November 10, 2009

1. The Basics of Bulk Mail at Penn November 10, 2009

2. What is Bulk Mail? Bulk mail is mail that is prepared according to USPS guidelines which allows the mailer to receive postage discounts; in short: by doing things that save the US Postal Service (USPS) time and resources, the post office passes some of the savings along by charging lower postage prices. The bulk/permit mail done at Penn is First Class Pre-sorted and Non-Profit Mail. Stamped or metered mail is not bulk mail.

3. How have University mailings changed? • As of July 1, 2009 Penn Mail Services has stopped accepting bulk • mailings from campus clients • Penn Mail Services will still accept mail for First Class Metering • Penn Mail Services will still distribute campus mailings • Publication Services now coordinates any bulk mailing services • needed by University clients who are not using a lettershop to • prepare their mailings. • Anytime you use the Penn Permit your mailing is considered a • “bulk mailing”

4. Behind the Scenes • Previously when Penn Mail Services picked up your bulk mailing they could not simply deliver it to the post office for distribution. They had to do the following processes before submitting to the USPS: • manually pre-sort the mail • prepare tray tags • prepare the 3602 paperwork that must accompany every • mailing that is submitted to the Post Office as bulk mail • Publication Services has contracted with a lettershop to provide these services when a customer is not already using a lettershop.

5. Classes of Mail • The Postal Service divides mail into different "classes." Each class of mail has different features, service levels, postage prices, and presort requirements. • Use Penn’s Permit for these classes of mail: • First Class Pre-Sorted • Non-Profit

6. What is CASS-DPV and NCOA? • (Coding Accuracy Support System- Delivery Point Validation): • Adds important information to each address in your mailing list (Zip +4, Delivery Point Code (part of barcode), or Carrier Route) • This added information is the basis for the discounts allowed for pre- • sorting and automating your mail • Required for every pre-sorted mailing (First Class or Non-Profit) • NCOA (National Change Of Address) • Annually 1% of Americans move • More than 44 Million Americans change their address each year • To an alumni association, cataloguer, or organization that has a statutory requirement to communicate, a new corrected address is GOLD • NCOA verification is REQUIRED for every pre-sorted mailing (First Class or Non-Profit) • If you do not NCOA your mailing list…. • As of January 2010 there will be a penalty applied to mailings not NCOA verified • Performance of your mailing will go down as more addresses go bad

7. First Class Pre-Sorted Mail • Minimum of 500 pieces required. • Postage method: Indicia. • Will deliver in-home in 3 business days; • Must be prepared according to USPS requirements, • i.e. pre-sorted and Cass-DPV Certified, as well as • NCOA verified in order to receive postage discounts and • be accepted as “bulk” mail. • For lowest postage rate, lettersshould not weigh more than 1 ounces; flats should not weigh more than 13 ounces.

8. First Class Mail (straight) • Mailings under 500 pieces will mail straight First Class, • not First Class Pre-Sorted. • Postage method: Meter or Stamp*. • Will deliver in-home in 3 business days; • It is not necessary to Pre-Sort, Cass-DPV Certify, or • NCOA verify Straight First Class mail - no postage • discounts are available for this classification of mail. • * Any mailing requiring metering should be sent to Penn Mail Services; Stamped mail may be sent to Penn Mail Services to be taken to the Philadelphia Lindbergh Post Office, or may be dropped into a mailbox. Please consult the post office for the correct postage for your piece.

9. A common misconception about Non-Profit classification is that it is just a postage rate. …Non-Profit rates are not given to a mailer simply because they are a Non-Profit institution. Non-Profit mail must be prepared the same way USPS Standard Mail is prepared, otherwise the discounts do not apply. Non-Profit Mail • Minimum of 200 pieces required. • Postage method: Indicia. • Will deliver in-home in 3-15 business days; • Must be prepared according to USPS requirements, • i.e. pre-sorted and Cass-DPV Certified, as well as • NCOA verified in order to receive postage discounts and • be accepted as “bulk” mail. • For lowest postage rate, letters should not weigh more than 3.3 ounces; flats should not weigh more than 16 ounces.

10. Automated Mail Automated mail is, in a nutshell, barcoded mail that can be read by the United States Postal Service equipment. Automated postage rates were introduced in 1991 that provided incentives for mail that was automation-compatible (pre-barcoded or “barcodable”) . Automated mail receives the best postage discount. Optical Character Readers (OCRs) automatically scan and sort mail pieces. This equipment was purchased by the postal service to speed up the handling and sorting of mail pieces and to lower internal costs; the savings is passed on to the consumer in the form of lower “automated” postage rates.

11. Non-Automated/Pre-addressed Mail • Non-Automated mail is mail that does not have a barcode in the address block; most likely because the customer addressed the mail themselves without access to USPS certifications or sorting requirements. Non-automated, pre-addressed mail is discouraged for a variety of reasons: • because there is no access to an electronic mailing list, the required CASS-DPV and NCOA processing can not be completed; mail will be sent to bad addresses, adding unnecessary postage costs for mail that never gets delivered. • because there is no access to an electronic mailing list, the required pre-sorting, tray-tagging, and paperwork preparation must all be done by hand, thereby increasing the processing time and your lettershop costs. All of these processed described are REQUIRED for bulk mail. • Non-Automated postage rates are higher than Automated postage rates.

12. More about Automated Mail • Other than offering the lowest postage rates, Automated mail is preferred for the following reasons: • because your mailing list is processed and barcoded by a professional lettershop, the required CASS-DPV and NCOA processing ensures your addresses will be more accurate, thereby cutting down on wasted mail sent to bad addresses and reducing your postage costs. • because your mailing list is processed by a professional lettershop, the required pre-sorting, tray-tagging, and paperwork preparation is done automatically by the lettershop’s software, thereby preparing your mail to be delivered more quickly by the postal service.

13. Sizes of Mail - Letters • You probably have a picture in your mind of what a "letter" is. Possibly you’re using a standard No. 10 envelope for your letter. However, if you decide to create a mailpiece with its own special envelope or if you are designing a self-mailer, be sure to keep in mind the following size requirements for letters:  • Rectangular • At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick. • No more than 6-1/8 inches high x 11-1/2 inches long x 1/4 inch thick.

14. Sizes of Mail - Flats • The Postal Service uses the word "flats" to refer to large envelopes, newsletters, and magazines. The words are interchangeable. Whatever you call them, flats must:  • Have one dimension that is greater than 6-1/8 inches high • OR 11-½ inches long OR ¼ inch thick. • Be no more than 12 inches high x 15 inches long x ¾ inch • thick

15. Sizes of Mail - Postcards • There’s no envelope to open; your message is right there for your customers to see the moment their mail arrives. This service offers the lowest prices and you get all the benefits of forwarding and return services .  • Minimum: 3-1/2 inches high by 5 inches long by 0.007 inch • thick • Maximum: 6 inches long by 4-1/4 inches high • Please note: There is no postcard rate for Non-Profit Mail; any Non-Profit mail piece that falls within the postcard size parameters will mail as a letter .

16. Recommendations…… • Penn departments should First Class Meter or stamp any mailings under 500 pieces; (the lettershop charges you would pay for Non-Profit mailings under 500 would negate any postage savings you would realize by mailing Non-Profit) • Penn departments should send mailings of over 500 pieces as First-Class Pre-Sorted or as Non-Profit. You should have the postal indicia pre-printed on your mailing piece to avoid the additional charge of having a lettershop inkjet it onto your mailing piece. • Penn departments should not address their own First-Class Pre-Sorted or Non-Profit mailings. Doing so results in having to pay a lettershop to manually pre-sort and tray-tag your mailing, as well as manually producing all paperwork. • In order to maximize postage savings, Penn departments should not address their own First-Class Pre-Sorted or Non-Profit mailings. Without an electronic mailing list, a lettershop can not CASS-DPV or NCOA certify the mailing, thereby classifying it as Non-Automated, thereby increasing your postage costs.

17. Any Questions????? Please contact your account manager for any questions about getting your mailing started. You can find information about your Publication Services account manager and about mailing procedures at: http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/publicationservices/lettershop.shtml Or….fill out this Lettershop Request Form and hit SEND. We’ll get your projected started right away! http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/publicationservices/pdf/Lettershop-Request_Form_Pub%20Svcs.pdf