IPMA Bronze Award
Winning Brochure
(click for full image)

Oregon State University’s Printing and Mailing Service has won an IPMA (International In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association) Bronze Award for our very own OSU Printing and Mailing Services Booklet.

The piece was designed, printed and bound right here by our own team members at the OSU Printing and Mailing Service’s Cascade Hall Production Facility.

The IPMA is a professional organization comprised of corporate publishing and distribution professionals. IPMA is the only professional association dedicated exclusively to the specific needs of in-house professionals, who provide graphic design, copy, print, mail and distribution services to their organization.

For more information contact Printing and Mailing Services by emailing us at digital.printing@oregonstate.edu or simply giving us a call at 541-737-4941, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

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WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service announced plans to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.

“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”

Over the past several years, the Postal Service has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent strong growth in package delivery (14 percent volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days per week.

“Our customers see strong value in the national delivery platform we provide and maintaining a six-day delivery schedule for packages is an important part of that platform,” said Donahoe. “As consumers increasingly use and rely on delivery services — especially due to the rise of e-commerce — we can play an increasingly vital role as a delivery provider of choice, and as a driver of growth opportunities for America’s businesses.”

Once implemented during August of 2013, mail delivery to street addresses will occur Monday through Friday. Packages will continue to be delivered six days per week. Mail addressed to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Post Offices currently open on Saturdays will remain open on Saturdays.

Market research conducted by the Postal Service and independent research by major news organizations indicate that nearly seven out of ten Americans (70 percent) supported the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the Postal Service to reduce costs in its effort to return the organization to financial stability.¹ Support for this approach will likely be even higher since the Postal Service plans to maintain six-day package delivery.

The Postal Service is making the announcement more than six months in advance of implementing five-day mail delivery schedule, to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust. The Postal Service plans to publish specific guidance in the near future for residential and business customers about its new delivery schedule.

Lori Englehardt is this month’s PFLA Our Hero Award winner (photo by Theresa Hogue)

Lori Englehardt, lead transporter for OSU Printing and Mailing Services, has been given the PFLA (Professional Faculty Leadership Assocation) March 2013 Our Hero Award.

In addition to maintaining her own route, she makes sure all other campus routes are covered, keeping addresses current and ensuring that campus mail gets where it needs to be. According to her nominators, she keeps the campus mail running like a well-oiled machine.

Always polite and courteous, Englehardt genuinely enjoys her job and shows it, making her department look good with her friendly manner and positive outlook. She is always ready to step outside the normal duties of her job to help in other ways as needed.

Co-workers describe Englehardt as easy to work with, and for all the above reasons she was nominated for this month’s award.

• Location, size and required number of tabs
• Weight of your mailer
• Paper thickness
• Fold orientation
• Staple inclusion

Here is a link to a great video that helps to explain things:
WATCH VIDEO HERE

If you have any questions about these new regulations, or how they may apply to your upcoming mailing projects, please call our mailing specialists at 541-737-4941. They are more than happy to help you.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 27, 2013 include:

• Letters (1oz.) — 1-cent increase to 46 cents
• Letters additional ounces — unchanged at 20 cents
• Letters to all international destinations (1oz.) — $1.10
• Postcards — 1-cent increase to 33 cents

At the same time, the Postal Service will introduce a First-Class Mail Global Forever Stamp.  The new stamp will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10, and is among new mailing and shipping services filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission today.

Shipping Services
Several new Shipping Services products will be available in January. Free tracking will be offered to all competitive packages, including retail Priority Mail and Parcel Post (recently renamed Standard Post).

Also new, customers shipping Critical Mail letters and flats will now have the option of receiving a signature upon delivery as part of the service offering.

A large variety of flat-rate boxes and envelopes for Express Mail and Priority Mail, including the padded and legal-sized flat rate envelopes will continue to be offered by the Postal Service.

New domestic retail pricing for Priority Mail Flat Rate products include:

• Small box — $5.80
• Medium box — $12.35
• Large box — $16.85
• Large APO/FPO box — $14.85
• Regular envelope — $5.60
• Legal envelope — $5.75
• Padded envelope — $5.95

For more information, or to find out how these changes may affect your department, call our mailing specialists at Printing and Mailing Services 541-737-4941 or drop them an email at copy.services@oregonstate.edu.

As a certified MDP, Megan is available to assist customers in resolving potential problems related to barcode quality and placement, mailpiece dimensions and overall mailing quality, in addition to other issues. Guidance from the mailing specialists at Printing and Mailing Services helps steer customers down the correct path of developing mailpieces that will be accepted by the USPS and be as cost effective as possible.

The USPS MDP program gives participants in-depth knowledge of how to design letter-size and flat-size mailpieces that can easily be processed on the USPS high-speed automation equipment. In addition, their skills help maximize cost effectiveness and reducing processing delays. The curriculum includes postal addressing standards, class of mail and processing categories, Intelligent Mail barcoding formats and print specifications and designing automation letters and reply mail.

“As a certified Mailpiece Design Professional, Megan is able to assist our customers in leveraging every opportunity to better manage their mailing projects,” says John McMillen, Customer Service Manager of Printing and Mailing Services. “Our investment in this training for team members ensures that the OSU community is receiving the information, guidance and assistance they need, especially in regards to specific mailpiece characteristics and acceptable standards. We take pride in our customer support and look to help our associates become experts and a resource on campus in critical elements such as this.”

For more information, contact Printing and Mailing Services at 541-737-4941, drop them an email to digital.printing@oregonstate.edu or simply stop by the office at 100 Cascade Hall.

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Beginning early next year, it will cost just a penny more to mail letters to any location in the United States, the first price change for First-Class Mail stamps (Forever stamps) in more than two and a half years. The new 45-cent price for Forever stamps is among price changes filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission today.

Highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, 2012, include:

• Letters (1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents
• Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents
• Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents
• Letters to Canada or Mexico (1 oz.) – 5-cent increase to 85 cents.
• Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent increase to $1.05

Prices also will change for other mailing services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services. For more information about how this may affect your next mailing project, contact our Mailing Specialists at 541.737.4941 who be happy to assist you!