Postcard Marks, Smudges & Scratches

Reducing the Likelihood for Postcards Marks or Damage

You can use two strategies to reduce the possibility of damage or smudges on postcards for your next direct mail project:

1. Protect the piece by making it more durable
2. Take steps to reduce the amount of handling/sorting required at the post office

Designing for Durability

A few minor tweaks during the design and production stages at your online printer can really help mitigate wear and tear.

Don a Good Coat

• Apply a protective coating over the ink on postcards and self-mailers.
• This is particularly important for digitally-printed products (where toner is much more susceptible to scratching than traditional offset inks.
• Flood UV matte is the best option for these pieces, while UV gloss is the next best alternative.
• Protective coating only adds a small fraction to the overall cost and is a wise investment.

See You on the Flip Side

• Belt and roller marks are more likely to occur on the front of a postcard.
• Keep critical, highly-specified information on the address side of self-mailers.
• Marking usually occurs 1″ to 3″ from the bottom edge since this is where the friction roller touches each piece, as it’s fed into the sorters – try to avoid heavy ink coverage or large solids in this area.
• Scratches and scuffs are much less noticeable with lighter images and backgrounds.

Closed Gate

• Envelopes provide the greatest level of protection to ensure the integrity of your piece.
• Consider testing an envelope package as part of your overall direct mail strategy.
• Heavy laminates or clear poly wraps are often subject to non-automation postage penalties.

The wrong option can blow up your budget in a hurry, so work with your Smartpress partner and our online printing services to ensure any clear envelopes or wraps are USPS automation compatible. We offer a variety of options depending on project volume.

Mitigating the Impact of Postal Handling

The Postal Service remains the only organization in the country that has the resources, network infrastructure and logistical capability to physically deliver to every residential and business address in the nation six days a week. USPS’ Presorting and Drop Shipping operations result in less handling, and when used together, reduce the time it takes to process your mail.

We recommend working with one of our Smartpress direct mail experts to help you take advantage of the best rates, processes and delivery times for your projects. This will help you manage costs, improve delivery time and mitigate damage to your piece.

Manage Cost via Presorting

• With Presorting, your mail file is sorted into the delivery order, which will be used by the postal carriers.
• An Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) is applied to each piece.
• This process determines postage rates for orders over 200 pieces for Marketing Mail or 500 pieces for First-Class.
• Discounts depend on how much mail you have going to local or regional areas.
• Saturation Mailings provide the largest presort discount, as these localized mailings go to every house on a carrier route.
• More targeted mailings still get substantial discounts if you mail enough pieces to a single five-digit ZIP code or three-digit area.

Reduce Cost & Time via Drop Shipping

• A second discount is available for Drop Shipping, also known as Destination Entry.
• This allows you to skip right to the closest feasible destination facility, thus reducing handling and providing better target in-home dates.
• The closer you initially ship the mail to its final destination, the more money you save on postage.
• Destination Entry discounts are only available for Marketing Mail and do not apply to First-Class mailings.

Make an Impact

Direct mail campaigns offer a compelling, tactile way to reach prospects and customers. There are no ad-blockers or spam filters between you and the recipient. They’ll touch and review every piece of direct mail they receive, making it one of the most effective marketing channels you can use. And proving why it’s so important to take steps to reduce the chance of postcard marks and smudges.

The USPS delivers more than 400 million pieces of mail each day. Yours may occasionally show up with a few dings – but it gets there and it gets results. Planning ahead and working with a dedicated Smartpress direct mail expert helps maintain quality integrity, reduces delivery time and drives savings.