Ed #12 Standards

Getting it straight

Business reply cards (when the permit holder pays postage), courtesy reply mail (when the sender pays the postage), and postcards qualifying for low cost automation rates need to meet specific design standards. In the United States, the standards include the use of a delivery point bar code or ZIP + 4 code. Addresses must be printed using dark, nonmetallic inks and cannot be skewed more than 5 degrees from the bottom edge of the piece. Business reply and courtesy reply cards require a permit number supplied by the USPS.

Because standards are stringent, the USPS suggests submitting designs to a Mailpiece Design Analyst before the design is printed.

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Term Of The Day

Variable Data Printing (VDP)

Digital printing technology that enables elements such as text, graphics, charts and graphs, and imagery to be changed from one printed piece to the next without slowing or stopping the press. Leverages data on recipients, enabling mass cust-omization to each individual or household in large runs, as opposed to mass-production of one version. Also known as Variable Input Printing (VIP). More terms »