Change is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies

Lots of changes are happening.... lots and lots of changes. Not just in the world, but here at Fowler Printing. 

Changes I happen to be really excited about for a couple of reasons, but I'll get into that a little later. First, I'll tell you about these exciting new changes. 

We are in the process of switching from just "Fowler Printing & Graphics" to "Fowler- let's start communicating".  This is exciting to me because my background is in marketing, so communications is what I love. I'm currently working on a postcard mailing for us to let customers know about all the new things we are going to offer, but more importantly I'm moving to sales in a few weeks!!!  I won't lie, this is both exciting and nerve-wracking for me, but with all the new changes and technologies that Fowler is going to be implementing in the coming months, I feel confident that our services will be so unique, there won't be an opportunity for price shopping. 

What are these new services, you ask? Well, I'm just going to give you a small preview, I can't give everything away (unless of course, you want to set up a meeting with me and be my first client!!) Essentially, we are now providing multi-media marketing campaigns for our customers (which doesn't just include direct mail and email marketing) it's a whole lot more than that. We are still in the beginning stages, but things are looking good :)  

We also now offer promotional products, large format printing, web design along with our regular offset printing, digital printing, graphic design, etc, etc (I won't bore you with the list!) 

It's exciting stuff happening here for Fowler in the printing world, or should I say "business development" world. 

Not only do our new developments add diversity to our portfolio of services, but they also help YOU. If you are a company that craves simplified marketing solutions, we can deliver. Our in-house offset and digital presses combined with our design concepts and multi-media marketing give you all the solutions you need for print, web and beyond, under one roof. No need to outsource, no need to worry about multiple vendors at once, it can all be done at Fowler and it will all get done right! 

Let's start communicating.

Hey Mr. Postman

Can you believe it's May already? April definitely came "in like a lion and out like a lamb" and believe me, in Massachusetts, we are happy to see the warm weather creeping in. 

With May comes some new Postal Regulations that professional mailers 

and those who are designing pieces that are mailing need to be aware of. The first change is the price of a first class stamp. Instead of being $0.42, on May 11 the price will become $0.44. This will be the new price for a stamp, but if you use a professional mailer, you can save up to 12% on your postage (so the cost per piece will be around $0.38). 

There are a few things to ask yourself before you consider using a professional mailing service

• How many pieces am I mailing? To mail first class presort rate ($0.38) you need at least 500 names to qualify for the discount. The mail at the standard rate ($0.33) you need at least 200 names. 
• How soon do I need my mail piece to arrive? With first class mail, each post office has 24 hours to move the mail piece along to its next destination, whether that be another post office or the address the piece is mailing to. With standard mail, the post office can take up to 2 weeks to deliver the mail. 
• What size is my mailing piece? This is a big one, and a lot of things depend on this. Let's start with postcard sizes. In order to mail something at first class postcard rate, the card can not be bigger than 4.25" x 6". The same holds true for first class presort postcards (but for presort remember there has to be at least 500 names). There is no such thing as standard rate for postcards, if you have piece that is regulation postcard size, but are mailing it standard, it will be mailed at letter rate. Second issue with size is the aspect ratio (or width to height ratio) If you divide the width by the height, the number must be between 1.3 and 2.5 in order to qualify for discounted rates. If you are mailing something square, for example, the aspect ration will end up being 1, no matter the size, and you will have to pay MORE than first class amount to mail it. 

My head is spinning from all this info, how about you??  Just a few more quick things, I promise....

• The USPS has changed the rules on address panels for flat pieces (catalogs, 8.5x11 pieces etc) If you are mailing a flat, make sure you and your printer are aware of the changes
• Also effective May 11 are new tabbing requirements for letters and cards, this basically means where and how many wafer seals need to be on the pieces. Again, make sure you and your printer know the regulations, or the cost difference could be significant. 

Phew, now that all that is out of the way.... the moral of the story here is to make sure your printer is aware and in-touch with all the USPS regulations, because the postmaster in each individual post office is the final authority on mailing matters. In the case of a rule dispute over a "gray" area, the individual postmaster has the final say- even if his ruling seems to be in disagreement with the USPS rules. So, make sure that your mailing company is clearly following all the rules and regulations. 

That's all for today... and I think it's enough, the post office rules are confusing! 

Have a terrific week!! (and I almost wrote Tigger-riffic, that's what you get when you have a 2 year old!) 

Jessica