This is the mailpiece design tutorial for Manual Bulk Mail using Folded Mailers.

This presentation will aid you in the production and sorting for this specific type of mailpiece. For all other mailpieces, please visit the WSU Campus Post Office website at www.wichita.edu/mailings for additional tutorials.

If you have downloaded this presentation to keep on your computer, please be sure to contact us at [email protected]

so that if mailing requirements change we can contact you with updates. By using this tutorial to design your mailpiece, you agree to use all information here completely and correctly. Failing to do so may cause your mailing to be unusable.

To begin, a folded mailer is defined as a single piece of paper or several pieces of paper that have been folded together, bound or not, to be sent without an outer covering or envelope to contain it. Even if the design of your folded mailer allows it to fit the size or shape of another mailpiece, like a post card, after the piece is folded it is considered a folded mailer.

In folding your mailer, there are different designs which are compatible with machine processing and U.S. Post Office requirements. Folding your mailer correctly will greatly improve the processing and delivery service for your mailing. In deciding how to fold your mailer the two important distinction to make is first between

open edges

and

folded edges

and second between

leading edges

and

trailing edges

. As a rule, mailers should be folded so the leading edge is also a folded edge, and the trailing edge should be the open edge. Open edges and folded edges are easy to see; the open and the folded edge(s) of the mailer . The leading and trailing edges are also easy to understand. Leading edges are the first to go through a processing or sorting machine, while the trailing edge is the last.

Here is an illustration to help show the leading and trailing edges: So, the leading edges should be folded edges and the trailing edges should be open edges:

But what if your mailer has more than one folded edge? Let’s look at what is commonly known as a tri-folded mailer. A sheet of normal office or copy paper, folded into thirds as if it were a letter to be placed in an envelope, has two folds and one opening. In this case, the mailer should open at the top rather than the bottom, as shown below, with the addressing and postage pictured to show how the mailer is oriented.

Another example illustrates which edge should have the final fold if the mailer has more than one folded edge. Take another piece of regular copy or office paper lay it on its long edge. Fold it first across its width Then fold it in half again.

This picture shows how you would properly orient the addressing and postage for a folded mailer like this (known as a quad fold).

The final fold is along the bottom edge of the mailer. The right edge of the mailer is also a folded edge, but the bottom edge would be the final fold. While neither of the open edges would be thought of as “final,” these examples help illustrate how any mailer should be folded in order to have folded edges and final folded edges in the correct place.

A final word about folding your mailer-hand folded mailers rarely give the needed precision for processing mail. WSU Printing Service is able to use a machine to fold your mailers which will allow us to use them.

Now that we understand how your mailer should be folded, we can look at the various types of folded mailers. Different designs will have different requirements in order to be mailable through the U.S. Post Office, depending on how they are folded and what kind of paper is used. Here are some common examples:

As you can see, while every type of mailer is different, each does have similar requirements. For example, each style of Folded Mailer must have the open edge secured in order to be mailable. The best way to do this is by using self-adhesive white tabs folded around the final opening. For example, if you were to use a folded mailer that required two tabs along the top of the mailer, the tabs would be placed as shown below. In this example, the top edge of the mailer is open and the tabs (which are circular when laid flat) have been folded around the open edge, half on the front and half on the back. This secures the opening and allows for machine processing.

While tabs may be applied by hand, the precision needed and the number of pieces in your mailing may make that impractical. The Campus Post Office is able to machine tab your mailings for you at a cost of one cent per mailpiece, saving you both time and money. If you decide to tab the mailing yourself, please contact the Campus Post Office regarding which U.S. Post Office approved tabs you should use.

Next, we will look at the layout of your mailer. The front of each folded mailer in your mailing must have an identical layout which must show at least three essential elements: the recipient's address, the sender’s address, and the type of postage used. The recipient’s address should be shown clearly, without smudging or smearing, in the center on the front of the mailer. It may not be handwritten. The address may be printed directly on the mailer or printed on a self adhesive label and attached to the mailer. Do not use tape to attach the address or tape over the address to “protect” the address once it is on the mailer.

The recipient’s address should consist of no less than three lines of text. The final line at the bottom of the address should contain only the city, state, and Zip Code of the destination address. No punctuation should be used anywhere in the address unless the Zip Code uses a Plus-Four in addition to the regular five digits found in a Zip Code. For example: Wichita KS 67207 This shows the correct format for the final line of an address here in Wichita. However, if there was a Plus-Four on the Zip Code, it might look like this: Wichita KS 67207-4140

Plus-Four codes are used by the U.S. Post Office as a way to place the mailing in a delivery route order. Plus-Four codes are not required on any piece of mail. You may use Plus-Four codes if you wish, and using Plus Four codes on some of your mailers does not obligate you to use them on your entire mailing. Later, when we sort our mailing after it is addressed, we will use the destination Zip Code as information for our sort. If you use any Plus-Four codes in your addresses, you do not need to consider them when instructed to sort the mailing based on Zip Codes.

The second-to-last line of the address (called the Address Line) should show either the number and street (with additional information) or PO Box and number of the address. This line tells the U.S. Post Office where to deliver the mailer inside the city, state, and Zip Code shown on the bottom line. No other information should be on this line. For example: 1157 S Webb RD This Address Line shows a number, directional (N, E, S, or W), and street name giving a physical location inside the Zip Code of 67207. For a street address, this would be the minimum amount of information for this address for the U.S. Post Office to deliver this mailer. Sometimes, more information would help:

1157 S Webb RD Apt 1701 This address actually matches an apartment community here in East Wichita. Without the specific apartment at that address, the mailer may not be delivered. While the U.S. Post Office would normally attempt to locate the correct apartment if the mailer was sent using First-Class mail, many classes of Bulk mail would not receive that service and simply be disposed of. This would hold true if your address required a Suite, Floor, or any other additional information. What if your Address Line read like this?

1157 S Webb RD PO Box 1701 This is a special case where, in a sense, too much information is provided. When using “PO Box” in an address, what you are telling the U.S. Post Office is that this address corresponds to a rented post office box located in a U.S. Post Office station. Using it to substitute for “Apt,” “Suite,” “Box,” or any other additional information in the address may cause the mailer to be discarded, because technically there are two addresses shown, one which is a street address location, and one which is a rented box location.

Above the Address Line you may place additional information or the addressee’s name. Organization names, “Attn” lines, Job Titles, or other information may be placed above the Address Line.

John Smith 1157 S Webb Rd Apt 1701 Wichita KS 67207 Williams Ace Hardware Attn Purchaser 6230 E Central Wichita KS 67208 Human Resource Manager Spirit Aerosystems PO Box 78000 Wichita KS 67278

It is your responsibility to accurately maintain your mailing list and correctly address each mailer when you prepare a manual Bulk mailing. The Campus Post Office is able to offer advice concerning addressing standards, but when we do not address your mailing we are unable to directly assist you. However, one tool which may be of great use to you is the Zip Code search tool located on the official U.S. Post Office website. Entering an address will allow the system to search for it, confirm its validity, and display it in the correct format. If the address is not found or more information is needed (such as an apartment or suite number) it will advise you. The Zip Code search tool is located at: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

Next, we will discuss the return address on your mailer. Return addresses are required in sending mail from WSU. Each piece of your bulk mailing, even if the sender is a student group on campus, will require an acceptable return address. If you are working with mailers that do not have your correct return address already on the mailer, you must add it.

The correct form for a return address at WSU is as follows: Your Department Name 1845 Fairmount Box ___ Wichita KS 67260-0___ The format shown here is the official WSU return address. The “___” shown denotes the location for your campus box number (if you do not know your correct campus box number, please contact the Campus Post Office). The second “___” shown in the Plus-Four area of the Zip Code should also reflect your campus box number. As with the destination address, you may add additional information to the return address above the bottom two lines showing WSU’s address, such as job titles or individual names. Your return address should be both to the left and above of the destination address, preferably in the upper left hand corner of the mailer.

The final item which is required on the front of the mailer is the method of postage. This tells the U.S. Post Office how the mailing is being paid for and by whom. Postage may be in the form of a meter imprint (which the Campus Post Office would apply during processing) or by using a mailing permit. Mailing permits appear on a piece of mail where you would normally expect to find postage or a stamp. Instead of a stamp, you find a small box outlined with the class of mail (Nonprofit, STD, First Class, etc), the city and state where the permit is registered with the U.S. Post Office, and the permit number.

WSU maintains several mailing permits for use on different classes of mass mailings. The WSU Campus Post Office is responsible for maintaining the University permits, and also is responsible for their use. If your mailing uses a permit that WSU holds, regardless of the source of the mailing or who is paying for it, we must approve its use. When we give our approval, we will advise you which permit is applicable for your mailing.

For Bulk mailings, WSU has two mailing permits, each for its own specific class of mail. These are Standard rate and Non-Profit rate. One of the requirements to use a mailing permit is to follow the format set by the U.S. Post Office exactly. Not following the format correctly may cause your mailing to fail inspection and be unmailable. In order to illustrate the correct format, a page on the Campus Post Office website shows the correct permits to use. See “Permits” on the left navigation of our “Mass Mailings” section for more information. Whether we place a meter imprint on your mailer or you use a mailing permit, the method of postage should be in the upper right hand corner of each mailer. Now that we have discussed the required items that each mailer must display, we have a sample mailer to show:

Much of what we have covered so far may seem overly detailed and very basic in nature, and so not of great importance. However, because Bulk mail does not receive the same service as First-Class mail, Bulk mail requires care in its preparation in order for it to reach the addressees on your mailing list. The U.S. Post Office will make every effort to accurately deliver First-Class mail (or to return it to sender if it is found to be undeliverable) but Bulk mail can be easily misrouted or even discarded if any problems arise in its processing or delivery. Uncounted millions of pieces of Bulk mail are not delivered by the U.S. Post Office every month, resulting in a waste of time spent in preparation and money spent on postage. Because you are the only one who will be preparing and addressing the mailers in your mailing, only you will be able to ensure that a majority of the mailing is delivered accurately.

In addition to the fields we have added to our mailer, you may also add an

Ancillary Service Endorsement

. This refers to instructions for the U.S. Post Office on the front of the mailer in case it is not able to be delivered as addressed. You may have seen phrases on other mailpieces such as “Address Service Requested” or “Return Service Requested.” The four locations where Ancillary Service Endorsements may be printed on our sample mailer are shown below. In any position, a minimum of 1/8 of an inch must separate the endorsement from any other printing on the front of the mailer.

For Bulk Mail, there are additional charges for using Service Endorsements. The additional charge for using these services is shown on the table below. The Ancillary Service Endorsements are as follows: Address Service Requested –for Forwarding and Return of Mail Mnths 1 – 12: mailpiece forwarded Months 12 – 18: mailpiece returned with new address attached After 18 months or if undeliverable: mailpiece returned with reason for nondelivery attached Forwarded at no charge Weighted fee charged Weighted fee charged Return Service Requested-for Return of Mail only, No Forwarding At any time: mailpiece returned with new address or reason for nondelivery attached First-Class or Priority Postage charged (by weight) Change Service Requested-No Forwarding or Return, but new address provided Separate notice of new address or reason for nondelivery provided, mailpiece disposed of by USPS Manual Notice provided at $0.75 each Forwarding Service Requested-For Forwarding or Return. New address provided only with Return Service Months 1 – 12: mailpiece forwarded Months 13 - 18: mailpiece returned with new address attached After 18 months or if undeliverable: mailpiece returned with reason for nondelivery attached Temp-Return Service Requested-For Return Mailpiece returned with reason for nondelivery attached (unless temporary change of address, then mailpiece forwarded with no notice to mailer) Forwarded at no charge Weighted fee charged Weighted fee charged N/A

When designing the layout and folding for your mailer, choice in paper is of great importance. First, the paper must be of a certain thickness (weight) in order to meet U.S. Post Office guidelines for mailability. Because the “weight” of paper (20 pound paper, for example) is based on the actual weight of 500 sheets of a given color, dimensions,and thickness, and because the actual thickness of a paper can vary depending on a variety of factors, not all paper of a given weight will necessarily have the same actual thickness despite being of the same weight. Therefore we cannot say that a certain “weight” of paper will always have a specific thickness for the purpose of mailability through the U.S. Post Office. We are attempting to maintain a list of approved paper weights and colors for the purpose of printing mailers. This list can be found on the left navigation of the Mass Mailing section of our website.

For a folded mailer,

the minimum folded thickness

is no less than 0.009 inches thick. This is the thickness of the mailer after it has been folded. For example, normal 20 pound copy paper is acceptable for producing tri-folded mailers (discussed earlier in the section on folding your mailer) because there are two folds which produce three thicknesses of paper. With only a single fold (two thicknesses of paper) using 20 pound paper is not thick enough to be mailable. If the source of your paper is not able to accurately provide you with the actual thickness of the paper stock you wish to print your cards on, the Campus Post Office has calibration equipment which will establish firmly whether your paper has the required thickness.

Also, the appearance of the paper you choose to produce your mailer will affect the sorting and delivery of your mailing . Certain colors can cause difficulty due to contrast issues. In these cases, the sorting machines used by the U.S. Post Office will not be able to distinguish the address or other printing on the card from the background color of the paper. This consideration is reflected in the list of approved papers on our website.

Certain papers also have a “fiber” appearance which will prevent automation compatibility. These papers are normally easy to identify by the appearance of spots, flecks, or speckled designs. While visually pleasing, backgrounds which do not have a consistent color will also interfere with the optical sorting machines. The sorters will “see” the pattern of the paper as part of the printing on the mailer instead of the background and attempt to “read” it as part of the address.

Both of the problems listed here can be illustrated by a test on a black-and white copier. By photocopying a sheet of paper which is too dark in certain colors, the black-and-white image produced by the copier shows color which is too dark to adequately “see” the printing on the paper. Likewise, by photocopying a speckled or spotted paper, the background pattern becomes a black-and-white field which will be indistinguishable from the color of the printing on the paper. Because the sorting machines in use by the U.S. Post Office “see” only in black and white, this illustrates why using certain kinds of paper can cause errors in sorting and delivery of mail.

In addition to having acceptable weight and color, the paper you use to produce your mailer must allow you to clearly print without smearing or smudging. Papers which have a slick or glossy finish will often cause the printing to be unclear. Using paper which allows the ink to be readily absorbed and quickly and cleanly dry will help to prevent this problem.

Finally, for your mailing to qualify as a Bulk mailing, it must be both of identical weight and contain the same information. In order for each mailer to be of identical weight, each must have the same design and layout, and each must be printed on the same paper. The U.S. Post Office uses calibrated scales to check the quantity of your mailing after we deliver it to them. If all mailers are not of an identical weight, the calibration will not function properly and your mailing may be rejected. To repeat: all mailers must be of identical weight, using the same design and paper.

The only information which can be personalized for your recipient is the name/salutation (Dear Don Beggs, Dear Ron Kopita, etc) and the address where the mailer is sent. Should any further difference be found in the contents of the mailer by either the U.S. Post Office or the Campus Post Office, the mailing will be ineligible for Bulk mail rates.

The final step in preparing your bulk mailing is to sort the mailers into a working order before giving them to the Campus Post Office. The Bulk mail sort for folded mailers is not difficult. You will place your mailing in order using the Zip Code on the destination address as a 5 digit number. Simply count using the Zip Code, from lowest to highest. In other words, start with the lowest (04101 in Maine, for example) and moving through to the highest (99500 in Alaska).

When you have completed this final step your mailing should be complete.

This concludes our tutorial for Manual Bulk Mail Folded Mailers. Please remember to use all the information contained here correctly. If you have mailings which cannot be sent using the qualifications shown here, please browse our other tutorials or consult our staff to see if there is another class of mailing that better suits your needs. Also, please remember to schedule your mailings in advance using our website and to provide us with advance notice if you would like us to retrieve your mailing from you when it is complete. Typically 24 hours notice is enough time for us to collect your mailing from your office. If you wish to deliver your mailing to us when complete, please call first. We may not be able to accept mailings during certain hours of operation.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us. Our campus phone is 978-3550, our email address is [email protected]

and we are located on the first floor of Morrison Hall on WSU’s main campus. Our office hours are 7:30am through 4:30pm Monday through Friday except for all holidays observed by the University.