The envelope is most often thought of as a simple and forgotten object in a drawer for the average individual, only to be rummaged for when it comes time to send a bill through the mail or a card to a loved one. It is sometimes seemingly so trivial and common in our lives that it is taken for granted. But, for those that utilize envelopes for the success of their businesses and to deliver important communications, what an impact it can truly make! Hence, the struggle to assist companies with their envelopes has led to optimization in multiple areas. Analyzing everything from sourcing strategies, cost containment, machinability standards, security, window placement, messaging to improve openability, and address formatting strategies to ensure optimal delivery becomes critically important to know and understand the impact of the envelope for each company and its success.
Envelopes have been around longer than many may realize. The envelope, as a flat container with a flap used to enclose a letter or a document, was used by the Babylonians as far back as 2000 BC. It was a simple clay wrapper used to protect bookkeeping accounts, deeds, mortgages, and quite possible early letters. In fact, it was highly secure as the outside wrapper had to be completely destroyed in order to gain access to the information within. The importance and the impact of envelopes have been present throughout history and evolved over time, from those clay wrappers to nothing more than folded sheets of paper with a wax seal to the modern-day envelope with diamond-shaped backs first introduced in the 1800s and the windowed envelopes we commonly see, which were designed in the early 1900s.
If you were to type “envelope” in your search engine today, the results would yield numerous envelope sizes, colors, and weights with different heights, widths, envelope flaps, windows and linings, including recycled vs regular content. The most often overlooked element of ensuring envelope success, regardless of which one chosen, is the machinability. For any large-volume, mass-produced mailings, inserting the contents into the envelope needs to be done quickly and efficiently by production equipment. The factors that affect machinability differ not only by equipment manufacturer by also by model of inserting system. These can include paper weight, side seams, throat depth, glue application around the window, die barbs, flap height, flap angles, and the window size and position. If any of these elements aren’t optimal for the equipment, it can drastically impact efficiency and production schedules.
EXAMPLE: If a service provider is attempting to run 100,000 quarterly statements with an SLA of two days and the equipment can run up to 12,000 pieces an hour for the single shift, conservative projections mean 10,000 pieces an hour outputted for a total of 10 hours. But an hour into production, a new pallet of envelopes is brought in and immediately they start causing crashes on the inserting system. The operator is told that new, less costly envelopes were recently sourced for the job. Unfortunately, these new envelopes are not machinable and production on the machine grinds down to 4,000 pieces per hour.
RESULT: Aside from the wasted material and frustration from battling with materials, the job is now going to take close to 25 hours. That’s 2.5 times the labor and the SLA most likely will be missed, resulting in potential fines and possible loss of a customer. All due to the “‘impact of an envelope.” In the end, shaving a few cents off each envelope resulted in the potential loss of a multi-million dollar account.
Understanding the specifics of your equipment, testing envelopes with input from equipment engineers, asking for sourcing recommendations from your vendor and involving the marketing and procurement departments ahead of time to ensure the optimal envelopes are always used leads to success.
But even if an envelope is machinable, there are other factors such as size and window size/position that can contribute to costly outcomes. The height, thickness, length, and aspect ratio for envelopes could lead to unexpectedly high postage costs that send a project way over budget. The envelope window is incredibly vital to ensure the placement of the address within the window will pass the USPS “TAP” test (where if you tap the envelope on a table the address still stays in the window). This ensures the mail piece will be read through the USPS processing systems and get delivered to the intended recipient. In addition, if the window of the envelope is not well-adhered to the paper and comes loose during production on high-speed insertion equipment, it will cause production to grind to a halt as well as losing valuable hours and productivity.
EXAMPLE: Imagine a new client or line of business with an address block that contains two extra lines of information. The address block is now too large to fit within the standard stock envelope window. Production requires an “internal keyline” to be added to the address block and the Document Composition team decided to put the IMB on the bottom of the address block. When the final, folded mail piece is inserted, the IMB slides slightly below the window, potentially causing the mailing to fail inspection when presented for induction into the mailstream. This could result in the entire mailing being rejected, delays at drop-off, potential disqualification for automation discounts, or, for Seamless Acceptance mailers, a ‘ding’ on the mailer scorecard, potential fines, potential delays to in-home delivery dates, etc.
ADVICE: Always be sure to test the envelope window while involving your procurement and Document Composition teams. Running proofs and conducting the “TAP” test prior to production is the key to success.
With each envelope sent, a message is being conveyed with a goal in mind. By applying more discernment to the envelope delivering that message, it will undoubtedly result in better response rates. There are multiple options with the USPS to help impact response rates, such as the postal evidencing method chosen. For example, permit imprint, meter indicia, stamps, adding a QR code, personalized messages, color, unique fonts, or even RPN (repositionable notes). And now with the tactile and sensory promotions, the sky is the limit. The goal of any envelope is to be opened, and learning how to leverage these techniques will impact that outcome substantially.
In an age of data security, physical mail is making a resurgence, and for some people, it is considered a safer way to receive communications. For many companies, understanding and adapting communication strategies to accommodate their customers’ communication preferences is the magic key to establishing customer loyalty. There are many people who still do not have the access or the desire to use a computer and receive email communications, so receiving envelopes is a lifeline for them. To guard confidential communications, creativity in security tints, use of heavier weight envelopes, and achieving a secure envelope seal is paramount.
And there are still millions of pieces of BRM (business reply mail) used to remit payments or return critical information every day. The impact of these types of envelopes is undeniable, and in some cases, the only option. Therefore, it is imperative to fully weigh the impact of remittance envelopes and choose wisely when determining whether courtesy or business reply is the best vehicle. Then checking window size, placement, barcodes, FIM marks, permit info, and whether QBRM might be more beneficial are all important items to review, since they will impact the envelope and the delivery outcome.
Ancillary service endorsements (ASEs) are also something that can impact the envelope to a great degree. Some of the ASE options such as address service, return service, change service, forwarding service, and temp-return service requested provide the necessary instructions to the mail carrier on what exactly the sender wants done in the event the recipient is no longer located at the address presented. The choice and placement of the ASE is critical to keeping costs down and achieving that goal. If checks or highly critical communications are being sent, then “Return Service Requested” makes sense, but it’s not necessary on a direct mail piece or as a standard practice. In some cases where mail delivery is tied to federal regulations, incorrect use of an ASE could result in costly litigation. Working with an expert in postal regulations to determine exactly which ASE to apply when is always recommended.
For companies looking to standardize their envelope inventory and better leverage buying power by increasing quantities of fewer styles, a “white paper factory” approach yields many benefits. Variables in machinability are eliminated, and many of the items previously discussed above can be printed directly on the mail piece instead of the envelope. Adapting to factors such as address block size or position can simply be accommodated by use of a cover sheet as opposed to ordering and stocking costly specialty envelopes.
Millions of critical communications in the form of physical mail, contained within an envelope, are sent and received every single day. For some customers, it’s important to understand that a physical mail piece is their ONLY means of communication. Factors such as the sourcing, cost, construction, machinability, messaging, and address formatting strategies all play a part in the envelope’s success or failure. Despite the ongoing digital transformation initiatives that are taking place, the perception that certain generations possess a disdain for physical mail, or the debate about whether paper, as a renewable and recyclable resource, might actually be an environmentally responsible choice after all, the envelope remains one of the most familiar and widely used forms of communication.
Acknowledging this fact, we must carefully consider not only the importance of the envelope but the incredible impact it has because the right envelope with the right design, the right format, and the right postage, delivered successfully in the right hands, can make a world of difference.
Crystal May is Postal Source’s President of Sales and Marketing. Before working at Postal Source, Crystal owned her own company and worked in the print industry with IKON. Crystal has over 30 years of experience working in the print and mail industry. She has served on many boards in the print and mailing space and spoken at many national mailing conferences, including the National Postal Forum and local PCC events. She is currently the chair of the Madison PCC.
Morgan McGovern is Postal Source’s National Director of Customer Success. Prior to holding that position, Morgan worked in the insurance industry for several years, and spent several years working in higher education. Her expertise in client implementation and ensuring client success, while managing additional projects throughout the company has helped guarantee her clients achieve their goals with the help of Postal Source.
Sidebar:
I first delivered this presentation at NPF 14 years ago. At that time, I showed examples of how much impact one envelope could have. I showed a picture of the Oscars with the host saying the famous line, ‘May I have the envelope, please.’ I showed a picture of my son receiving his college admissions letter to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his dream school. And I showed a picture of a gangly 13-year-old girl with braces receiving her first-ever recruiting letter from Penn State University’s legendary volleyball coach, Russ Rose.
Fast forward, and that gangly 13-year-old accepted a scholarship to UCLA, and while she was there, over the course of five years and two sports, we exchanged many care packages, letters, and lots of flat rate envelopes stuffed with letters from family and friends.
My daughter is now a professional volleyball player and spent the first two years in Italy and this last year in Poland. During that time, she established a routine with her 87-year-old grandmother, who lives in rural Wisconsin. Every couple of weeks, they would exchange letters in an envelope affixed with international postage. I can’t begin to describe the impact the sight of each international envelope had on that woman. It provided insights, a sense of connection, and love from all the way across the world and allowed an 87-year-old and a 25-year-old to stay in touch and create a very special bond.
This year, to commemorate the impact of those envelopes, and continue the established tradition of exchanging letters as my daughter heads to Japan for her next volleyball season, she proudly wears a tiny tattoo on her arm of an envelope with a heart on it to remind her of the impact it makes in her life.
—Crystal May
This article originally appeared in the July/August, 2024 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.
