Best Practices

Envelopes are a crucial but often forgotten part of the data distribution process. From a production point of view they can mean the difference between a smooth running job with no problems and a poorly running job fraught with jams and re-prints. Jams and re-prints mean additional costs for the production facility and the potential to miss deadlines.

In our experience there are good reasons why some envelope manufacturers are a cut above the others. How the envelopes are shipped is a good indicator of what you’re getting. Are the cartons stacked so high on a skid that the bottom rows are getting crushed? Some manufacturers have moved to tape-less cartons that accommodate a single row of envelopes and don’t have smaller inside boxes. These don’t require box cutters to open, are easier for the operators, and produce less packaging waste.

Outside seams, either diagonal or vertical make a big difference. We started using outside side seams for all our #10 and 6×9 delivery envelopes several years ago and have seen excellent results. All inserting machines “push” the paper into the envelope and if there’s anything in the way, like a poorly glued seam, it will cause a jam. Outside seams remove this obstacle.

Speaking of glue, how well the manufacturer manages the glueing process can make or break an entire shipment. Poorly glued acetate window patches and residual spot glue inside the envelope can be job killers. Inadequately glued flaps can result in envelopes not sealing properly and require additional work to make sure they are properly glued.

Since paper prices have risen 17% since the spring of 2018, envelope costs have also skyrocketed. One way we mitigate this is to purchase envelopes in very large volumes and pass the savings along to our clients. We purposely designed all our stock envelopes with double windows allowing multiple clients to use them for branding and messaging by adjusting document composition. StatementOut offers compatible sets of #10’s (up to 5 sheets), 6×9’s (up to 9 sheets), and flat envelopes (up to 81 sheets). By compatible we mean your document can be tri-folded, half-folded, or not folded and the address and barcodes will show through the window with the appropriate USPS clearances.

The envelope is also where the postage is paid. Typically there is a pre-printed indicia, metered postage, or a stamp.

The pre-printed indicia is the easiest and StatementOut’s company permit is printed on all our stock envelopes, except flats. This means the U.S. Post Office debits our postage account as soon as any mail is presented to a Business Mail Entry Facility. Most of the mail you see in your own mailbox will have somebody’s pre-printed indicia on it.

Metering is printing the postage from an approved meter directly on the envelope and is generally a weigh-on-the-way process where the envelope is weighed just prior to the meter mark being printed. Meters and ink are controlled by only a few companies like Pitney Bowes, and are therefore very expensive to purchase, supply with “approved” inks, and maintain. Meters also introduce an additional mechanical process that will cause opportunities for jams or other problems.

Stamps are seldom used on transactional documents but are still employed by direct marketers and non-profits who believe the stamp gets people to open the envelope. Transactional documents don’t have that problem.

In summary, the envelope is a really important component in the mailing process and involves a lot more than meets the eye.

Reposted fm https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/shipping-and-mailing/case-studies/4-reasons-consumers-prefer-paper-bills-statements.html.

It is a very informative article about why paper isn’t going away and consumers like paper.

If the 2000s were the decade of digital, the current decade could be the decade of trust, where success is defined by keeping the goodwill that organizations have worked so hard — and spent so much money — to build.

For transactional communications — that is, invoices and statements — consumers have voiced a clear opinion: they trust the mail. Despite the push toward Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP), e-payments have had slower than expected adoption. InfoTrends, a top research firm for customer communications, says that nearly 66 percent of household bills and statements will still be mailed in 2018.¹

Dr. Larry Ponemon, publisher of the Ponemon Institute’s Most Trusted Companies, a yearly report that measures consumer sentiment, explains why consumers prefer mail.

1. No mystery here
The U.S. mailing process is an easy-to-understand system that’s familiar to everyone. There is little fear that your mail carrier will open and read your correspondence — unlike online interactions where growing numbers of users are taking steps to protect their personal information and block “cookies” from following their every move.

Studies show that 25 percent of consumers choose to receive paper bills because they feel it is a “security precaution.”² Ponemon explains why: “Different types of information have different levels of privacy expectations attached to them.” Areas such as finance and health remain sacred and demand higher levels of privacy.

2. The human element
Many people know their mailperson by name and interact with him or her on a regular basis, establishing an unusual person-to-person trust factor. The USPS^®’s newer customer-service efforts, like 24-hour call centers, reinforce relationships between the agency and its customers.

That’s why consumers named the USPS^® one of the United States’ 20 most trusted companies and the number one most trusted government agency for the last 10 years.³ These positive sentiments spill over to businesses that employ postal services.

3. People like choice
“Companies that rank high in consumer trust have a strong orientation to respecting their customers and providing the best possible customer service,” Ponemon says. Consider companies that offer online billing. Consumers sometimes sign up, then opt for a paper trail. Nationally, one in three people surveyed said they had reverted to paper delivery after trying an electronic-only experience.⁴ In the long run, giving people options can have a positive effect on key business metrics, like increasing loyalty and decreasing churn.

4. Expectations are met
There are hundreds of federal laws that protect our mail service. In fact, most people have some level of knowledge about those laws — for example, many know that opening another person’s mail is illegal. These rules set clear privacy expectations.

There are other practical reasons as to why consumers rely on the mail. For example, bills and statements must be mailed First-Class^®, which guarantees that mail forwarding and return-mail actions take place. Consumers can be certain that no matter where they are in the U.S., their mail will find them.

^1,2,4 InfoTrends: Insights into the Transactional Communications Market: Setting the Stage, 2015.

³ Ponemon Institute, Annual List of Most Trusted U.S. Companies, 2008-2014.