Mailing Basics

First Class and Priority Mail are common "classes" of mail that you are probably familiar with. However, there are many more options for mailing. Mailing prices and delivery times can vary greatly depending on what, and how many items you are mailing, and First Class and Priority Mail are among the most expensive ways to mail.

Marketing mail, which requires a permit with the Post Office, offers substantial discounts; and fortunately you don't need to have a permit to benefit from these discounts, because you can use ours.

500+ pieces or 50 pounds of First Class mail qualifies for a reduced rate, and all four types of First Class mail (cards, letters, flats, parcels) benefit from  "pre-sorted," "machinable" and "automated" discounts, if they are prepared and addressed properly.

200+ pieces or over 50 total pounds of Marketing Mail qualify for reduced mailing rates and also benefit from further "machinable" and "automated" discounts. 

How do you know if your mail can be sent Marketing Mail? Ask us, we'll let you know.

Are you mailing a postcard, a letter, or a flat? 

Size, weight, thickness, even content can determine the class and type of a mail piece, the way it can be mailed and the availability of discounts. ULitho is here to help. We'll analyze your project, let you know your options, and make sure to use the best mail methods, whether your goal is fastest, or most affordable.

The Post Office has many regulations and requirements to make sure your mailing gets to its recipients quickly and affordably. Meeting these requirements often starts with a good mailing list. 

Here are some tips you can use to help make sure your list is good:

• Keep each address line under 50 characters in length. Divide long addresses into multiple columns (entries), using one or more secondary address columns when necessary.
• Always use the same column for the same type of data: main address in a main address column, secondary address in a secondary address column, etc.
• Only use standard abbreviations for words like Street, Circle, Court, Highway, etc. If you don't know the standard abbreviations, spell the word out.
• Always use standard abbreviations for the State.

Once we get your mailing list, in order to prepare it for mailing discounts, ULitho puts it through different verification and updating procedures:

This process checks your address list against known street number ranges, performs delivery point validation (i.e. verifies that the address exists), verifies the ZIP, automatically adds ZIP+4,  adds abbreviations and standardizes addresses. These checks and the addition of ZIP+4 are required to get USPS automation rate discounts. 

Our system also checks your address list against a database of known change of address records and corrects any of your addresses to match the known forwarding address. We then supply you with a list of all the address changes that our system found and corrected. 

If you desire, we will run a "DEDUPE" on your list. This process will find any duplicate addresses and remove them from your list so you don't end up sending your mailing to the same person twice. To make sure you know what the duplicates were, we will send you a list of all the duplicates that have been removed from your list.

Postage discounts are based on making the mailing as easy for the Post Office to process and deliver as possible. Our systems will sort your mailing list into the perfect order for fastest and most affordable delivery.

You have probably seen something like the squiggly line to the right on mail that you have received. This is an example of an "Intelligent Mail Barcode." It helps the Post Office process things faster and having one on each piece of your mailing saves you money. 

ULitho's systems will automatically generate this and any other special markings that will help move your mailing along at the best pace and best price. Once the addresses are ready, we will address your mailing, add an indicia (permit), or apply stamps.

Part of the process of preparing a large mailing is putting it in the proper containers. Trays, sacks, pallets - we'll put everything in order, in the proper containers, and bring it to the Post Office with all the proper paperwork (yes they require paperwork) to get your mailing on its way.