Types of mail

Whether you use Retail or Bulk mailing, the Postal Service recognizes 4 types of mail; postcards, letters, large envelopes and parcels. The Postal Service classifies your mail piece by its dimensions.

In addition to what we usually think of as a booklet, many newsletters are considered Letter-sized Booklets - Please review postal service requirements or this type of mail.

From time to time you may want to send an un-enveloped piece or Folded Self Mailer, In January, 2013 the Postal Service revised standards for these pieces. Folded Self Mailers - Please review postal service requirements or this type of mail.

Postcards

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Letters (including oversized postcards)

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Flats (Large Envelope) - are not necessarily in envelopes and have special requirements; they must be:

• Flexible
• Rectangular with 4 square corners
• Uniformly thick
• For enveloped pieces all of the delivery address must be on one half (right or left) of the envelope.
• For non-enveloped pieces the delivery address must be at least 8 point in size and placed entirely in the top half of the mail piece (see graphic below)

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Parcels - a few things to note:

• length + girth cannot exceed 108 inches
• length = the longest side of the parcel
• girth = measurement around the thickest part of the parcel
• Parcels may incur surcharges if they are oversized; please review Postal Standards.

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Letter-sized Booklets - if not placed in an envelope, many newsletters are considered booklets; the Post Office has special requirements for booklets:

• Booklets are comprised of sheets or pages
• If stapled, booklets must be fastened by at least 2 staples in the fold
• Booklets are open on 3 sides before sealing, similar in design to a book
• In general, booklets must be nearly uniformly thick
• Large booklets may be folded to letter-size for mailing if the final piece remains uniform in thickness and the final fold is on the bottom or on the right hand side (as you read the address label)
• The bound edge of the booklet must be on the bottom or on the right hand side (as you read the address label)
• Booklets must be tabbed using three, non-perforated 1 1/2" tabs as closures (see Design Chart below)
• Large or heavy booklets must be closed with three, non-perforated 2 inch tabs (see Design Chart below)
• Tabs may overhang the edge of the booklet by 1/16th of an inch
• Weight of cover stock has been increased (see Design Chart below)
• Please note...Spiral bound booklets are not uniformly thick and don't qualify for the lowest mailing rate - you can still save, just not as much

Design Chart - in September 2009, new requirements for tab positioning and cover weight went into effect.

This chart will help you correctly position tabs and determine the appropriate weight for cover paper

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Folded Self-Mailers (FSM) - are formed of panels created when a single or multiple unbound sheets of paper are folded together and sealed to form a letter-size mail piece; the Post Office has special requirements for Folded Self-Mailers:

• Allowable dimensions are a minimum height of a 3.5" (6" maximum) and a minimum length of 5" (maximum of 10.5")
• FSMs may weigh up to a maximum of 3 ounces
• Tabs may overhang the edge of the FSM by 1/16th of an inch
• Paper weight has been significantly increased (see Design Chart below)
• A maximum of 12 panels are allowed. To calculate the number of panels in a piece, you'll first need to consider the method of folding.

Common fold methods include:

• Bi-fold: single sheet folded once in half forming two panels
• Tri-fold: single sheet folded twice forming three panels
• Quarter-fold: single sheet folded at least two times with the second fold at a right angle (perpendicular) to the preceding fold. One sheet of paper quarter- folded produces four panels and
• Oblong: mail piece with fold(s) vertical to length of letter. Final fold must be on lead edge.
• Please note...when a folded self-mailer is made of multiple sheets, you must multiply the number of sheets by the number of panels created when folding a single sheet to determine the number of panels in the finished multi-sheet folded self-mailer. e.g. (3) sheets of paper folded once in half (2 panels) = (6) total panels. Both sides of a panel count as “one and the same” panel.

Design Chart - in January, 2103, new requirements for paper weight, final fold location and tabbing went into effect.

This chart will help assure that your FSM conforms to USPS requirements

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