Jan 06, 2014 by
The Campaign Workshop

TCW Guide to Postal Changes by USPS for Political Direct Mail, 2014
If you make use of USPS for political direct mail, there are some important changes happening with the United States Postal Service (USPS) beginning in January 2014. The biggest change is that Full-Service Intelligent Mail is now required for automation pricing (automation pricing gives you discounted postage rates) for First-Class and Standard letters and flat mail as well as Periodicals and Bound Printed Matter.
Full-Service will require Intelligent Mail Barcodes on each mail piece, tray and container. It will also require that documents be submitted to the USPS electronically (eDoc) to identify the submitting party, identify the mail owner, and determine who gets reports. Though, as a policy, our political direct mail at The Campaign Workshop always includes these barcodes, they have technically been optional. As of January, they will be mandatory in order to realize the automation postage discounts. Intelligent Mail Barcodes uniquely identify each piece of mail, allowing for electronic identification and tracking through the postal system.
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