The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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This document is formatted as an ASCII text file (including line drawing characters) for screen viewing or printed output. Printed output is 32 pages. A PRIMER ON ADDRESSING STANDARDS FOR UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AUTOMATED OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR) AND POSTNET BARCODE MAIL SORTING How to format address output on labels or envelopes to make maximum use of automated mail processing ──────────────────────── Including Letter mail size specifications Address location on the mailpiece OCR readable type styles Address data elements Address format specifications Standard abbreviations POSTNET Barcode interpretation and location USPS publications Shareware programs ──────────────────────── K. P. McClanahan 5787 Sebring Drive Indianapolis 46254-1539 (Not connected in any way with the United States Postal Service) April 1993 Revision 2.0 This document is written for personal computer users everywhere. It is not copyright. It may be freely copied, edited, and distributed or even plagiarized. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Disclaimer: While best efforts have been made to assure │ │ the accuracy of the information in this document, it is │ │ not intended to be authoritative. Readers seeking to │ │ conform to United States Postal Service standards should │ │ consult Postal Service publications listed in the Refer- │ │ ence section rather than rely on the information here. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ TABLE OF CONTENTS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Introduction.................................................. 1 Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing............... 1 Glossary.................................................. 2 Automated Sorting............................................. 4 Letter Mail Specifications......................................6 Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing..................6 Locating the Address on the Mailpiece.................... 6 Font Characteristics for OCR Reading.......................7 Address Block Specifications................................... 8 The Ideal Address Block................................... 8 Data Elements............................................. 9 Address Block Format......................................10 Using Standardized Abbreviations.............................. 22 United States and its Territories and Possessions.........22 Canada....................................................23 Geographical Abbreviations (Directionals).................23 Street Designators........................................23 Secondary Unit Designators................................24 Hispanic Style Addresses..................................25 POSTNET Barcoding............................................. 26 Using the POSTNET Barcode.................................26 Delivery Point Barcode................................... 26 Barcode Format............................................27 Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode......................... 27 Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece.................28 Facing Identification Mark.....................................30 Something for Nothing..........................................31 References.....................................................32 A PRIMER ON ADDRESSING STANDARDS FOR POSTAL SERVICE AUTOMATED OCR SCANNING AND SORTING Standards and specifications for structuring a mailing list database on your personal computer and printing labels or envelopes INTRODUCTION ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing──────────────────────── Most of us take addressing a letter for granted. We write or type the address--or what we think is the address--on an en- velope, stamp it, put it in the mail, and then become angry when the Post Office (oops!, Postal Service) takes days or even weeks to deliver it across town. Well, a lot has changed since that idea has become fixed in our collective consciousness. In the first place, more and more mail is being addressed using personal computers at home and in the office. And the Postal Service is into its second generation of automated OCR sorting equipment--vast improvements over the first versions. OCR systems now read the address line as well as the ZIP Code line in the sorting process. Yet, even the newer Optical Character Recognition scanners can only handle a 40 character line with at most eight words per line. Any line ex- ceeding those parameters is ignored and the mailpiece is spit out for manual sorting. Thus, the use of standard formats and ab- breviations is particularly important to speed mail processing. This document is intended as a primer on structuring a database and formatting an address to meet USPS OCR and POSTNET Barcode specifications. For some readers the information here will not go far enough, and I refer them to USPS publications 25 and 28 on addressing standards (See References). For other readers, anything that smacks of uniformity and standardization is a challenge to be as non-conforming as possible. Neverthe- less, in recent years the hygiene (or etiquette, if your prefer) of addressing "mailpieces" has evolved, and a primer such as this in order. The first section deals with mailpiece dimensions and the address block location that can be scanned by OCRs. The second section specifies the structure of an address block, its data components, and the preferred or standard specifications for each component. A third section lists most of the USPS specified ab- breviations for use in automated sorting. And the final section describes POSTNET barcode usage for readers with access to POSTNET Barcode printing programs such as WonderBar 4.1 or Under- Bar 2.1 (See References). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--2 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Glossary───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Below are definitions of some less-than-obvious terms or terms with specific meanings used in the text. Address Block: The group of address lines on a mailpiece. BCS: BarCode Sorting--Automated sorting equipment and process for interpreting the POSTNET barcode and sorting the mail- piece. BRE: Business Reply Envelope(s)--Letter mail with prepaid postage and the endorsement "Postage will be paid by addressee"; in other words a BRM envelope. BRM: Business Reply Mail--Preaddressed, postage-paid-by- addressee letter mail that adheres to specific Postal Serv- ice regulations. The addressee pays First-Class postage (plus a fee) for mail actually received. CRM: Courtesy Reply Mail--Letter mail preaddressed by the ad- dressee, but requiring postage. CRM is similar to BRM and is typically used by utilities, credit card companies and others for bill payments. Delivery Address Line: The "street" or PO BOX line of an ad- dress, directly above the Last Line in a properly formed ad- dress. Delivery Point Barcode (DPBC): An 11-digit POSTNET barcode that identifies every delivery address in the US. FIM: Facing Identification Mark--A barcode printed at the upper edge of letter mail to the left of the postage area that provides a machine-detectable indicia for automatic facing and canceling, particularly for letter mail that does not have stamps or meter imprints that can be detected by automated sorting equipment. The FIM is used primarily on BRM and CRM, although it may be printed on other letter mail as well. Last Line: The CITY, STATE, ZIP line of an address. Letter mail: Mail (mailpieces) meeting specific size standards for OCR or BCS processing. Mailpiece: A Postal Service term meaning any item in the mail. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--3 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ OCR: Optical Character Recognition--an automated process for reading typewritten or printed addresses on letter mail. OCR Read Area: The area of a mailpiece which is scanned by wide area OCR scanners to optically read the address, print a POSTNET barcode, and perform an initial sort. POSTNET Barcode: POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique Barcode--A series of long and short bars that encode address informa- tion. It may be printed on a mailpiece by the customer or by the Postal Service to facilitate sorting and delivery. Range: The numeric part of a street address or secondary unit. In 1234 MAIN ST APT S23, "1234" is the address range and "S23" is the secondary unit range. Recipient Line: The address line above the Delivery Address Line. For residence addresses this is the person for whom the mailpiece is intended; for business addresses it is the name of the organization. Secondary Unit Indicator: An additional address specifier fol- lowing the street address for apartment, room, building, etc. State designator: The two-character alphabetic abbreviation for states, territories, possessions, and FPO/APO military ad- dresses of the United States and for provinces and ter- ritories in Canada. ZIP Code: Zone Improvement Program Code--A five digit number placed after the state designator that specifies a Postal Service delivery zone. ZIP+4 Code: A numeric code placed after the ZIP code, and separated from it by a hyphen, providing additional sorting information. The Zip+4 Code may now consist of a hyphen and 4 or 7 numerals (the 7 numerals are allowed only if the mailpiece is barcoded by the customer before mailing accord- ing to Delivery Point Barcode standards). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--4 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ AUTOMATED SORTING ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Basically, the Postal Service processing system is comprised of four sorting levels: Level 1: Preliminary Sorting ───────────────────────────── Advanced facer-cancelers which face mail properly, can- cel postage and separate machine addressed letters for processing on optical character readers. These machines also read Facing Identification Mark patterns on busi- ness reply and courtesy reply mail and separate it for further automated processing. Level 2: OCR Scanning/Sorting ────────────────────────────── High-speed optical character readers (OCRs) that read machine printed addresses on letter mail, print a POSTNET barcode in the lower right corner of each mail- piece and perform an "initial sort." OCRs are capable of reading, barcoding and sorting mail at a rate of 10 pieces per second (compared to one piece per second for manual barcoding). Level 3: POSTNET Barcode Scanning/Sorting ────────────────────────────────────────── High-speed barcode sorters (BCSs) designed to read POSTNET barcodes on letter mail and sort it accordingly. Mail "prebarcoded" by postal customers bypasses OCR and other sorting operations for direct BCS processing. Level 4: Manual Barcoding ────────────────────────── Remote Barcoding Systems (RBCSs) which provide a means of barcoding letter mail that is not "prebarcoded" by postal customers, nor "OCR readable." RBCSs are much more efficient and perform more functions than the older mechanized means of sorting mail but are still slower than automated sorting. RBCS operates at one piece per second. OCRs are designed to read machine printed addresses informa- tion on letter mail and convert that information into a postal barcode, which it prints on the mailpiece. To read the delivery address, the OCR must be able to find it. Once the scanner lo- cates the address, it must be able to see all elements clearly. Thus, location on the mailpiece and print quality are important. If address characters are excessively slanted or touch each ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--5 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ other, or if there is not sufficient contrast between the back- ground and the address characters, the OCR can't accurately read the address. After successfully reading the address, the OCR searches its files for the same address. Once found, it prints the ZIP+4 and Delivery Point Barcode in the lower right corner of the mail- piece. The OCR then performs an "initial sort" based on the bar- code it just printed. From that point on, the mail is sorted on high speed barcode sorters from origin to the letter carriers who will deliver it. Unlike OCRs, barcode sorters ignore all alpha/numeric print- ing and read only POSTNET barcodes. The wide area scanners on BCSs read barcodes printed in the address area as well as in the conventional lower right corner. Mail is therefore processed much faster. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--6 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ LETTER MAIL SPECIFICATIONS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing──────────────────────── Although postal OCRs and BCSs can sort a variety of letter- mail sizes, it's necessary that the mailpieces be rectangular and fall between the minimum and maximum dimensions in Table 1. Otherwise, the pieces tend to tumble and jam during transport. To determine if your mail meets the needed "aspect ratio" (is suffi- ciently rectangular), divide the length by the height. If the answer falls between 1.3 and 2.5, and your mail is within the size ranges shown in Table 1, it is "machinable." Letter Mail Dimensions (inches) ┌────────────┬────────────┬────────────┐ │ Dimensions │ Minimum │ Maximum │ ├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤ │ Height │ 3-1/2" │ 6-1/8" │ │ Length │ 5" │ 11-1/2" │ │ Thickness │ .007"* │ 1/4" │ └────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘ TABLE 1 *Letter mail should be at least .009" in thicknesses if it exceeds 4-1/4" in height or 6" in length. The length of a mailpiece is the dimension parallel to lines of the delivery address. For example, a 4" x 5" (height x length) envelope is not "machinable" since its aspect ratio is 1.25 (5 divided by 4), wile a 4" x 6" envelope is machinable with its 1.5 aspect ratio, even though both envelopes are within the parameters of Table 1. Locating the Address on the Mailpiece──────────────────────────── The left edge of the delivery address block (the address) shouldbe located within 10-1/2" of the right edge of letter mail measuring between 10-1/2" and 11-1/2" in length. The address block should be completely within an area no higher than 2-3/4" and no lower than 5/8" from the bottom edge of the mailpiece. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--7 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ├───────50% of length─────────┤ ┌─────────────────────────────┬───┬────────────────────────────┐ │ │ 33% of FIM POSTAGE │ │ RETURN ADDRESS AREA │ height AREA AREA │ ├─────────────────────────────┘ ─┴─ │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ 2-3/4" from bottom edge of piece to top of area │ │ │1\2"│ │1/2"│ │ │ OCR READ AREA │ │ │ │ Print address or place label │ │ │ │ in this area │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┴────┤ │ 5\8" │ BARCODE CLEAR AREA │ └────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘ ├─────────4-3/4"──────────────┤ Figure 1 Font Characteristics for OCR Reading───────────────────────────── Because they are more easily read by OCRs, type styles (fonts) described as "simple sans serif" (nonserifed) are recom- mended for printing the delivery address. As a general rule, type styles defined as light, bold, extended or condensed should not be used. Another rule of thumb is to avoid type styles that contain numbers which are more likely to be misread by OCRs than others. These include styles with "flat top threes", which may be read as fives, and sixes or nines which may appear as eights to an OCR. Italic, highly-stylized, and script-like styles should also be avoided. Dot matrix characters are OCR readable if the dots, that form each character, touch each other, or are not separated by more than .005". [Note: some of the type styles tested and approved are Standard Typewriter, Helvetica (Geneva), Futura Medium, Univers, News Gothic, and Century Light Schoolbook. Avoid Times Roman and similar styles.] OCRs will read type sizes between 8 and 18 point. The recommended type size is 10 or 12 point (standard typewriter Elite--12 characters per inch or Pica--10 characters per inch). Kerning should not be used, and at least a space of two points (1/36") should separate lines. The address should not be slanted (or skewed) more than 5 degrees, relative to the bottom edge of the mailpiece--especially important with address labels, since OCRs can't read crooked labels. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--8 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ADDRESS BLOCK SPECIFICATIONS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── In a perfect world, all that would be needed to identify a particular state and delivery area would be the ZIP Code. The city and state is actually redundant. Unfortunately, the Postal Sevice wants the redundancy since a great deal of ZIPped mail is incorrect. In fact, they're kinda cranky if you leave out the city and state. Too many people inadvertantly transpose digits in the ZIP Code. The city and state names serve as a cross check, allowing the Postal Service to correct customer errors avoiding the infamous "Return to Sender" rubber stamp. In addi- tion, in rural areas or small towns with a ZIP Code that serves several named localities, the city and state actually assist in sorting. So, even with a 5-, 9-, or 11 digit code, the complete address is required. The Ideal Address Block────────────────────────────────────────── The address block on a properly addressed mailpiece follows a specific format. A well-formed residence address: MR JOHN DOE 1234 N WILLOWBY ST APT 101 ANYTOWN US 12345-6789 ∙ All lines of an address block are formatted with a flush left margin and are within 5 degrees of parallel with the bottom edge of the mailpiece. ∙ Each line of the address is no longer than 40 characters and consists of no more than eight elements (e.g. num- bers, words, and abbreviations separated by spaces). ∙ Uppercase letters only are used (although lower-case letters in a number of styles, particularly standard typewriter Courier are acceptable). ∙ A sans serif, fixed pitch, 12 point font is used, al- though Courier is acceptable. Script fonts and fonts with curved serifs such as Times Roman, are not accept- able for OCR scanning. Kerning must not be used. ∙ No punctuation except a period, slash or hyphen in the address range (e.g.: 39.2 or 1/2 or 345-10) and hyphen in the ZIP+4 code is used. No commas, no periods, no quotes, no percentage signs, no pound signs (designating ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--9 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ apartment number, for instance), no parentheses, nor as- terisk are used. Only the characters A-Z, numerals 0-9, "/", ".", and "-" are appropriate. ∙ Only one space separates address elements, except two spaces separate the state designator and the ZIP Code or ZIP+4. Data Elements─────────────────────────────────────────────────── In conjunction with the direct mail industry, the USPS has defined a set of 27 data elements, particular to business-to- business mailings (which are the most difficult addressing challenges). Company/Contact Information: ─────────────────────────── Name Prefix (MS, MR, PROF, DR etc.) First Name Middle Name or Initial Surname Suffix Title (JR, III and PHD, JD, etc.) Professional Title (PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER) Functional Title (DESIGN MANAGER) Division/Department Name (BRAKE DIVISION) Mailstop Code (MSC 123) Distribution and Delivery Address Information: ───────────────────────────────────────────── Street Number Predirectional (N, E, S, W, NE) Street Name (OAK) Street Suffix (ST, AVE, BLVD) Postdirectional (N, E, S, W, NW) Secondary Unit Indicator (APT, BLDG, RM) Secondary Range (number) (234) Company Name (BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED) PO BOX Number (PO BOX 12345) City (ANYTOWN) State (US) ZIP Code (12345) ZIP+4 code (-6789) Carrier Route Code (CR23) [only for bulk mail] Optional Endorsement Key Line Code POSTNET Barcode POSTNET Address Block Barcode ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--10 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Address Block Format───────────────────────────────────────────── Postal Service OCR equipment looks for specific information at specific locations within the address block. Consequently, each line in an address has meaning in the automated sorting process. (Also see line wrapping below.) Line-Specific Data Elements ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Line │ │ Number Line Designation Example │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ 1* Optional Endorsement Line #ABCDEFE#*******CR02 │ │ 2** Key Line Data #ABCDEFGJKLMNOP/1234456 │ │ 3** POSTNET Address Block │ │ Barcode █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ █ │ │ 4*** Mailstop Code MSC 123 │ │ 5*** Attention Line MS MILDRED SMITH │ │ 6*** Individual Title PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER │ │ 7*** Functional Title DESIGN MANAGER │ │ 8*** Group, Division, │ │ Department Name BRAKE DIVISION │ │ 9* Recipient Line BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED │ │10* Delivery Address 12 E BUSINESS LN STE 209 │ │11* Last Line ANYTOWN US 12345-6789 │ │12* Country (if not USA) GERMANY │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Table 2 * These lines directly affect USPS distribution and must be included on all mailpieces, except for line number 1 which is only required for bulk, presorted mail. ** These lines are required for some USPS programs. *** These lines are optional, but may be needed for distribution within a particular business location. Note: The POSTNET barcode above uses ASCII characters for display purposes only. These are not valid barcode characters for mailpieces. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--11 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ LAST LINE ───────── For automated processing, the format of the last line is particularly vital. It contains the City, State and ZIP Code or ZIP+4 information. It is strongly recom- mended that only approved last line (city or place) names as listed in the Postal Service City State File currently in effect be used. A hyphen must separate the first five and last four numerals in the ZIP+4 code. No other punctuation should be used. City names should be spelled out com- pletely. However, when 13-character ab- breviations must be used due to labeling constraints. The 13-character abbrevia- tions provided in the City State File must be used. WEST STOCKBRIDGE becomes W STOCKBRIDGE NEWBERRY SPRINGS becomes NEWBERRY SPGS One space should separate the city name and two-character state abbreviation. Two spaces are preferred between the state abbreviation and ZIP+4 code. DELIVERY ADDRESS LINE ───────────────────── Components The components of the delivery address line are the: primary address number predirectional street name suffix postdirectional secondary address indicator secondary address range. 101 W MAIN ST E APT 12 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--12 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Punctuation Punctuation in the delivery address line is limited to periods, slashes, and hyphens where such punctuation is sig- nificant in local addresses. Periods: 39.2 RD Slashes: 101 1/2 MAIN ST Hyphens: 289-01 MONTGOMERY AVE Hyphens in primary address numbers are usually significant and must be used. Hyphens in street names are normally not significant and should be replaced with spaces. 455-01 MID-ISLAND PLZ becomes 455-01 MID ISLAND PLZ Directionals Abbreviate directionals (if they are one of the eight standard directionals listed below) to the appropriate one or two character abbreviations. 234 NW SMITH ST 61781 ROBERTS DR S 1101 N BAY DR 599 S BAY BLVD SW However, do not abbreviate the second PREdirectional, reading left to right if two directionals occur together: 5000 SOUTH EAST END AVENUE becomes 5000 S EAST END AVE 1274 WEST SOUTH OAK ST becomes 1274 W SOUTH OAK ST But: 405 SOUTHEAST MAIN STREET becomes 405 SE MAIN ST The same rule applies to POSTdirection- als, except the first (reading left to right) is not abbreviated. MAPLE CT NORTH WEST becomes MAPlE CT NORTH W But, where local usage (refer to the lo- cal USPS Address Information System) uses alphabetic designators, spell out post directionals to avoid confusion ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--13 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ If local streets are designated FOOLS BAY A DR FOOLS BAY B DR then spell out the postdesignator for FOOLS BAY WEST DR Numeric Street Names Spell out numeric street names only when there are duplicate street names within a postal delivery area, and the only distinguishing factor is that one is spelled out. (The street name should be shown exactly as it is listed in the na- tional USPS ZIP+4 File). SEVENTH AVE to distinguish it from 7th ST Highways and Roads Road and highway names are the exception to the general rule that address com- ponents should be abbreviated where standards are in place. Road names should be spelled out if length restric- tions permit. However, if the name of a state is only part of the primary street name, the standard two letter abbrevia- tion should be used. For example: COUNTY RD 440 becomes COUNTY ROAD 440 I10 becomes INTERSTATE 10 HWY 66 becomes HIGHWAY 66 CALIFORNIA COUNTY ROAD 555 becomes CA COUNTY ROAD 555 KENTUCKY ST HWY 334 becomes KY STATE HIGHWAY 334 HWY 11 BYPASS becomes HIGHWAY 11 BYPS HWY 31 BYPS ROAD becomes HIGHWAY 31 BYPASS RD ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--14 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Other examples: 101 S COUNTY ROAD 20 E 11216 COUNTY HIGHWAY 140 1501 HIGHWAY 50 220 INTERSTATE 680 22604 ROAD 123 1605 STATE HIGHWAY 335 7890 STATE ROUTE 45 115 US HIGHWAY 41 3000 TOWNSHIP ROAD 20 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE Rural Route Use the designator RR for rural routes and HC for highway contract routes: RFD 4 BOX 122-1A becomes RR 4 BOX 122-1A STAR ROUTE 4 BOX 227 becomes HC 4 BOX 227 There should be no additional designa- tions, such as town or street names used on the delivery address line. If secon- dary street names are used, they should be on the line above the delivery ad- dress line. DAVIS FARM RD RR 22 BOX 17 General Delivery The designation GENERAL DELIVERY is the only information on the delivery address line. The final four digits of the ZIP+4 code will be 9999. Post Office Boxes Post Office boxes should be in the PO BOX nn format. Other designations such as "Postal Drawer L", "Caller Box L", or "Lockbox L" should be changed to PO BOX L. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--15 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Private mail boxes are not allowed to use the PO BOX nn designation. Instead, use the mailstop code above the atten- tion or recipient line. MSC 127 MR JOHN DOE 1234 MAIN ST The delivery line address is the stan- dardized address of the private company renting mail boxes. DUAL ADDRESSING ─────────────── The use of dual delivery addresses such as both a street address and a post of- fice box is not recommended. If dual addressing is used, one delivery desig- nation should be placed on the Delivery Address Line and the other on the line immediately above. Mail will be delivered to the address on the Delivery Address Line, and for that reason the ZIP Code should reflect that address. GRAND PRODUCTS INC 100 MAJOR ST PO BOX 200 <─────────Mail will be ANYTOWN US 12345 delivered here MILITARY ADDRESSES ────────────────── The delivery line for all APO/FPO military mail must be standardized as follows: PSC (or UNIT) nnnn BOX mmmm or Ship name SEAMAN JOSEPH EGOR B DIVISION USS SEA DEVIL SNN-664 FPO AA 34093-2344 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--16 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ SSGT ROBERT ROBERTS PSC 802 BOX 2625 APO AE 09777-0010 Note that the "state" abbreviation AE is for Armed Forces Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa; AA for Armed Forces Central and South America, and AP for Armed Forces Pacific. PUERTO RICO ─────────── Addresses in Puerto Rico follow slightly different standards even though served by the USPS and generally use Hispanic designators. See USPS Publication 28 for specific information. INTERNATIONAL MAIL ────────────────── The bottom line of the address should show only the COUNTRY NAME in full (no abbreviations) in capital letters. Do not place the foreign postal code on the bottom line. INGE DIETRICH-FISCHER HARTMANNSTRASSE 7 5300 BONN 1 GERMANY CANADA ONLY ─────────── Either of the following formats for Canada only may be used: MS HELEN SAUNDERS 101 CLEAR STREET OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1 CANADA MS HELEN SAUNDERS 1010 CLEAR STREET OTTAWA ON CANADA K1A 0B1 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--17 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ UNUSUAL ADDRESSES ───────────────── There are a number of situations that create standardization problems. Hyphens in address range, particularly in New York City and Hawaii: 112-10 BRONX RD The hyphens are significant and should not be removed. Grid-style addresses: 842 E 650 S E is a Predirectional, S is a postdirec- tional, and 650 is located in the primary name (street) field. (This ad- dress is equivalent to 842 E COUNTY ROAD 650 S in certain areas.) Combination address ranges such as N6W23001 BLUEMOUND RD as found in Wis- consin. Fractional addresses such as 123 1/2 MAIN ST require a space before the "1/2" and must not use the "½" character found on ASCII computers and some typewriters. Foreign words in addresses, particularly Spanish and French words in street ad- dresses are handled individually: CALLE RIO GRANDE RUE ROYALE ADDRESS FITTING ─────────────── The USPS OCR equipment can read a maxi- mum of 40 characters per line within a maximum of 8 separate words per line. If either parameter is exceeded, the OCR will ignore the entire line, forcing the mailpiece to be manually sorted. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--18 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ If it is necessary to reduce the number of words or characters from business ad- dress data elements, use the following steps IN THE ORDER LISTED. Abbreviate Use the standard business and address word abbreviations for address data ele- ments, but only when necessary. MS MILDRED DOE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER BRAKE DIVISION BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED 12 EAST BUSINESS LANE SUITE 12 ANYTOWN US 12345-6789 when fully abbreviated becomes MS MILDRED DOE PRO ENGR BIG BUS INC 12 E BUSINESS LN STE 12 ANYTOWN US 12345-6789 Special Characters Remove any punctuation and special characters from the address unless required as part of the address. Abbreviate State When a state name appears in a business address, and the address must be com- pressed due to space restrictions, use the standard state abbreviation. (However, the full spelling is preferred whenever possible.) VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION becomes VA CONSTRUCTION CORP 1435 VIRGINIA HILL WAY becomes 1435 VA HILL WAY ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--19 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Remove Words Remove certain words listed below. However, using standard abbreviations is preferred over word removal. Replace " and " with a space Replace " & " with a space Replace number words such as "first" with "1ST" Remove "etc.", "% care of", "et al" Remove words such as: "the", "of", "by", "for", "at", "also" Remove "ATTENTION" and "ATTN" Remove titles such as "PHD", "MD", "DR", "RN", etc. Wrap Information When address information will not fit on one line, wrap (move) the additional in- formation to either the line above or below, as indicated. However, standard abbreviations are preferred to wrapping. No Wrap 1. Optional Endorsement No Wrap 2. Key Line Data No Wrap 3. POSTNET Address Block Barcode Wrap Down 4. Mailstop Code Wrap Down 5. Attention Line Wrap Down 6. Individual Title Wrap Down 7. Functional Title Wrap Down 8 Group, Division Wrap Down 9. Recipient Name Wrap Up* 10. Delivery Address Wrap Down** 11. Last Line * When the secondary address informa- tion, such as a room or suite num- ber will not fit on the delivery address line, it should be placed on the line directly above. 1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW STE 5678 becomes STE 5678 1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW ** If the city, state and ZIP+4 will not fit on the last line, move the ZIP+4 to the next line down, flush left. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--20 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789 becomes ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789 Remove Repeats Remove repetitive words. GOODMAN GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW becomes GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW Substitute Endings To fit addresses to a 40-character line, change word endings. an to n cr to r ial to l al to l ies to s es to s ed to d ing to ng tion to tn Last Words If the last word of an address line is any of those listed below, first replace the word with the standard abbreviation. If additional compression is required remove the word or its abbreviation. This step can be applied only to address lines #6, 7, 8, and 9. ADMINISTRATION ADMIN AGENCY AGCY BRANCH BRNCH, BR CENTER CTR COMPANY CO CORPORATION CORP DIVISION DIV ENTERPRISE(S) ENT GOVERNMENT GOVT GROUP GROUP HEADQUARTERS HQ INCORPORATED INC LABORATORY[IES] LAB, LABS LIMITED LTD MANAGEMENT MGT MANUFACTURER MFR MANUFACTURING MFG ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--21 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ MUNICIPAL MNCPL NATIONAL NATL PARTNERSHIP PRTNRSHP SYSTEM SYS Vowel Removal From the right side of the address line, beginning with the right most word, remove vowels as necessary on a word- by-word basis to achieve desired com- pression. Leave the last vowel, and if the first character of a word is a vowel, do not remove that character. It is also recommended that vowels not be removed from the left most words. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--22 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ USING STANDARDIZED ABBREVIATIONS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Postal Service abbreviations fall into two categories depending on where they are used in the address block. Standard abbreviations should always be used in the last line (city, state, ZIP), and in the delivery address line (street address) according to the general rules outlined above. Abbreviations in the company/contact (recipient information) lines should be used to meet the 40 character OCR limitation. In an effort toward standardization, USPS Publication 28 provides 38 pages of standardized business word abbreviations in addition to those below. Listed here are some of the more important abbreviations for use in the delivery address line and last line of an address block. United States and its Territories and Possessions──────────────── Alabama AL Minnesota MN Alaska AK Mississippi MS American Samoa AS Missouri MO Arizona AZ Montana MT Arkansas AR Nebraska NE California CA Nevada NV Colorado CO New Hampshire MH Connecticut CT New Jersey NJ Delaware DE New Mexico NM District of New York NY Columbia DC North Carolina NC Federated States North Dakota ND of Micronesia FM Northern Mariana Florida FL Islands MP Georgia GA Ohio OH Guam GU Oklahoma OK Hawaii HI Oregon OR Idaho ID Palau PW Illinois IL Pennsylvania PA Indiana IN Puerto Rico PR Iowa IA Rhode Island RI Kansas KS South Carolina SC Kentucky KY South Dakota SD Louisiana LA Tennessee TN Maine ME Texas TX Marshall Islands MH Utah UT Maryland MD Vermont VT Massachusetts MA Virginia VA Michigan MI Virgin Islands VI ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--23 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Washington WA Arcade ARC West Virginia WV Avenue AVE Wisconsin WI Bayou BYU Wyoming WY Beach BCH Bend BND Armed Forces Bluff(s) BLF Central and South Bottom BTM America AA Boulevard BLVD Armed Forces Branch BR Canada, Europe, Bridge BRG Africa, and the Brook BRK Middle East AE Burg GB Armed Forces Bypass BYP Pacific AP Camp CP Canyon CYN Cape CPE Canada───────────────────────── Causeway CSWY Center CTR Alberta AB Circle CIR British Columbia BC Cliffs CLFS Manitoba MB Club CLB New Brunswick NB Corner COR Newfoundland NF Corners CORS Northwest Course CRSE Territories NT Court CT Nova Scotia NS Courts CTS Ontario ON Cove(s) CV Prince Edward Creek CRK Island PE Crescent CRES Quebec PQ Crossing XING Saskatchewan SK Dale DL Yukon Territory YT Dam DM Divide DV Drive(s) DR Geographical Abbreviations Estate(s) EST (Directionals)───────────────── Expressway EXPY Extension EXT North N Fall FALL East E Falls FLS South S Ferry FRY West W Field FLD Northeast NE Fields FLDS Southeast SE Flat(s) FLT Northwest NW Ford(s) FRD Southwest SW Forest FRST Forge FRG Fork FRK Street Designators───────────── Forks FRKS Fort FT Alley ALY Freeway FWY Annex ANX Gardens GDNS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--24 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Gateway GTWY Radial RADL Glen(s) GLN Ranch(es) RNCH Green(s) GRN Rapids RPDS Grove(s) GRV Rest RST Harbor(s) HBR Ridge RDG Haven HVN Ridge(s) RDG Height(s) HTS River RIV Highway HWY Road RD Hill HL Row ROW Hills HLS Run RUN Hollow(s) HOLW Shoal SHL Inlet INLT Shoals SHLS Island IS Shore SHR Islands ISS Shores SHRS Isle(s) ISLE Spring SPG Junction(s) JCT Springs SPGS Key(s) KY Spur(s) SPUR Knoll(s) KNLS Square(s) SQ Lake LK Station STA Lakes LKS Stravenue STRA Landing LNDG Stream STRM Lane(s) LN Street ST Light(s) LGT Summit SMT Loaf LF Terrace TER Locks LKS Trace(s) TRCE Lodge LDG Track(s) TRAK Loop(s) LOOP Trafficway TRFY Mall MALL Trail(s) TRL Manor(s) MNR Trailer TRLR Meadow(s) MDWS Tunnel(s) TUNL Mill ML Turnpike TPKE Mills MLS Union(s) UN Mission MSN Valley VLY Mount MT Valley(s) VLY Mountain(s) MTM Viaduct VIA Neck NCK View(s) VW Orchard ORCH Village(s) VLG Oval OVAL Ville VL Park(s) PARK Vista VIS Parkway(s) PKY Walk(s) WALK Pass PASS Way(s) WAY Path(s) PATH Well(s) WLS Pike(s) PIKE Pines PNES Secondary Unit Designators───── Place PL Plain PLN Apartment APT Plains PLNS Building BLDG Plaza PLZ Department DEPT Point(s) PT Floor FL Port(s) PRT Hanger HNGR Prairie PR Lot LOT ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--25 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Pier PIER Hispanic Style Addresses─────── Room RM Slip SLIP Avenida AVE Suite STE Calle CLL Stop STOP Caminto CMT Trailer TRLS Cerrada CER Unit UNIT Circulo CIR Basement BSMT* Entrada ENT Front FRNT* Paseo PSO Lower LOWR* Placita PLA Lobby LBBY* Rancho RCH Office OFC* Vereda VER Penthouse PH* Vista VIS Side SIDE* Rear REAR* Upper UPR* *These do not require the use of a secondary RANGE (number) to follow. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--26 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ POSTNET BARCODING ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── This section describes the POSTNET (POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique) barcode and shows you where to locate it on the mail- piece and how to read it manually. The text has been excerpted and edited from USPS Publication 25, "Designing Business Letter Mail," August 1992 (see References). The complete publication is available from the Business Services Unit of most larger Postal Service offices. It contains full POSTNET barcode specifica- tions. Using the POSTNET Barcode──────────────────────────────────────── The POSTNET barcode was developed by the Postal Service to encode ZIP Code information on letter mail, which can be read rapidly and reliably by relatively inexpensive barcode sorters. The barcode may represent a five-digit ZIP Code (32 bars), a nine-digit ZIP+4 code (52 bars), or an eleven-digit delivery point code (62 bars). Postal customers may preprint POSTNET barcodes on outgoing letter size pieces, as well as on business reply and courtesy reply mail (see below). Delivery Point Barcode─────────────────────────────────────────── The Delivery Point BarCode (DPBC) was developed by the Postal Service to uniquely identify each of the 115 million delivery points in the Untied States. It forms the system foun- dation for virtually eliminating the time used by carriers to sort letter mail prior to delivery. The DPBC is formed by adding 10 bars to an existing ZIP+4 barcode. The 10 bars represent two additional numbers (normally the last two numbers of the street address, post office box, rural route or highway contract box). Postal customers who apply DPBCs may print the numeric equivalent of the DPBC on the last line of the address. The numeric equivalent is formed by adding three numbers immediately after the ZIP+4 code. The first two numbers correspond to the DPBC address coding rules, and the last number is the correction character. When read from left to right, a correctly formatted DPBC numeric equivalent consists of five numbers, a hyphen, and seven numbers. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--27 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Barcode Format─────────────────────────────────────────────────── Whether it represents 5-, 9- or 11-digit ZIP code informa- tion, the POSTNET code should always be printed in a format that begins and ends with a "frame bar" (full or tall bar). To ensure POSTNET accuracy during processing, it's also necessary that a "correction character" (five bars) be included immediately before the right-most frame bar of all POSTNET codes. The correction character is always the number which, when added to the sum of other digits in the barcode, results in a total that is a mul- tiple of 10. For example, the sum of ZIP+4 code 12345-6789 is 45. Adding a correction character of 5 results in the sum of the 10 digits being a multiple of 10. MARK POLLAN ┌──Correction character 101 MAIN ST │ sum of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1 ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789014 plus 4 to equal multiple of 10 ││ └┴──────Last two numbers of the primary street address Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode───────────────────────────────── The basic elements of the POSTNET barcode are binary digits, represented as full bars and half bars. Full bars represent "1"s and half bars represent "0"s. Each code character is made up of 5 bars which represent a single numeric digit. Specific combina- tions of 2 full bars and 3 half bars represent the numbers 0 through 9. Only the 10 combinations shown below are valid code characters. Note that they represent all possible combinations of 2 full bars and 3 half bars. This feature is central to the error recovery feature of POSTNET, since reading a combination of 5 bars containing other than 2 full and 3 half bars will be in- terpreted as an error by the system. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--28 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Numeric Bar Position Weights Value 74210 7 4 2 1 0 1 00011 ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ 2 00101 ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ 3 00110 ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ 4 01001 ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ 5 01010 ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ 6 01100 ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ 7 10001 █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ 8 10010 █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ 9 10100 █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ 0 11000 █ █ ▄ ▄ ▄ With the exception of zero, the numeric value of each valid combination of 5 bars may be determined by adding the "weights" of the 2 positions occupied by the full bars ("1"s). From left to right, the bar positions are weighted 7, 4, 2, 1, and 0. For example, the combination 01010 contains a full bar in the second (weight 4) and fourth (weight 1) positions. Adding 4 and 1 yields 5, which is the assigned value of this combination. The only exception to this rule is combination 11000 which has a to- tal weight of 11, but has been assigned a value of zero. Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece──────────────────────── When applied to outgoing letter mail by postal customers, the POSTNET barcode may be printed in the lower right corner or as part of the address block, either directly on the mailpiece or on a label affixed in the OCR Address Read Area. Address Block Option ───────────────────── If the address block option is used, the preferred location for the barcode is in the upper portion of the address, above the recipient's name. The barcode may also be printed below the city, state and ZIP Code line of the address. If a non-address data line is present, the preferred location is above the recipient's name, but below the optional non-address line. If ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--29 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ preferred, however, the barcode may be applied above that infor- mation. The POSTNET code should not be applied in any location between the name of the recipient and the city, state, ZIP Code line of the address. (Note: these are ASCII display characters for screen viewing and are not valid as POSTNET bars. Preferred───────────────────────────────────────────────────── █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █ BONNIE A LEE PO BOX 6789 ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 Acceptable──────────────────────────────────────────────────── BONNIE A LEE PO BOX 6789 ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █ Preferred───────────────────────────────────────────────────── #JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80 █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █ BONNIE A LEE PO BOX 6789 ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 Acceptable───────────────────────────────────────────────────── █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ █ #JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80 BONNIE A LEE PO BOX 6789 ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 Conventional Lower Right Location ───────────────────────────────── POSTNET codes may also be printed in the lower right corner of the letter mailpiece. This is where the Postal Service always prints barcodes from OCR scanning. POSTNET codes printed in the lower right corner of letter mail should be positioned to begin no more than 4-1/4" from the right side of the mailpiece and no less than 3-1/2" from the right. The lower edge of the barcode should be 3/16" from the lower edge of the mailpiece. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--30 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Sender's Return FIM Postage │ │ Address Area Area │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ BONNIE A LEE │ │ PO BOX 6789 │ │ ANYTOWN MD 12345-6789 │ │ ────────────│──5/8" │ █ ▄ ▄ ▄ █ █ ▄ ▄ █ │ │ ───────────│──3/16" └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘── 0" Position of left-most bar ├─────────4-1/4" MAXIMUM───────┤ ├─────3-1/2" MINIMUM───────┤ Figure 2 FACING IDENTIFICATION MARK ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── A Facing Identification Mark (FIM) is a type of barcode used by automated facer-canceler machines to identify, orient, and separate BRM and CRM mail for direct OCR or BCS processing. An FIM is necessary on preprinted BRM, and optional on other first- class mail. Sorting equipment recognizes luminescent stamps and meter imprints in the facing process, making a FIM unnecessary on regular First-Class letter mail. An FIM is essentially a 9 bit bar-no-bar code printed on the upper edge of the mailpiece. Three codes are currently in use: ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ FIM MAIL TYPE BINARY CODE PREPRINTED BARCODE │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ A Courtesy Reply Mail 110010011 POSTNET Barcoded │ │ B Business Reply Mail 101101101 NOT Barcoded │ │ C Business Reply Mail 110101011 POSTNET Barcoded │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Layout, location and printing specifications for the FIM are very specific, since facing-canceling equipment is not as sophis- ticated as equipment later in the sorting process. The Postal ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--31 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Service Business Centers provide camera-ready BRM and CRM posi- tives to business mailers. Technical specifications are con- tained in Sections 6 and 7 of "Designing Business Letter Mail." SOMETHING FOR NOTHING ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I bet you didn't know that the Postal Service uses two dif- ferent "flavors" of glue for postage stamps--and neither has any- thing to do with taste. The first is used primarily on commerative stamps for lon- gevity. It mainly consists of corn dextrin and water. The second, used on regular stamps, is a mixture of polyvinyl acetate and dextrin, with an added bonus of propylene glycol to reduce paper curl. Oh, just so you won't think there's a conspiracy to ruin our lives with chemicals, polyvinyl acetate is the main ingredient in bubble gum. There is about 1/30 Calorie per postage stamp. Lick away. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993 Postal Service Addressing Standards--32 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ REFERENCES ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── "Designing Business Letter Mail", United States Postal Service Publication 25, August 1992, 54 pages "Postal Addressing Standards", United States Postal Service Publication 28, January 1992, 116 pages "Domestic Mail Manual", United States Postal Service, Issue 44, September 20, 1992 WonderBar v4.1 - a TSR (memory-resident) program which lets you print POSTNET bar codes wherever you want them: on mailing labels, letters, envelopes, etc. WonderBar works with whatever word processor, mailing list, or database program you already use. It allows side-by-side (2-up, 3-up, 4-up, etc.) labels, and 5- to 50-digit ZIP Codes. WonderBar takes up less than 2.3K of memory. NO CHARGE for personal use by individuals. UnderBar v2.2 - a TSR program which prints an 11-digit Delivery Point Bar Code under any address which ends in a ZIP+4 code. UnderBar is totally automatic and works with any existing word processor, mailing list, or database program you al- ready use. Works with Epson printers, IBM ProPrinters, and LaserJets. Registration: none required for individuals; $35.00 for Commercial and Government users. Both WonderBar and UnderBar are copyright 1993 and are available from Binary Systems, P. O. Box 1621, Brandon, FL 33509-1621. ENVLJ, Version 7.42 ─ ENVLJ is a program which prints one or more envelopes on laser printers compatible with the HP LaserJet+, Series II(D,P) and Series III. It will also print a 5-, 7-, or 11-digit POSTNET Barcode and Facing Iden- tification Mark (FIM) automatically. A font cartridge or soft fonts are not required. Standard envelope sizes are already configured, and other sizes can be added. Both a return address and mailing address can be printed as desired. ENVLJ is copyright 1990 and available from Steven Stern, 1213 Glencoe Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035. The shareware license is $25.00. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993