Mailings Unlimited DFW

The Post Office is adopting new standards to require the delivery address in the upper portion of all Periodicals, Standard Mail, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail flat-size pieces mailed at automation, presorted, or carrier route prices. Mailers may place the address parallel or perpendicular to the top edge, but not upside down as read in relation to the top edge. The new standards define “upper portion” as the top half of a mailpiece, but we encourage mailers to place the address as close to the top edge as possible (while still maintaining a 1/8-inch clearance from the edge).  Mailers must also address all presorted, carrier route and automation flatsize mailpieces using a minimum of 8-point type or, if the mailpiece bears a POSTNET™ or Intelligent Mail® barcode with a delivery point routing code, a minimum of 6-point type in all capital letters. In addition, for all automation price pieces, the characters in the address must not overlap, the address lines must not touch or overlap, and each address element may be separated by no more than five blank character spaces. The new standards will enable FSS to process flat-size pieces in delivery sequence at high speeds and output the pieces in vertical bundles that are optimized for carrier delivery. The new placement criteria will take advantage of the vertical bundle output and significantly reduce the time carriers spendreorienting pieces to read the address — whether the mail is held, pulled from a mailbag, or removed from a tray. The new standards for type size and line spacing will ensure carriers can read the addresses and delineate delivery stops. With over a quarter million carriers delivering mail six days a week, there are substantial opportunities to gain efficiency.