philanthropic

6) Religious

7) Scientific

8) Veterans

9) Voter Registration Officials

10) National and State Political Parties


Please be advised, Standard Mail® regular or nonprofit eligibility is determined

only by the Postal Service!

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Eligibility

Volume

Standard Mail®

Service

Minimum 200 pieces or 50 pounds within the same processing category

Estimate minimum number of Standard Mail®

pieces:

1. 50 pounds x 16 ounces = 800 ounces minimally required 2. 800 ÷ actual weight of mailpiece = X

3. Round X to next full number. Result is minimum number required!


Practice

Using the steps on the previous page, estimate the minimum number of required

Standard Mail pieces.

a.) Weight 8 ounces, therefore ______ are minimally required. b.) Weight 4 ounces, therefore ______ are minimally required. c.) Weight 4.1 ounces, therefore _______ are minimally required. d.) Weight 6.3 ounces, therefore _______ are minimally required. e.) Weight 15.5 ounces, therefore _______ are minimally required.

Answers: a.) 100 b.) 200 c.) 195 d.) 127 e.) 52


5-Digit ZIP Code® Accuracy and CASS™ Certification

For non-automation mailings, a certified process* must be used within 12 months

before mailing to ensure accuracy of 5-digit ZIP™ Codes

For automation-price mailings, addresses must be matched using a

CASS™/MASS™-certified process within 180 days before mailing; 90 days for

carrier route mailings

Coding Accuracy Support System

(CASS™)

The CASS™ system is offered to those that want to evaluate their address-matching software to improve the accuracy of carrier route, five-digit ZIP™, ZIP + 4®, and delivery point codes that appear on mailpieces.

Multi-line Accuracy Support System

(MASS™)

MASS™ certification is a process similar to CASS™ but designed for Multi-line Optical Character Readers (MLOCRs) and encoding systems. It evaluates their ability to process address information and apply an accurate barcode to a mailpiece.

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Move Update Standard

Resources:

Publication 363 Updating Address Lists

Quick Service Guide Section 230a Move Update

Quick Service Guide Section 507d Ancillary Service Endorsements

Move Update Advisement Policy

Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS™)

The Move Update standard provides ways for mailers to reduce the number of

mailpieces that require forwarding or return by the periodic matching of a mailer’s

address records with customer-filed change-of-address orders.

Move Update is required for mailpieces claiming First-Class Mail® commercial

prices

Move Update required for all mailpieces claiming Standard Mail® prices

To meet the Move Update standard, mailers must be using addresses on mailpieces

that have been updated using an approved method within 95 days prior to the

mailing date

First-Class Mail® or Standard Mail® mailpieces that use an exceptional or an

alternative address format are not required to meet the Move Update standard

When a customer contacts a business and provides the address, the newly added

address can “ride” with the list within the 95 day period. After 95 days the address

must be processed through one of the Move Update methods. The address will be

added to the list only if the customer has requested services or literature or has

purchased merchandise.


Mailer Verification

Mailer’s must indicate on the postage statement the Move Update method used to meet

the standard.

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Alternate Move Update Methods

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99% Accuracy

When 1% or less of the addresses on the mailer’s list has a change of address on file

Must be certified by USPS

Annual Re-certification

Legal Restraint

Mailer is restricted by law from incorporating Postal Service COA information without permission from addressee

Mailers must be able to clearly demonstrate how the use of a primary Move Update method would violate the law


Exceptions to Move Update Standards

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Directly Acquired When address added as result of

purchase or request, mailer can use address for first 95 days.

Alternative Address Formats Use of simplified, i.e., “Postal

Customer”, exceptional, i.e., “Or Current Resident” or Occupant address, i.e., “Occupant” does not require the use of a Move Update method, as USPS leaves mailpiece.


USPS Rapid Information Bulletin Board System, RIBBS™

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Barcodes

Definition: Automation-price letter and flat-size mailings are required to use the

Intelligent Mail® barcode.

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Intelligent Mail®

Barcode functionality: – Uniquely identifies mailpiece owner/sender – Uniquely identifies mailpiece or mail aggregate to

facilitate tracking – Allows for encoding of single or multiple product

or service requests – Provides sortation and/or routing information


Intelligent Mail® Barcode Letters/Flats

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Basic vs. Full Service Requirements

Basic Full-Service

IMb on each mailpiece Required Required- unique

IM™ tray barcode on labels Optional Required- unique

IM container barcode on placards Optional Required- unique

Electronic documentation

(E-Doc for mailing submission)

Optional Required

Start-the-Clock

(shows USPS possession of mailing)

NA Available

IMb Tracing (Tracking) Available Available

Address correction

(ACS electronic updates)

Optional for a fee Available

Postal incentives (discounts) Available Greatest incentives

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Benefits of Intelligent Mail ® Barcodes

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Track mail with end-to-end visibility

IMb Tracing

Know when revenue-generating mailpieces have arrived

Maximize marketing resources! Know when customers have mailed payments

Improve operational efficiencies

Reduce Undeliverable as Addressed Mail

One Code ACS™ service

Improve address database quality

Reduce Postal Expenditures & Improve Deliverability

Maximize incentives with Full-Service Intelligent

Mail®

barcode option


Processing Categories - Physical Standards

Resources:

Pitney Bowes Shape-Based Template

USPS® Quick Service Guide (QSG)

DMM® 301 Commercial Flats - Physical Standards ~

Deflection and Flexibility Criteria

DMM 201 Commercial Letters – Physical Standards for

Machinable and Automation Letters ~ Booklets

Minimum Size to be Mailable

Minimum thickness 0.007”

Mailpieces* < ¼” must be at least 3

½” high x 5” long

*except keys and ID devices

Maximum Size and Weight to be

Mailable

Maximum weight 70#

Maximum size* 108 inches combined length and girth except Parcel Post® which is 130” L+ G

Specific size and weight limitations vary by processing category and class of mail.

Note: Regulations subject to change; please refer to the Domestic Mail Manual for

current information.


Postcard and Letter-size Mailpieces

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Postcards Letters


Machinability

After a letter has been identified as mailable, determine if it has machinability.

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Machinable

Letters and cards having accurate addresses that can be processed on USPS equipment are “machinable” and eligible for “presort” prices

Max. wt. First-Class Mail®

and Standard Mail®

3.3 ounces

Nonmachinable

Letters are nonmachinable if they exceed maximum weights and/or if they have one or more nonmachinable characteristics.

Automation

Machinable and display correct

Intelligent Mail®

barcode Max. wt. First-Class

Mail® and Standard

Mail®

3.5 ounces

Refer to your Quick Service Guide, Section 201 to review the criteria for mailpieces that fall under each of these three categories.


Nonmachinable Characteristics of Letter-size Mailpieces

Aspect ratio (length divided by height) of < 1.3 or > 2.5

More than 4 ¼” high or more than 6” long and is less than 0.009” thick

Clasps, strings, buttons

Too rigid

Delivery address parallel to shorter side

Contains pens, pencils, or keys that create uneven thickness

Letters with non-paper surfaces, other than envelope windows or attachments that are allowed standards

Tabbing, sealing requirements not met

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Flat-Size Mailpieces

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Rectangular Uniform thickness Flexible Commercial flats must meet

deflection criteria

Mailpieces that do NOT meet these requirements are rated as parcels.


Flexibility Deflection

Refer to the Quick Service Guide to review flexibility and deflection criteria!

Flexible- Flats must flex one inch along

the longest dimension

Flats not meeting this requirement are

subject to an additional flex test found in

Flats also cannot be TOO flexible.

Additional standards regarding ‘deflection’

can be found in


Enclosures in Automation Letter-Size and Flat-Size Mailings

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All letter-size reply cards and envelopes provided as enclosures in automation-price mailings must be automation compatible!

The mailer’s signature on the postage statement certifies that this standard has been met!


Postage Payment, Fees and Documentation

Resources:

Quick Service Guide-Section 604b-Precanceled

Stamps

Quick Service Guide-Section 604c-Postage Meters

Quick Service Guide-Section 604d-Permit Imprints

Postage payment methods (methods that mailers can use to “evidence” postage for

commercial First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® mailings) include pre-cancelled

stamps, meter indicia and permit imprints.

Pre-cancelled Stamps

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Meter Indicia

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00.00


Dating Standard Mail® Mailings

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Permit Imprint

Permit Direct Mail Best Practices

Potential Drawbacks

Mailpieces must be identical in weight unless manifested

Might be perceived as “junk” mail


Annual Presort Mailing Fees

An annual presort mailing fee must be paid for each class of commercial mail.

Refer to the latest version of the Notice 123 Price List for current pricing of this fee.

Documentation – Postage Statements

Postage statements describe mailing and compute postage.

Documentation to support the information on the postage statement and the prices

claimed may be required!

PB addressing software generates required postage statements!


Mail Preparation

Resources:

Quick Service Guide-Section 604c-Designing Letters

and Postcards for Automated Processing

Quick Service Guide-Section 602-Addressing

Quick Service Guide-Section 301a- Designing Flats for

Automated Processing

Address and barcode placement, as well as quality are critical!

Since the MERLIN® system tests for barcode readability and accuracy; be certain to

follow DMM® guidelines and avoid skewing, rotation, bleeding or smeared barcodes!

Addressing Standards – Letters and Postcards

Barcode location

Address block

Lower right corner

Barcode skew

Clearances

Address placement

Return Address Placement

221 E 41st

ST BIG TOWN ST

00000-00000

Beware: Loop Mail!


Addressing Standards – Flats

Font Characteristics

Apply to all commercial flats

8-point type for addresses without delivery point barcodes; 6-point if in all cap’s and

barcoded

Sans-serif font in all cap’s preferred

Individual characters cannot overlap

Lines may not touch or overlap; minimum 0.028” clear space between lines

preferred

Placement

All Standard Mail® flat-size pieces

In the upper portion of the flat

May appear parallel or perpendicular to the top edge, but it cannot be upside down –

near or at the open or bound edge

Must be placed as close to the top edge as possible, while maintaining at least 1/8

inch clearance from every edge of the mailpiece


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Delivery, Return Address Placement and Postage

Below are examples of mailpieces addressed in “Landscape”. The address is within the

top half with the top being either of the two shorter edges.

******** 5-DIGIT 98765 ATTN: VICE PRESIDENT ABC COMPANY 123 MAIN ST ANYTOWN US 98765-4321


Inscriptions for Commercial Mail

Mailpieces must be marked, thus the inscription, under the corresponding standards to

show the class of service and/or rate paid.

The basic marking indicates the class or subclass and must be printed or produced as

part of, or directly below or to the left of:

a.) The permit imprint indicia

b.) The meter stamp or impression

c.) An adhesive or precanceled stamp

Refer to your Quick Service Guide, within applicable category, such as

commercial letters or flats, and applicable class, such as First-Class Mail® or

Standard Mail®, to determine the appropriate meter inscription!


Traying, Sleeves, Labels, Straps

First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® letters are sorted into trays

First-Class Mail® flats are sorted into tubs

Standard Mail® flats are sorted into sacks.


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Pitney Bowes Mailing and Shipping Supplies

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Go to:

www.pb.com > Supplies

To check out mailing and shipping supplies!


Entry and Deposit

Resources:

Quick Service Guide-Section 705f

Notice 123 Price List

MERLIN® program – (Mail Evaluation Readability

Lookup Instrument)

Destination entry is the process of transporting and depositing mail at the postal

facilities that serve the addresses on the mailpieces in a mailing.


Destination Network Distribution Center (DNDC) Pricing is available for Standard Mail® that is properly prepared, transported, and entered by the mailer at the NDC or other designated postal facility that serves the delivery address on the mail.

Destination Sectional center facility (DSCF) Pricing is available for Standard Mail® that is properly prepared, transported, and entered by the mailer at the SCF or other designated postal facility that serves the delivery address on the mail.

Destination delivery unit (DDU) Pricing is available for Standard Mail® that is properly prepared and entered by the mailer at the postal facility that serves the delivery address on the mail.

2014 pricing shown for illustrative purposes only


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MERLIN® Program

Purpose:

Evaluates letter and flat-size mailpieces for First-Class Mail® and Standard

Mail® mailings and Periodicals

A postal employee will verify:

Weight computations for permit imprint mailings

First-Class Mail® short-paid meter sampling

Meter dates, meter serial numbers

Mail characteristics - Height, Weight,

Thickness, Aspect ratio

Presort verification

Barcode analysis

Address accuracy

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Additional Resources

Postal Explorer® Web site http://pe.usps.gov/

Rapid Information Bulletin Board System

http://ribbs.usps.gov/

USPS Web site http://www.usps.com/

Subscribe to:

MailPro http://www.usps.com/mailpro/

DMM® Advisory

http://pe.usps.gov/dmmAdvisory.asp

PCC Insider http://www.usps.com/nationalpcc/

Pitney Bowes USPS News You Can Use Blog

http://blogs.pb.com/usps-news/

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http://pe.usps.gov/

http://ribbs.usps.gov/

http://www.usps.com/

http://www.usps.com/mailpro/

http://pe.usps.gov/dmmAdvisory.asp

http://www.usps.com/nationalpcc/



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