Direct Mail Production

Political Direct Mail Is Going Green

Jun 15, 2020 by Elena Veatch

Your Political Direct Mail Can Be Eco-Friendly 

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Printer Proof Review Tips. What to Look for in your printing proof

Jun 03, 2020 by The Campaign Workshop

Printer Proof Check: 8 Tips for Checking Political Printing

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Political Direct Mail: Printer & Mail House, Know The Difference.

Aug 22, 2019 by Elena Veatch

Political Direct Mail: Mailings, Printers and Mail Houses - What are they? 

Getting your political direct mail out the door and into voters’ mailboxes can be a confusing process if it’s new to you (and frankly, even if it’s not so new to you). There are a lot of factors to wrap your brain around, such as the printer and the mail house to work with, the type of permit you can use to mail pieces, and the approval timeline you’ll have to meet to ensure your mail is arriving when it needs to.

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Political Direct Mail Part 2: Size Matters

Jun 30, 2016

When it comes to political direct mail...size matters

With regards to mailing for direct mail, we have discussed the weight of paper and the two general measures used, U.S. Basis Weight and GSM. So onto thickness and size. Both of these are characteristics of printing papers that can affect mailing costs and mail-ability.

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Production Youtility

Nov 26, 2015

Production Youtility

I was reading a printing blog the other day in which the writer was emphasizing how printers should be selling themselves to designers, so that designers know the newest trends and are able to make cost effective decisions based on new technology. I was reminded of the book Youtility by Jay Baer. This was a book The Campaign Workshop read in a recent company retreat. This book focused on the future of marketing, customer support, and the importance of being useful to your clients. This got me thinking about our company and my position as a production manager. 

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USPS Streamlining

Oct 26, 2015

How is the USPS Streamlining?

The USPS is starting to clean up their data and streamline mail entry so that it is not as manual and paper based. One part of this is that companies don’t need to open up permits at every facility location where their mail is verified, and can instead utilize a “Mail Anywhere” service. Entering mail is all being streamlined to a digital process where fewer eyes look at it and fewer hands touch or physically verify.

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Die-Cut Mail Pieces

Jun 01, 2015

Die-Cuts Are a Great Way to Ensure Your Mail Stands out and Reinforces Its Message

Two things off the bat to consider are costs and timing. First, die-cuts add costs, so it's not something to suggest on every campaign. Second is the time factor, die-cuts do add time to the production of the piece, so this needs to be worked into the schedule.

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Load Leveling: What does it mean for political direct mail?

Oct 27, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Giving You the Information You Need to Plan Your Political Direct Mail

On April 10, 2014, the United States Postal Service (USPS) implemented a new policy called Load Leveling on standard (bulk) mail drop shipped to the DSCF level. This new policy changes the way mail enters the DSCF level and moves through the postal system. The new policy is meant to “allow a more balanced distribution of DSCF standard mail across delivery days.” This basically means that this mail, if accepted by the DSCF on a Friday or Saturday, will now take 4 days (the previous the standard was at 3 days) to move through the postal system and to local post offices for delivery. This is intended to decrease the volume of mail being delivered on Mondays and level that mail throughout the week.

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5 Ways to Help Your Democratic Direct Mail Stand Out

Apr 10, 2014 by Sophie Thurber (she/her)

Make All the Other Democratic Direct Mail Jealous!

“Nasty, brutish and short,” doesn’t just sum up Thomas Hobbes’ feelings about the state of nature – it also applies to the often-lonely life of a piece of Democratic direct mail. It’s tough to get noticed and stand out from the other items stuffed in the mailbox, and even if it does get noticed, it’s usually quickly tossed out and forgotten. Sad stuff if you’re a piece of Democratic direct mail. But your Democratic direct mail doesn’t have to exist in a Hobbesian nightmare (extra points if you’ve slogged through Leviathan). Here are a few tips to help your direct mail stand out from the crowd and avoid immediate relegation to the dumpster.

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Political Direct Mail Printing—Ultimate Guide Part 3

Mar 31, 2014 by The Campaign Workshop

Political Direct Mail Printing: Everything You Were Afraid to Ask —Part 3

Political direct mail printing part 3: In previous installments of this series on political direct mail printing we covered finding a political direct mail printer, managing schedules and specifying paper. Today, we’re going to get technical and talk about presses. We couldn’t have political direct mail printing without presses to get the job done, so let’s examine the differences and uses for digital and offset printing.

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