Mailing Mistake with Wafer Seals

This beautiful 8 page + Cover mailer recently arrived in my mailbox (name covered up to protect the innocent). With 4 color process + aqueous coating + Spot UV + 2 pull out plastic coupons this is an expensive and high profile piece. Whoever designed and printed it did a fantastic job, the piece immediatly caught my eye and I wanted to open it.





BUT, before opening I noticed that there were 5 clear plastic wafer seals! These are indicated with the 5 pens. I knew that opening this piece would be no easy task. The clear plastic wafer seals used are stronger than paper and difficult to rip.



I found a razor blade to open up the lead edge, then to see how the piece would respond to the average user, I carefully pulled at the remaining wafer seals. The result, only one of the 4 remaining wafer seals yielded to pulling. The other 3 areas ripped the piece badly, and turned this previously beautiful mailer into a scrap heavily leaning toward being thrown in the garbage by my wife.



Its hard to imagine the average recipient searching for a razor blade to open a direct mail piece. That likely means most of these were damaged much worse by the end user, and a higher percentage of a piece that started off with everything right, ended up in the recycling bin.





The US Post Office made several changes to the type of closure that is needed on a Direct Mail piece. This does not mean that every piece needs to get mangled when opening. What could have been done differently?



First, only three wafer seals are needed for this piece with its current design: Two on top and one on the trailing edge. Someone screwed up on the mailing spec or assembly.



Second, plastic does not rip as easily as paper. Perforated wafer seals are no longer permittable. This means someone should have used transluscent - not clear, and designed around it from the beginning. Here's the Postal Guideline for this piece.



http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/201.htm#wp1084261



My advise is to partner with someone that knows mailing. Ask them some questions:


What are my mailing options for Postage?
Will this Postage Option arrive in time for the promotions?
How can I protect this from damage in the mail stream?
How many wafer seals do I need? What is their size and position?



Someone once said, "Begin with the End in Mind". This is the key to a successful piece.

Printing is Green

Interesting article that suggests printing is environmentally friendly:


"According to the co-founder of Greenpeace, Dr. Patrick Moore, choosing print on paper is helpful to the environment. "Forestry is the most sustainable of all the primary industries that provide us with energy and materials...To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends signals to the marketplace to grow more trees."...

"Nearly 60% of all paper in the US is recycled, by comparison less than 20% of electronic devices are."

The article link is here:
Print Pays Back

Amazon, Apple, iPad, Kindle

Great article in the Washington Post on Amazon, ebooks, the iPad and the future of book writing as well as distribution:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020203910.html?referrer=emailarticle

HP T300 Digital Inkjet Web

Color Digital Web Printing is here! This new HP Ink jet Web Press is an impressive machine. I haven't promoted a piece of machinery in a very long time. Normal discussions revolve around how to use technology to increase responses in marketing campaigns. This new digital web press is a game changer!

The HP T300 is wide format Color high-quality digital: Fast - over a million 8 1/2 X 11 images in one day!

This allows for lower costs and shorter printing runs:
Greatly Reduce Warehousing Costs
Eliminate Obsolescence Costs
Speed time to market
Reduce Print Costs

Check this link out to see it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nD1h60oQ04

Contact me if you want to price a book, or Variable Data Project on this Piece of equipment.

College Increases Applications by 30%

"Lifting a page from the marketing playbook of credit card companies". This is how one company describes their Variable Data Direct Mail Campaign designed to increase college applications.

Last year, over 100 colleges sent out Ready-to-Submit applications to prospective students. All of the student's information was filled out, and the application fee was waived. All the receiver had to do was sign their name, and mail it back to the school.

The result of these campaigns has been a significant spike in the number of applications. At the College of Saint Rose, in Albany, NY:

• Increase in Percentage of Men: from 28% to 35%
• Number of Enrolled Students from outside Albany area: from 53% to 63%
• Increase in Students who identify themselves as African American, Asian or Hispanic: from 7% to 18%
• Campaign Value: Priceless

See the full New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/education/26admit.html?pagewanted=1

Post Office to Increase Postage on Competitive Products

The Post Office is holding the line on the items it delivers most, namely "Mail". Pieces that it competes with UPS and FedEx on will increase an average of 3.3%. I've seen the increases that UPS and FedEx are implementing, though they are listed as 6%, with the hidden fees in fuel surcharges, the increase appears closer to 12%.

Also, one of my favorite delivery methods: The flat rate envelope has come down in price: From $4.95 to $4.90. This 1% reduction, though not significant, is better than an increase!

Simply stated, there is a good chance that the United States Post Office will be your most economical delivery method in 2010:

New prices for USPS Shipping Services: Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select (Destination Entry only), Parcel Return Service, Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International and Priority Mail International will go up on January 4, 2010

As a comparison, USPS shipping prices will increase by 3.3 percent, on average, but other competitors have announced price increases of nearly 6 percent. Unlike other shipping companies, the Postal Service does not impose surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or Saturday delivery.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: First-Class Mail.
First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Periodicals, Parcel Post prices are not changing in 2010 and the retail price for the Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope will be reduced from $4.95 to $4.90.

Great Postal News

This is the first good Postal news that I have ever received.

The USPS has determined that for every increase that has been imposed in additional postage, volume has decreased enough to more than negate it. With this realization the USPS has committed to holding rates on "market dominant" products though 2010.

"Simply stated, there will not be a price increase for market dominant products including First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, periodicals, and single-piece Parcel Post. There will be no exigent price increase for these products.

This is the right decision at the right time for the right reason. Promoting the value of mail and encouraging its continued use is essential for jobs, the economy, and the future of both the Postal Service and the mailing industry."

The full letter can be found here:
http://directmag.com/postal/1016-postal-pmg/

Yea!