Do’s & Don’ts: Envelopes

Everyone loves a creatively designed envelope… almost as much as a blank envelope!  Envelopes are used in nearly every mailing. Let’s take a look at a few guidelines for designing an envelope that will easily pass through the USPS.

Size

• To be considered letter mail, the envelope should be no larger than 11.5” x 6.125” and no more than 0.25” thick. The smallest size you can mail at letter rates is 5” x 3.5” and at least 0.007” thick.

Shape

• The shape of the envelope must also meet the aspect ratio requirements in order to be machinable (able to easily go through the postal machinery) and avoid additional postage. This means the piece must be:
  • A rectangle
  • The aspect ratio (length of the mailpiece divided by the height) must be between 1.3 and 2.5.

Interference

• Postal machines read from right to left so when designing a new envelope, ensure any design elements to the right of the address and the IMB barcode are not going to interfere with the postal machines reading the delivery address information.
  • Any design features placed to the right of the address block should be double-checked with the post office to make sure they cannot be accidentally read as part of the address block or IMB.
  • If printing the delivery and return address near each other, for instance, on a label, make sure the delivery address is to the right of the return address. Whatever address is read first is the address delivered to.

Leave Room

• Make sure you are leaving clearance around the postage area so the meter, indicia, or stamp can be read by the post office. Design features that obscure the postage can cause the mail to be rejected.

Bottom to Top

• Addresses are read from bottom to top so make sure your address block is written as such:

Name
Apt or Suite Number
Street Address
City, State  Zip Code

If you have any questions about the do’s and don’t on your envelopes, we are here to help! We hope you learned something new today.