Here are a few of the commonly asked questions.

What is included in the bar code information?

A delivery point barcode contains 62 vertical lines. The first and last bars must be tall and are synchronizing bars. In groups of 5 bars the remaining 60 bars form 12 groups. From left to right the bars stand for the following: The five digit zip code, the plus four, the delivery point (2 groups usually the last 2 digits of the house number) and check digit. This is why you sometimes hear of a zip+4+2+1.

What is my minimum requirement for bulk mailing?

The minimum requirement as set by the USPS is 200 pieces or 50 pounds.

Do I need to purchase a bulk permit?

No, but if you are doing a First Class or Standard Class mailing, a permit is almost always printed in the upper right corner of the mail piece. Just ask for a copy of Address N’ Mail’s permit. We do not charge you for use of the permit if we do the mail services. Alternatives to a preprinted bulk permit would be metering of postage (usually prints the postage in red) or the use of a stamp. YES! You can use a stamp for bulk or First Class mailings. Use of metered postage or stamps does not affect your postage bill!

What is a carrier route?

Each zip code across the country is broken into delivery areas for each mailman. These areas are referred to generically as “Carrier Routes”. There are several specific types of carrier routes: City route (referred to as a ‘Carrier Route’), a Rural Route, a Hired Carrier route, and a Box route (PO Boxes). A typical route contains between 200 and 500 hundred deliveries but can be in excess of 1000 (for areas of very high density). New routes can be less than 10( usually formed in anticipation of completion or a new density populated new development. . Sometimes carrier route mail will have a cheaper postage that barcoded mail.

Is Address N' Mail software CASS certified?

Yes. We are certified by the post office to CASS certify your mailing list. Mailings also use PAVE certified software.

Why CASS certify of your address list?

Coding Accuracy Support System certification is required to qualify a mailing for automation rate (bar-coded mail) or carrier route postage rates. Certification includes standardization of the address to USPS standards, matching to the USPS national address directory to ensure deliverability, adding the zip+4 information including the delivery point information, adding carrier route assignments, and adding line of travel for carrier route mailings.

The average address list typically contains up to 10% addresses that can’t be CASS-certified. These can still be mailed, but at a higher postage rate. It’s a good idea to send your list in early so we can assess the quality of the addresses and how the quality affects your postage!

What is Cheshire Labeling?

Cheshire was actually the name of a company that invented a machine that converted ordinary wide continuous form computer paper into labels. It also put glue on the back of the label and affixed it to the mail piece! The labels are usually printed 4 across and 11 down on each sheet. Most labelers of this type are referred to as “Cheshire Labelers” even though a company not associated with Cheshire made the machine itself. The computer printed continuous form labels are commonly referred to as Cheshire labels.

Not all shops support Cheshire Labels so be certain your mailer can. Sometimes specialty mail list houses will only supply their address list in Cheshire format. Also ask your mailer how many labels should be across the page. Normally it is 4 across…but sometimes it can be 5 across. When in doubt ask! Address N’ Mail supports 4 across Cheshire labels.

What are the different classes of mail?

First Class mail cannot be opened by a postal inspector. Mail such as invoices for services received must be mailed first class. Second class mail is for subscriptions such as magazines. Third class bulk mail no longer exists…it is called standard class mail. It is not sealed to postal inspection. Mail weighing less than 16 ounces and not mandated to be mailed as first class can use standard class mail. Postage savings can be significant over first class mail.

What type of electronic format do you accept?

In order to bulk mail to your customers, their names and addresses must be set up in a usable electronic format. The Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet, Access® database or equivalent products are ideal for such files on a personal computer. If your customer list is in a proprietary application, most applications released within the past few years will export a mail list for your use either through an “Export” or a “Save As” command. (We only rarely find a list we can’t use!) To be most easily imported into the bulk mailing software the list should be exported to a “Comma Delimited ASCII” (.txt or .csv) or Dbase compatible (.dbf) format. Please see our file transfer feature on Address N’ Mail’s home page.

What is franking?

The process of putting a permit, meter mark, or stamp on mail pieces.

What is an indicia?

Mailing permit marking on First Class and Standard Class mail used as a substitute for stamps.

Why do I want to use laser addressing?

In order to make your mail piece look as professional as possible we exclusively use laser printers to print the addresses directly on your mail piece. Direct addressing is more efficient and more likely to meet the increasing demands of the post office on addressing quality.

What is mail merge?

Mail merge is the process where a mailing list is combined with a letter, invoice, or statement to produce a mailing that is personalized. At Address N’ Mail, letters are printed on a high performance 600 dpi laser printer. Any customer supplied paper for mail merge must be laser compatible.

What is the maximum quantities you can process for the services you offer?

Address N’ Mail shop can process about 50,000 pieces daily.

What is NCOA?

National Change of Address is a Post Office supported function that allows the checking of an existing mail list to determine if a person or family has moved in the last 36 months. Because of privacy laws strict control of this information is observed. Less than 30 companies across the country have paid the $100,000+ annual fee to be allowed to provide NCOA information to others. A “smaller” version of NCOA is “Fast forward” which can check for address changes over the past 8 months.

What is nested fold?

A nested fold means that two or more pieces of paper are put together before folding. This produces an insert that is a single piece made of several pieces of paper. It produces a more profession look in the case of multi-page letters, invoices or statements. However, it is more expensive than a regular insert.

What is OCR?

Optical Character Recognition is the ability of a special camera to see the characters in the address area, recognize what letters/numbers they are and cause the printing of a bar code on the mail piece.

Do you do packaging, traying, and documentation for the mailing?

The mail pieces are addressed in presorted sequence ready for packaging and traying in complete conformance to all postal regulations. Final preparation into mail trays or sacks is accomplished on site. Mailing documentation is retained for at least 1 year.inted on a high performance 600 dpi laser printer. Any customer supplied paper for mail merge must be laser compatible.


Address N’ Mail shop can process about 50,000 pieces daily.

Do you have the capability to handle pallets?

Yes, from a practical standpoint the weight should be limited to 1500 pounds. Address N’ mail has an adjustable platform and can accommodate up to “dock high” trucks.

What does "PAVE" mean?

“PAVE” stands for Presort Accuracy Verification and Evaluation”. It’s a USPS-certified system for proving you are eligible for specific postage discounts since the mail is sorted and bundled per the PAVE documentation

It’s difficult to comprehend the variety of ways a large address list can be re-arranged to influence your postage rates. It’s virtually impossible to arrange your mail by hand to get the lowest postage. This is why you must use a USPS tested and certified software package to prepare your address list…or, you can just leave it to Address N’ Mail!

What is mail merge?



Address N’ Mail shop can process about 50,000 pieces daily.

Why can’t my company obtain addresses from a "rental list?"

Almost always a list is not purchased, it is rented or leased. It usually is only good for one time use and a printout of the names/addresses of those mailed to would constitute a second use.

What is "Saturation Mail"?

If you are planning to send standard class mail (bulk mail) to everyone in a particular area, you should probably consider “saturation mail”. In saturation mailing every household in a geographical area will receive your mail. Almost always businesses can be excluded from this list. Optionally apartments can be omitted as well. This type of a list usually does not have the name of the addressee. Address N’ Mail updates saturation lists every 2 months!

There are two major benefits to using a saturation list: you save some money on postage and service fees are reduced.The biggest negative side is that the list is addressed to “RESIDENT”, “TO OUR NEIGHBOR”, “TO OUR FRIENDS”, “FUTURE HOMEOWNER”….the list goes on and on.

Why is tabbing sometimes required?

Tabbing is required for a folded self-mailer if the self-mailer “pops open” if left by itself or if you wish to mail at the bar coded postage rates. The tabbing process assures the post office that your bar-coded mail can be processed by machinery. The post office calls this type of mail “Automation Compatible.”

When should you use a window envelope?

Often the contents of a mailer, be it an invoice or a laser letter is personalized. If you do not use a window envelope to expose an internal address a matching label must be affixed to a non-window envelope. Therefore, the process becomes a manual one and the costs are increased.

Whatever happened to ZIP+4?

Although the postal service always encourages mailers at all levels to use their zip+4, the fact of the matter it just doesn’t help anyone. Any postage discounts that were available for zip+4 have long ago disappeared.

On July 1, 1996, the post office dramatically changed the way they processed mail and charge postage. The special ZIP+4 rates were eliminated. Now, they rely on “DPBC”, or “Delivery Point Bar Code” to get your mail to its destination. DPBC is sometimes referred to as ZIP+4+2, and it’s simply an even more-detailed zip code than the old ZIP+4.

There are two ways DPBC is printed on your mail. The best way is to have Address N’ Mail process your address list and label it that way–this gets you the best postage rates and the lowest processing fees. The other option is to fully prepare the mail and have it processed by Address N’ Mail’s post processing barcode facility. This also allows you to get postage discounts without having to provide a mail list. Sometimes you may want to insert your enclosures (such as checks, theater tickets, bank PIN numbers). That’s OK! We can still save you money with our post processing bar coding facility!