Q: Is it legal to mail utility bills on just the postcard? Or will it need to be put into an envelope?

A: We have many municipality and utility customers all over the country who use our utility postcards for their billing without enclosing them in an envelope. They are able to mail the bills for the less than the cost of a first class stamp alone!

We recently selected a new logo.  While updating our new Blank Print-Your-Own Labels™ and the forms we use for sample letters, we realized that address placement IS important?

According to the USPS Elements on the Face of Mailpiece:

Delivery Address Placement

On a letter-size piece, the recommended address placement is within the optical character reader (OCR) read area, which is a space on the address side of the mailpiece defined by these boundaries (see Exhibit 2.1, OCR Read Area):

a. Left: 1/2 inch from the left edge of the piece.

b. Right: 1/2 inch from the right edge of the piece.

c. Top: 2-3/4 inches from the bottom edge of the piece.

d. Bottom: 5/8 inch from the bottom edge of the piece.

Return Address

A domestic return address must be placed in the upper left corner of the address side of the mailpiece or the upper left corner of the addressing area. If the return address is a multiple delivery address, it must show a unit designator (e.g., an apartment number).

The United States Postal Service has proposed new rates to take effect on January 2, 2011. First-Class stamps would increase 2 cents to 46 cents and postcard stamps would increase 2 cents to 30 cents. This would be the first increase in two years.  Rates will remain the same in the interim.

PCC Insider July 6, 2010

Q:  Don’t suppose you know what colors can have a postnet barcode.  I know that you have to stay away from shades of red, it throws off the post office scanner.

A:  I spoke with a Mailpiece Design Analyst with the USPS and she said that their only guideline is “dark ink on light background.”  Dark inks could include black, dark blue, dark green, etc.  Light backgrounds include white, pastels, etc.  You are correct that they discourage red.  Their concern is that there is good reflectance on the background.

We have our Burris Printable Hangers w/ Detachable Postcards™ (Item#DH2UP-CIR-DPC), that is 2 door hangers on a sheet with detachable 4.25”x5.5” postcards at the bottom which meet postal regulations for mailing.

Our Print-on-Demand Single Postcards™ meet all postal regulations.  Also, our Four-of-a-Kind Postcards™ yield four 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ postcards, which also meet all postal regulations ($0.28 stamp).

We only carry label sheets.  Printing your own labels is easy, using your own computer and printer.  It is much more efficient to print your packing slip or invoice on the same sheet as your shipping label.  Therefore, no matching is required.  Or, you can save time by printing full sheets of address, mailing, or shipping labels.

Doing a mail merge of your address list is the best way to do this.  According to wikipedia.org, mail merge is a software function describing the production of multiple (and potentially large numbers of) documents from a single template form and a structured data source. This helps to create personalized letters and pre-addressed envelopes or mailing labels for mass mailings from a database mailing list of names and addresses.

We encourage you to use the “Mail Merge Wizard.”  Follow the instructions based on the program you’re using.

• Word 2000/20003 – under Tools, Mail Merge;

• Word 2007 – under Mailings, Start Mail Merge;

• Publisher 2000/2003 – under Mail Merge;

• Publisher 2007 – under Tools, Mailing and Catalogs, Mail Merge

Steps to complete a mail merge:

Step 1: Choose a document type and main document

Step 2: Connect to a data file (spreadsheet or database) and select records

Step 3: Add fields to the main document

Step 4: Preview the merge and then complete it

In order to qualify for postcard rate postage (currently $0.28), the United States Postal Service requires small postcards (4 1/4″ x 6″ or less) to be made from paper that has a 7pt thickness or greater. All of the Burris Four-of-a-Kind Postcards™ meet this requirement.

Large postcards (greater than 4 1/4″ x 6″) are required to be made from paper that has a 9pt thickness or greater. All of the Burris Print On Demand Jumbo Postcards™ meet this requirement. The Jumbo Postcards must be mailed at first-class postage (currently $0.44).

Burris Computer Forms® announces its affiliate relationship with Endicia®, providing a new way to lower the cost of mailing.

By using Burris Four-of-a-Kind Postcards™ and Endicia’s Internet Postage, businesses, churches, associations and other non-profits can mail messages and save time, labor, postage, and materials.

Using postcards lowers the cost of postage from 44¢ to 27¢. Buying postage online from Endicia saves trips to the post office. Printing the blank postcards internally saves users pre-printing and material costs. Printing the postcards in-house – printing both the content and postage, four-up, and in the same print run- streamlines the production process and saves time and labor. The micro-perfed postcards can be quickly separated into single postcards ready for mailing. This eliminates folding, stuffing and sealing-further streamlining the process and greatly reducing handling, time, and cost.Burris provides its blank Four-of-a-Kind Postcards in a wide variety of weights, colors, finishes, and recycled content.

Endicia provides ways for users to buy postage online, and provides its DAZzle program that allows users to print postcards four-up, mail merge names and addresses, verify address formats, and print postage in the same pass.

Using Burris postcards, churches, trade associations, and non-profits keep in touch with members, reach out for new ones, announce special events and fundraisers, and thank donors for support. Government or military use Burris postcards to mail notices. Housing agencies announce pest inspections and utility outages. QuickBooks® users can print invoices four-up on postcards. Utilities, municipalities, boroughs, villages, cities, and towns mail postcards for notices and billing. Business announce openings, sales, service specials, and new products.