Mailing Services
HOTGLOSS PRINTING is now offering mailing services. Mailing services consist of: Processing of one customer supplied list which includes: CASS certification, duplicate removal, presorting, bar coding, inkjet setup and addressing of mail pieces, use of our Postal Permit and delivery to the U.S. Post Office.
Why spend money and time getting postcards mailed back to your location, when for about the cost of return overnight shipping, HOTGLOSS PRINTING will process and mail your list. Let us do the work and save you the time and hassle.
4.125"x6" Postcard
w/ Presorted First Class Postage
Quantity |
4/1 Printing
|
Mail Service
|
U.S. Postage
|
Total
|
| 1,000 |
$129
|
$99
|
$194
|
$422
|
| 2,000 |
$173
|
$199
|
$485
|
$857
|
| 5,000 |
$307
|
$299
|
$970
|
$1,576
|
| 10,000 |
$517
|
$475
|
$1,940
|
$2,932
|
5.5"x8.5" Postcard
w/ Presorted First Class Postage
Quantity |
4/1 Printing
|
Mail Service
|
U.S. Postage
|
Total
|
| 1,000 |
$198
|
$99
|
$309
|
$606
|
| 2,000 |
$302
|
$199
|
$773
|
$1,274
|
| 5,000 |
$556
|
$299
|
$1,545
|
$2,400
|
| 10,000 |
$788
|
$475
|
$3,090
|
$4,353
|
5.5"x8.5" Postcard
w/ Presorted Standard Postage
Quantity |
4/1 Printing
|
Mail Service
|
U.S. Postage
|
Total
|
| 1,000 |
$198
|
$99
|
$219
|
$516
|
| 2,000 |
$302
|
$199
|
$548
|
$1,049
|
| 5,000 |
$556
|
$299
|
$1,095
|
$1,950
|
| 10,000 |
$788
|
$475
|
$2,190
|
$3,453
|
Postage total may be lower than the price listed. Postage is determined by the concentration of your mailing. We will provide a copy of the postal receipt after your mail is delivered and processed by the Post Office. The mailing side of the postcard must meet postal requirements.
Address Block Dimensions
The example above shows three lines of text in the address block.
If you require more than five lines of text in the address block increase the height by 1/4" (0.25") per additional line. For example, six lines of text in the address block will increase the height to 2" + 0.25" = 2.25".
The difference between a mailable piece and a machinable piece.
Almost any size postcard is mailable, for a price, but to qualify as machinable (for automation rates) a piece must adhere to a number of Post Office requirements.
If a piece qualifies for automation rates you will save 35% - 40% on postage fees. To qualify for automation rates the aspect ratio of the mail piece must be between (1.3 – 2.5); any dimensions that fall outside this aspect ratio will not qualify as machinable.
Calculate the aspect ratio of a postcard by dividing the long side by the short side.
For example a 5x7 postcard: 7 (long side) / 5 (short side) = 1.4 (aspect ratio) the result falls between 1.3 and 2.5 so a 5x7 postcard qualifies for automation rates because it is machinable. Conversely, a 5 x 5.5 will not qualify; 5.5 / 5 = aspect ratio of 1.1, too low for automated machine processing.
The aspect ratio is correct, NOW WHAT?
The address must run parallel to the long side of the mail piece. The address must have a proper bar code and the mailing must be sorted by zip code. Further, the minimum clearance for address and bar code must be in compliance with postal standards, as above.
Mailing List Database Format
The preferred file format for a mailing list submission to HOTGLOSS Printing is a comma(*.CSV) or tab(*.txt) delimited text file. We can also accept a native Microsoft Excel file.
The names of possible fields are listed below for your information.
The possible database fields are not necessarily significant; HOTGLOSS will adjust your address list to conform to postal requirements as long as your address mailing list has separate fields for the address line 1 and or address line 2, city, state, and zip code.
Any of the other fields listed below are optional and may be used or not used at your discretion.
* Required Fields
|
Field Name
|
Max Length
|
|
Salutation
|
20
|
|
First Name
|
20
|
|
Middle Initial
|
1
|
|
Last Name
|
30
|
|
Title
|
20
|
|
*Address Line 1
|
45
|
|
Address Line 2
|
45
|
|
Address Line 3
|
45
|
|
Address Line 4
|
45
|
|
Address Line 5
|
45
|
|
Address Line 6
|
45
|
|
*City
|
30
|
|
*State
|
2
|
|
*ZIP Code (ZIP+4)
|
10
|
|
Plus 4
|
4
|
|
Delivery Point
|
3
|
|
Carrier Route
|
4
|
|
Foreign Country
|
30
|
|
Work Phone
|
15
|
|
Work Extension
|
4
|
|
Home Phone
|
15
|
|
Home Extension
|
4
|
|
FAX
|
15
|
|
Group Code
|
5
|
|
Entry Date
|
8
|
|
Comment
|
45
|
|
Street Number
|
10
|
|
Street PreDir
|
10
|
|
Street Name
|
40
|
|
Street Suffix
|
20
|
|
Street PostDir
|
10
|
|
Unit/Apt/Suite
|
10
|
* Required Fields
Creating a Tab Delimited Text file
Creating a Tab Delimited Text file from
Microsoft™ Excel™
In Excel, open the spreadsheet containing your contacts. Then select File, Save As.In the Save As dialog box, set the Save as type option to Text (Tab delimited)(*.txt).Enter a file name (such as mail_list.txt) for the export file and click Save.If you see a warning about the destination file type not supporting multiple sheets, just click OK.Select the file you just exported (such as mail_list.txt): This is around where you need to browse for the file.
Creating a Tab Delimited Text file from
Microsoft™ Outlook™ Address Book
Click on Contacts in the Outlook Bar, select File, Import and Export.In the Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file, then click Next.In the Outlook folder, select the Contacts folder and click Next.For the type of the export file, select Comma Separated Values (Windows) and click Next.Enter a file name (such as mail_list.csv) for the export file and click Next.Click Finish to complete the export.Select the file you just exported (such as mail_list.csv) This is around where you need to browse for the file.
Creating a Tab Delimited Text file from
Microsoft™ Outlook Express™ Contacts
In Outlook Express™, select "File" in the Menu Bar, then "Export", then "Address Book".In the Address Book Export Tool dialog box, select the "Text File (Comma Separated Values, csv)" option, and click "Export".In the CSV Export dialog box, enter a name for the export file (such as mail_list.csv), and click "Browse" to save this file somewhere on your computer (i.e. Desktop), then click "Next".If you are not sure which field to export select First Name, Last name and Email Address.Click "Finish" to complete the export.Select the file you just exported (such as mail_list.csv) This is around where you need to browse for the file.
Creating a Tab Delimited Text file from
3Com™ Palm Pilot™ address list
HotSync the contents of your Palm III or your Palm Pilot with the Palm Desktop on your computer.On the Palm Pilot, click the Address icon in the launch bar along the left edge of the desktop window.In the Address Book, select File, Export.In the Export To File dialog box, change the Export as option to Tab Separated Values (*.tab;*txt).Enter a file name (such as mail_list.tab) for the export file, and click Export.In the Specify Export Fields dialog box, do not make any changes-just click OK. Leave all the fields selected, and do not change the field order.Select the file you just exported (such as mail_list.tab): This is around where you need to browse for the file.
Exporting Data to a Delimited Text File from
ACT! 2000 - PC; ACT! 3.0 - PC; ACT! 4.0 - PC
Operating System(s):All Supported
Situation:
You wish to export your ACT! database to another program which will import delimited text files. For example, your mailing company or other vendor requires a delimited text file for their use.
Solution:
Follow these steps to export data for use in another application:
1. Choose File, point to Data Exchange, and then choose Export. The first panel of the Export Wizard appears, asking you the type of file that you want to export and the name and location of the file to which you want to export it.
2. From the File Type drop-down list, choose Text-Delimited.
3. Click the Browse button to the right of the Filename And Location field, locate the file to which you want to export your data and click Save. You can enter the name of a new file, and select the type of text delimited format, (TXT or CSV) from the "Save as type" dropdown list, and ACT! will create the new file for you.
4. Click Next. The next Export Wizard panel asks what kinds of data you want to export. You can export contact records or group records, but you cannot export both record types at the same time. If you want to export both record types, you will have to go through the export process twice by first saving and exporting contact records, then saving and exporting group records.
5. Specify whether to export contact records or group records.
6. (Optional) To specify how ACT! exports the data, click Options. The Export Options dialog box appears.
7. (Optional) Specify the field separator that you want to use when creating your export file, and specify whether to export field names, then click OK. By default, ACT! uses a comma to separate fields when it creates a delimited text file. If the application into which you plan to import the file requires tab-separated fields, select Tab. If you select the Export Field Names option, the first line of the export file will contain the ACT! field names. This can be useful for mapping fields when you import the file into another application.
8. Click Next in the wizard panel. The next Export Wizard panel asks you which contact or group records you want to export.
9. Specify whether to export the current record, the current lookup, or all records in the database, and click Next.
10. The next Export Wizard panel asks you to specify the order in which contact fields from the currently open database will appear in the delimited text file. You can save the field order you specify as a field map that you can reuse when you export data in the future.• To remove a field from the list, select any field name in the list and click Remove Field. When you click Remove Field, the field is removed from the list and will not be exported.
• To quickly replace a field in the list, select the field name you want to replace. In the drop-down list that appears, select the field name that you want to appear in that location. The field that previously appeared in that location is removed from the list.Note: If you remove a field from the list, you can always add the field back to the list by clicking Insert Field and selecting the field in the drop-down list that appears.
11. Do one of the following:
• If you want to save the current field order as a map that you can reuse, click Save Map. In the Save As dialog box that appears, enter a name for the map and click Save. By default, map files are stored in the ACT! folder with a .MAP extension. When you have saved your map, click Finish in the final panel of the Export Wizard to export the data.
• If you want to use a previously saved export map, click Load Map. In the Open dialog box that appears, locate the map file that you want to use and click Open to apply the map. Click Finish to export the data.
• If you do not want to save the map, click Finish to export the data. The data is exported to a delimited text file.
To export GoldMine data:
1 In GoldMine, click Tools > Import/Export Wizard > Export Contact Records.
2 Select Export to a new file.
3 Select ASCII File and click Next.
4 Select All Contact Records.
5 Click Add Field for every field in the "GoldMine Fields" list except for the "Notes" field. Do not add the "Notes" field.
6 Click Next.
7 Enter a filename and select "Export GoldMine field names that has mappings as first record."
8 Select whether you'd like to save these export settings for future use and click Next.
9 Click Finish.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO MAIL QUESTIONS
Q: What are the requirements for mailing a postcard at the First Class Postcard Rate?
According to US Post Office regulations, the smallest allowed postcard size is 3.5" x 5". The largest size for mailing at the Postcard Rate is 4.125" x 6", which we offer as a Standard Postcard.
- Qualifiers:
- 13 ounces or less
- 500 or more pieces per mailing. Speed 1–3 days.
The higher Standard Mail Rate applies to any piece larger than our Standard Postcard.
Dimensions up to 6.125"x11". Standard Mail, has no Postcard Rate, so all large postcards use the Standard Mail Rate. Standard Mail Rate.
- Qualifiers:
- less than 16 ounces
- 200 or more pieces or 50 pounds or more per mailing. Speed 2–9 days.
Q: Should a return address be included on my postcard?
A return address is not required. Including a return address enables you to update your mailing list after each mailing. First Class Mail is returned free of charge. Standard Mail Rate mail is not returned unless an ancillary service is printed on your card. (This service requires additional payment to the US Post Office). Any undeliverable Standard Mail that has no ancillary service endorsement is discarded by the USPS.
Q: Can HotGloss handle my entire mailing project?
Yes. HotGloss can do virtually every step of your job. We can consult on the most efficient way to prepare the job, four color print the piece, do list clean-up, manage your data files, pre-sort and co-mingle the piece, and deliver the mailing to USPS. To top it off, we offer all of these services at a great price.
Q: Should I print labels and bring them to HotGloss to be applied or let HotGloss print the labels?
Let HotGloss do the addressing. Using specialized software, HotGloss can cleanup your mailing list, apply barcodes and achieve maximum postage savings. Inkjetting is always preferred. It looks more professional and is more time efficient in processing.
Q: Do I need to have a Postal Permit to use HotGloss mailing services?
You can use our Postal Permit, no charge.
Q: What are the advantages of having a Postnet Barcode?
Postnet barcodes allow mail to be processed using automated equipment. The advantages of this are savings in time and money. Postnet barcodes usually reduce delivery time by 1 to 2 days, and allow for significant reduction in postage costs.
Q: What type of data files can HotGloss work with?
HotGloss works with many file formats from most platforms. For the data specifications sheet click here(coming soon) or call 916/ 391-6797.
Q: What is CASS Certification?
Coding Accuracy Support System is a computerized process that standardizes addresses, conforming them to standards set by the USPS. This process adds the information needed to create a Postnet barcode. It also produces a USPS form 3553 required for mailing at automation rates. Automation compatibility and CASS certification will improve delivery time.
Did You Know?
According to a USPS study, Americans spend $528 billion in response to Direct Mail advertising.
Did You Know?
73 million or 25% of the U.S. population ordered merchandise or services by mail.
Source: The DMA Statistical Fact Book 2001: Direct Mail/Buying Habits
Direct Mail Gives You
Flexibility:
You can mail anyone your message at any time, using any format. You can send postcards, letters, color brochures. The choice is up to you and your budget. Because Direct Mail pieces can be prepared in a relatively short time, they can give you the competitive edge of surprise or the capacity to respond quickly to a competitor's effort. You can prepare and send a postcard in a matter of days. Moreover, Direct Mail efforts can be kept secret from the competition right up to the time they are delivered to your customer.
Targetability:
Choose precisely the audience you want to reach and speak to them, and only to them, one-to-one.
Measurability:
There’s no guesswork. By tracking and analyzing your mailings, you’ll know how you’re doing.
Accountability:
When you see how well mail works, it becomes its own justification, a “self-funding” medium, if you will.
Privacy:
Not only can you reach your customers without your competition’s knowledge, but you can also allow your customers to see your message, without distraction.
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