Outgoing Services
USPS (United States Postal Service) https://www.usps.com/
Stamps
- Mail Services sells stamps individually, in books of 20, or in coils of 100.
- Payment can be made by cash, check, Faculty/Staff/Student ID or department purchase requisition.
- Requests for large quantities of stamps must be made 2-3 days in advance by calling x-1391 or x-1124 (Mail Services).
- Metered mail is any mail imprinted with postage directly on the mail-piece.
- Outgoing metered mail should be nested and must have a department account number attached.
- Please request trays and/or tubs from Mail Services for large quantities of mail. Include department 'blue slip' in the front of each tray or on the top of each tub.
- Any First Class item weighing over 13 ounces will be Priority Mail by weight. Mail weighing less than 13 ounces can be "upgraded" to Priority by placing the appropriate postage on the mail-piece.
- Priority Mail is advertised as having a 2 - 3 day delivery time frame, but it is not a guaranteed service.
- The maximum weight is 70 lbs., and the maximum size is 108 inches in length and girth combined. A limited supply of priority boxes and envelopes are available at Mail Services at no charge. Appropriate amount of postage is required.
- Express Mail is a guaranteed overnight service offered by the United States Postal Service (USPS). However, depending on the destination of your mail-piece, this may be a 2-day service only.
- This is the only expedited service that can deliver to post office box addresses.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL outgoing Express Mail pieces must be in Mail Services NO LATER THAN 1:00 PM. Anything after 1:00 PM requires the sender to take the outgoing Express Mail piece directly to the United States Post Office in Elizabethtown.
Bulk Mailing?- Please contact Kathi Moyer at x-1391 or moyerkk@etown.edu
- Certified mail provides sender with a mailing receipt. However, no insurance protection is available.
- A return receipt to provide the sender with proof of delivery can also be purchased for an additional fee.
- Certified mail is not available for international mail, and it does not offer insurance protection.
- Certified mail is available at Mail Services plus basic postage and the return receipt charge (if desired).
- Return receipt is the sender's proof of delivery. The return receipt shows who signed for the item and the date that it was delivered.
- A return receipt can be purchased for mail sent Certified or Express Mail.
- For valuables or irreplaceable items, use registered mail available through the US Post Office only.
- Tracking is provided for all outgoing parcels.
- Postage due charges must be paid for at the time of pick up.
UPS Ground Service http://www.ups.com/
- Prompt, dependable, low cost ground delivery makes UPS Ground an excellent choice for routine shipments.
- UPS Ground reaches every address throughout the 48 contiguous states.
Outgoing UPS is picked up daily by 2:00 PM. Please note: 'Next Day Service' pieces must be at Mail Services no later than 1:00 in order to process package to be ready for pick-up in a timely manner.
- Payment can be made by cash, check, or department purchase requisition.
- All packages must be "ship ready" upon arrival at Mail Services.
- UPS does not deliver to P.O. boxes.
- Postage for international letters can be purchased at Mail Services.
- Due to New Postal Regulations: All International packages must be processed by the sender on-line and taken, in person, to the local US Post Office to be processed.
- Please visit, for international package processing- https://www.usps.com/
- The USPS processes 100 million pieces of mail daily with the use of an OCR (Optical Character Reader). Since the OCR "reads" the address, placement of information on the face of the mail-piece is critical.
- Improper placement of a single item could cause a loss of postage discounts, a delay in delivery, or even the return of the mail-piece(s) to the college.
- Please call Mail Services for assistance.
- Mail Services has OCR templates that can be placed over a mail-piece to insure it meets postal guidelines. Before printing a new mail-piece, it is advisable to make sure it meets USPS guidelines.
- Please contact Kathi Moyer at x-1391 for assistance.
Addressing Guidelines
After insuring your mail-piece layout meets USPS guidelines, apply the following guidelines for addressing a mail-piece:
- Use simple sans serif type with uniform stroke thickness.
- Type or machine-print in dark ink on a light background with a uniform left margin.
- Use uppercase characters throughout the address.
- Left-justify every line in the address block.
- Use two-letter state abbreviations.
- Use one space between city and state, two spaces between state and ZIP + 4 code.
- Use appropriate ZIP + 4 code (if unknown, use 5-digit ZIP code).
JOHN DOE
JONSON MANUFACTURING
500E MAIN ST STE 222
KANSAS CITY MO 64100-1234
- Self-mailers are un-enveloped mail-pieces that must be tabbed (secured) to prevent an open edge from jamming high speed processing equipment.
- As an alternative to tabbing, the open edge of the mail-piece may be continuously or spot glued.
- Tabs are not required on flats, but may be necessary to meet other preparation standards.
- Specifications for tabbing and paperweight of mail-piece follows:
- Please note that ALL self-mailers with a top/bottom fold must be parallel to the longest dimension with the folded edge at the bottom of the mail-piece.
- Use of less than 2 tabs requires a heavier paper.