Business Mailing

List Preparation and File Formats

Your address list is the beginning of a business mailing. You can supply your address list (via email) or purchase one from us. We can also merge lists together, split lists apart, and create targeted mailings.

Your list needs to be properly formatted to work with our software. Both the organization of the data and the file type are important.

Data Organization

It is especially important that fields be consistent. If a particular record does not have a two-line address in a database where two-line addresses exist, that record needs to have a blank field as a placeholder.

Do not use more than two address lines (fields). Company divisions, departments, and mail stops should not be considered address lines (fields).

Names should also be consistent. First and last names are either together in one field, or separate; never a combination of these.

City, state, and zip code should be three separate fields. If combined, there may be additional charges to separate them.

Fields with sensitive, non-printing, or unnecessary data should not be included with the database.
We perform CASS and PAVE address standardization in order to qualify for low, automation-rate postage. This requires the incoming data to be formatted as specified. The following list gives examples of preferred field names and organization:

Customer number; account number CUSTNUM; ACCOUNT

Title; prefix; first name; middle initial; last name; suffix TITLE; PREFIX; FIRST; MID; LAST; SUFFIX

Company name COMPANY

Department, division, or mailstop DEPT; MAILSTOP

Address line 1 (street address) ADDRESS_1

Address line 2 (P.O. Box) ADDRESS_2

City name; state; zip* CITY; STATE; ZIP

* The zip field may be either 5-digit or 5+4 digit. If providing the 4-digit add-on part in a separate field, label that field PLUS4.

File Formats

Our business mail software can accept a wide variety of database formats. If you are unsure or do not see a compatible format listed below, please contact us or download this PDF showing acceptable file formats.

Send your database file to mailroom

On occasion, we write filters and converters for text-only files that have inconsistent formatting. If you have such a file, this can be useful to convert your database into a more compatible format for newer programs or future mailings.

Mailing Database File Formats

Preferred Formats

Microsoft Excel (xls)

Comma Separated Values (csv)

Tab/Character Delimited (txt)

Data Interchange Format (dif)

Requires Conversion or Filtering

Microsoft Word (doc)

Corel WordPerfect (wpd)

Label-formatted Text File (txt)

Unacceptable

Microsoft Works (wdb, wks) - Export to another format.

Microsoft Access (mdb) - Export to another format.

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List Purchasing

We can provide you with a list that will get results. You may purchase lists that select specific geography, demographics, or saturate carrier routes for low-cost mass advertising. Lists can be obtained within 3-5 business days and can be purchased for one-time use or for multiple-use. List types are as follows:

Resident / Consumer For personalized mailings complete with first and last name.
Resident / Occupant For advertising at low saturation rates with high volumes of mail.
Company For businesses and commercial mailings.

Please call for more information and pricing details.

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Database Options

We provide more than just mailing services. We can also manage your database and remove duplicates. If you need labels printed, reports generated, addresses checked for validity, or multiple lists combined, we have a variety of ways to service your database.

Duplicates can be removed according to a variety of controls. You can limit delivery of mailpieces to just one per person, per residence (company), or per address. We can check with varying degrees of fuzzy logic, matching names like "Bob" and "Robert" or matching initials like "J.S." with "John Sample."

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Postal Categories, Presort Levels, and Rates

Simplified, our business mailings consist of:

Categories: Flats, Letters, and Postcards

Presort Levels: Carrier Route, Automation, Presorted, and Single-Piece

Rates: First-Class, Standard and Standard Nonprofit

Categories/Dimensions:

Flats are: Maximum

More than 11 1/2 inches long, or
More than 6 1/8 inches high, or
More than 1/4 inch thick.
15 inches long
12 inches high
3/4 inch thick

Letters are: Maximum

At least 5 inches long, and
At least 3 1/2 inches high, and
At least 0.007 inch thick.* 11 1/2 inches long
6 1/8 inches high
1/4 inch thick

Postcards are: Maximum

At least 5 inches long, and
At least 3 1/2 inches high, and
At least 0.007 inch thick. 6 inches long
4 1/4 inches high
0.016 inch thick

* Letters over 4 1/4 inches high and/or 6 inches long must be at least 0.009 inch thick.

Presort Levels:

Carrier Route: Your most economical rates. Requires more mailpieces (per route) to qualify.
Automation: Best rates without requiring large quantities. Requires address standardization and bar-coding.
Presorted: Somewhat discounted rates.
Single-Piece: Does not require sorting. No discount on postage.

Postage Rates:

First-class Mail: For pieces weighing 13 oz. (0.8125 lb) or less. 500 piece minimum. Statements, bills, and correspondence must be mailed First-class Pieces that cannot be delivered as marked are annotated with a reason by the postal service and returned to the sender.
Standard Mail: For pieces weighing 16 oz. (1 lb) or less. 200 piece or 50 lb. minimum. For mail matter not requiring expedited or first-class service. Advertising, catalogs, and newsletters are examples of Standard Mail. Pieces that cannot be delivered as marked are discarded by the postal service. Ancillary service endorsements may be added to the mail piece to request that the piece be returned or that address information be provided for non-deliverable pieces.
Nonprofit Standard Mail: This is a subclass of Standard Mail and requires specific authorization. Lower postage rates apply.

Please contact your local USPS business mail office to obtain a "Ratefold" sheet or visit www.usps.com for current rates. Please contact your post office for more detailed information.

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Address Standardization and Presorting

Address standardization is the process of checking addresses and changing them, if necessary, to match USPS standards. It checks to ensure that a particular address exists at the street, city, and zip code level. If so, it then modifies the address as needed to conform to standard USPS abbreviations. Additionally, standardization assigns a delivery point number and appends it to the zip code for the purpose of printing a bar-code. This bar-code saves you time and money in postage by making your mail "automation-compatible."

Addresses that cannot be standardized may or may not be undeliverable. An address that physically exists, but is serviced only by a P.O. box may not be automation-compatible, but is deliverable. Thus such an address can be mailed to, though not at the lowest postage rates.

Presorting is the process of sorting mail and preparing it in containers so that it can be sent through the postal system. It consists of grouping mail together and labeling it so that all mail is routed as close to its destination as possible. This is accomplished through both software that sorts mail by zip codes and addresses, and machines that label mailpieces and create breaks to indicate separate mail groups.

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Error Codes [List]

Addresses that cannot be standardized or verified for accuracy are assigned error codes. When Watkins Printing processes your list or database, we provide reports showing address qualifications and problems. At your option we may provide a list of all addresses having error codes and a list of what the error codes mean. Click here for an error code listing.

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Special Services

At Watkins Printing, we address your mailpieces without the use of labels. This saves quite a bit in materials and time. We address your mailpiece by printing directly on it with high speed ink jet nozzles. At the same time, we can add custom messages that attract customer attention and draw interest. We can use fields in your database to base the content of messages. For example, you may have a boolean field "Y / N" that we can use to print a message indicating that customer is eligible for a discount on a good or service you offer. Customers that are not eligible will not see the message. Or you may print a message indicating that a subscription is about to expire.

Other possibilities for on-demand custom messaging may be to print customer account numbers, membership numbers, expiration dates, telephone numbers, or any text message you want to print at the last minute.

The USPS offers special services, too. One of the most commonly used is that of Ancillary Service Endorsements. These endorsements allow special services such as forwarding, return or address change notification. Please inquire for more information.

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Permit Imprints & Precancelled Stamps

A Permit Imprint is used in place of a stamp on business mail to indicate that the mailpiece has been properly paid for. Postal paperwork accompanies the delivery of mailpieces to the post office providing sortation, weight, and quantity information and is required for any presorted mailing. A Permit Imprint cannot be used in place of a stamp, unless the mailpiece it is on was part of a business mailing meeting all postal requirements for such a mailing.

If your business does not have an account for business mailing at the post office, we can still process your business mailing by using our own permit.

Permit formats and wording periodically change due to service changes within the USPS. The current, preferred wording for permits that will bear our permit number are as follows, where Standard(A) is on the left and First-class Mail is on the right:

PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
LOGAN, UT
PERMIT NO. 21

PRESORTED
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
LOGAN, UT
PERMIT NO. 21

Precancelled Stamps can be used in place of permits for a more personalized look. The postage is the same as that of a permit mailing. There is a cost increase for the additional setup time and application of stamps. The stamps are available in limited designs, unlike the many designs that are seen for single-piece rate stamps. To see some of the designs available, download this PDF: Precancelled Stamp Designs.

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Mailpiece Design

Mailpieces should be designed according to USPS regulations. The layout and design of the mailpiece becomes critical when trying to qualify for automation rates. The orientation of the piece, the placement of wording and numbers, the space left for clearance around the address and bar-code, and the folding and stapling can all affect eligibility for postage discounts.

You should call your post office or contact us for help in designing your mailpiece to be as "postal-friendly" as possible.

Briefly, letters should be designed so that as you look at the side which will bear the address information:

There is no text or numbers below or to the right of where the address will print.

There is at least a 4 inch by 1 1/2 inch square clear for addressing

The fold is at the bottom, with the binding edge to the right (if applicable).

And bound flats should be designed so that as you look at the addressing side:

The top third is clear for addressing.

The binding edge is to the right.

Enveloped flats are similar to letters in design. In all cases, you need to provide room for permit imprints or precancelled stamps and supply a return address when mailing First-class.

You may download our Postcard Imaging guide or our Letter Imaging guide which show the appropriate amount of blank space to leave for addressing.

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