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