newsletters

[Tom Endy]

I was reading in a recent newsletter from A MAFCA chapter that a new postal regulation his been imposed for 2013. I will quote what was printed.

"Post Office Rules Change
I learned something new last month when ALL the newsletters were returned to me. They changed the mailing rules in January and we are no longer allowed to put staples in the newsletter. Well, that's not exactly true. We can put a staple in , but it will cost us an additional 20 cents per newsletter as a penalty. Also, we are now required to put 2 closure taps on the top instead of one. So from now on, you'll have to staple your newsletter together yourself."

I am the editor of the Victoria Association newsletter, The Bustle. I mail out four newsletter per year. Each mailing is over 300 copies. When they are printed at Office Max they automatically staple the upper left hand corner as each copy is printed. I add another staple at the bottom center when I fold them. I also add mailing sealers over the corner staple and at the center on the right so the post office cancelling machine does not tear them up. I sent out the January Bustle done as such with no problem, none were returned.

This has me concerned. I went on line and typed in a number of inquierise, such as "US post office new rules for 2013 concering staples." A lot of information came up, but nothing about the concerned issue.

It is possible the person who incurred the wrath of the post office was an isolated case of a bureaucrat misinterpreting a rule.

My queastion is:
Does anyone know anything about this. Some of you folks are probably club newsletter editors and should be concerned as I am.

A newsletter of six double sided pages printed on 20 pound bond paper can be mailed domestically for a single "forever" stamp (staples included).

Tom Endy

[MVal]

About a year ago we ran into a similar situation. My wife is the editor and I help her do the mailing. We have several members who had to pay extra for their newsletter due to staples so we went to the PO and were told the staples weren't acceptable as they cause jaming of the sorting machinery. There was a specific location they wanted the stick-ems so the letter would go thru their sorting machine, one of which was on the right side as you look at the address label as I recall. We then tried the stick-ems as the PO wanted them to be located but our source of stick-ems was pretty pricey.

Our next move was to sent them out via email to those who wanted them that way and to put the others in a #10 envelope. A little more time consuming but works. The only issue is that you can only put 5 pages in the envelope for one forever stamp. This might be increased a little if you get some paper lighter than the normal 20 lb at Staples, etc. Might have to supply your own paper to the copy place. And some people might not like the lighter paper!

Bottom line to avoid problems is to visit you local PO and talk to them about what is required and alternatives available. I don't think this policy re staples is new, just some are enforcing it now due to problems with jams in their sorting machinery.

[Mike V. Florida]

It's hard to explain in words but let me try.

All the mail goes through automatic sorting machines as many as 5 machines for each piece of mail you give your carrier.

The mail is placed on edge and fed into a machine that strips off one letter at a time as it enters the machine at a rate of about 10/sec.

Think of it this way, have you ever placed a deck of cards on your hand and with a finger of your other hand pulled off one at a time in rapid succession?

Then you get the general idea. Now how does the machine know if your letter is one envelope or a stack of paper with one staple? It can't. The letter needs to hold together as it is stripped off and sent into the machine. Paper tabs on the right hand side on the "letter" and one centered on the bottom does a good job of "holding it together" as a single piece of mail.

So what happens if a piece of mail does not have the tabs? Well, most of the time nothing but some of the times the machine will rip off the cover and several other pages become loose, the loose pieces can cause a jam in the machine and what do you think happens to the piece behind the jam? It slams into the stuck piece and it becomes damaged as well. Now the machine is down and someone needs to locate the jam, clear the jam, repair any damage it may have caused. This delays the mail processing, delays the mail to the carrier, delays the mail to you, delays the incoming mail to the sorting facility and delays the start of processing to the new day.

But Mike, you may say, how come it works if I pay more? Simple it needs to be sorted on a different, slower machine that feeds the mail a different way such as large envelopes and magazines or it has to be hand sorted. Since time is money it costs more.

So, the best thing to do is to put it into another envelope, the next best thing is the paper tabs or tape on the right side and bottom at least.

From the USPS;
"First-Class Mail letters that have one or more nonmachinable characteristics will pay a nonmachinable surcharge. Customers can be unpleasantly surprised that they must pay extra postage when, for example, they mail a square greeting card. The Postal Service charges extra postage because mailpieces that are rigid, square, or unusually shaped, often jam postal equipment and are difficult to process. This costs the Postal Service time and money—and may also damage your mailpiece.
Many mailers fold sheets of paper to form letter-size pieces or newsletters. Folded pieces, or folded self-mailers, can save time and money because you’re not paying for or stuffing envelopes. Folded self-mailers must be sealed or they will be subject to the nonmachinable surcharge. We recommend that you use wafer seals or tabs to close the open sides of folded mailpieces.
Here’s some good advice on tabbing: Put the fold on the bottom (the side below the address) and secure the opening at the top with a piece of tape, a tab or a wafer seal.
More about Folding and Tabbing a Mailpiece"

[Richard Wilson]

I copy and mail the Smith Motor Compressor Club newsletter. 4 - 5 issues are printed each year. We have 80+ members. The newsletter is printed on 11 X 17 paper. Two sheets of 11 X 17 paper (makes 8 pages 8 1/2 X 11 when folded) will go for one first class stamp in the US. I use three of the circle type mailing seals per newsletter, one for each open side of the folded newsletter. I buy the mailing seals at Walmart when they have them in stock. Mailing Seals are located in the office/school supply section. No staple is used. As far as I know we have never had a problem with the post office. MAFFI uses this same method for their newsletters.

[spdway1]

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I use Ledger sized paper, no staples needed, I put a round tab (non perforated) on each side (3) and I make sure the bottom of the news letter is the folded crease. I have had great luck with this after trying 6 months doing different.