USPS Marketing Mail - formerly known as BULK Mail or Standard Mail is non-profit mail

For help and inquiries please email Colin Pilkington at colin.pilkington@stonybrook.edu

Mail Service Nonprofit Presentation

What is Nonprofit Mail? 

Nonprofit Mail is printed material eligible to be mailed as USPS Marketing Mail at significantly reduced nonprofit postage rates.

What are qualifying items that can be mailed using Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail from our nonprofit permits?

• Letters
• Flats
• Self-mailers
• Newsletters
• Booklets (weighing less than 16 ounces)

Minimum Quantity

USPS Marketing Mail provides economical prices for mailings of 200 or more pieces or 50 or more pounds of mail.

Mail-piece Weight

All USPS Marketing Mail pieces must weigh less than 16 ounces. Flat-size pieces that do not meet the standards must be prepared as parcels and pay parcel prices. The following weight limits also apply to pieces mailed at USPS Marketing Mail letter prices:

1. Pieces mailed at automation or machinable letter prices may weigh up to 3.5 ounces. Automation or machinable letter-size pieces weighing more than 3.5 ounces are mailable at the nonautomation, nonmachinable letter prices.
2. Pieces mailed at automation carrier route (saturation, high density, high density plus, and basic) letter prices may weigh up to 3.5 ounces. Automation carrier route letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces are mailable at the applicable nonautomation carrier route letter prices.

A properly designed mail-piece qualifies for the best postage rates possible and will help you avoid unanticipated costs and ensure accurate delivery.

Mail-piece Design Analyst

Central Services has Mailpiece Design Analysts (MDAs) on staff who can answer your questions about mail-piece design, including reply mail design. These employees provide advice and evaluate mail-pieces for machinability and automation-based prices.  Contact us at 2-6348 for additional information.

Commercial - Designing Letters and Postcards for Automated Processing

Letter-size mail and card-size pieces meeting the applicable automation standards are entitled to automation prices. This Quick Service Guide summarizes the standards for mail with 100% delivery point barcodes and mail without barcodes processed on USPS optical character readers (OCRs).

Dimensions:

• Minimum: 3-1/2 inches high, 5 inches long, and either 0.007 inch thick if not more than 6 inches high and 9 inches long; or 0.009 inch thick if more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long, or both.
• Maximum for cards at card rates: 4-1/4 inches high, 6 inches long, and 0.016 inch thick.
• Maximum for letters and other cards: 6-1/8 inches high, 11-1/2 inches long, 1/4 inch thick.
• Rectangular, with four square corners and parallel opposite sides. Letter-size, card-type mailpieces made of cardstock may have finished corners that do not exceed a radius of 0.125 inch (1/8 inch). Automation priced letter-sized pieces are not subject to 201.1.1.1c (rectangular) when they are prepared as a trailing edge die-cut (TED-C) automation piece under the “Trail Edge Die-Cut (TED-C) Process for Eligibility at Automation Letter Prices” advisory available on PostalPro at https://postalpro.usps.com.

Maximum Weight:

• First-Class Mail Presorted Machinable—3.5 ounces (0.2188 pound).
• First-Class Mail Automation—3.5 ounces (0.2188 pound).¹
• Periodicals Barcoded (Automation)—3.5 ounces (0.2188 pound).¹
• USPS Marketing Mail Automation—3.5 ounces (0.2188 pound).¹
• Enhanced Carrier Route—3.5 ounces (0.2188 pound).¹

1. Heavy letters over 3 ounces, if barcoded, must bear an address block delivery point barcode unde and be part of a 100% delivery point or Intelligent Mail barcoded mailing. Heavy letters must be prepared in a sealed envelope, and may not contain stiff enclosures or be prepared as a self-mailer or booklet-type mail-piece.

Prohibitions:

• Polywrap, polybag, and shrinkwrap.
• Clasps, strings, staples, buttons, or protrusions that might impede or damage the mail or mail processing equipment.

Other machinability standards:

• Rigid and odd-shaped items prohibited or restricted.
• Tabbing for self-mailers or booklets. 

Pieces with delivery point barcodes or Intelligent Mail barcodes must meet all standards.

• Format of barcode bars  
• Minimum clearance around barcode for barcodes printed on a mail-piece or label: 1/8 inch on left and right sides; 1/25 inch above and below barcode.
• Placement of address block barcode, lower right barcode, or barcode within a window: see page two.
• Reflectance standards for barcode and portion of mail-piece on which barcode is printed.

Barcode in Address Block

When the barcode is included as part of the address block the barcode must be placed in one of these positions:

• Above the address line containing the recipient’s name.
• Below the city, state, and ZIP Code line.
• Above or below the keyline information.
• Above or below the optional endorsement line.

Additional Basic Standards for USPS Marketing Mail

Each USPS Marketing Mail mailing is subject to these general standards:

• All pieces in a mailing must be of the same processing category, except that irregular and machinable parcels may be combined in 5-digit scheme and 5-digit sacks or on 5-digit scheme and 5-digit pallets.
• Each mailing must contain at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds of pieces. For volume requirement eligibility unique to Presorted USPS Marketing price mailings contact the department of Mail Services. 
• All pieces in a mailing must be sorted together and marked under the standards for the price claimed.
• Each letter and flat piece must bear the addressee‘s name and delivery address, including the correct ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code, except as allowed when using alternative addressing formats or detached address labels (DALs) and detached marketing labels (DMLs).
• Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail machinable or irregular parcels must bear the addressee‘s name and complete delivery address, or may use an alternative addressing format.
• Postage must be paid with precanceled stamps, meter stamps, or permit imprint.
• A postage statement, completed and signed by the mailer, using the correct USPS form or an approved facsimile, must be submitted with each mailing. In addition, mailings must be documented and the standards for the price claimed.
• Each piece must meet the standards for any other price or discount claimed.
• Any barcode on a mailpiece must be correct for the delivery 
• Mailings must be deposited at a business mail entry unit of the Post Office where the postage permit or license is held and the annual mailing fee paid, unless deposit elsewhere is permitted by standard.

L.I.F.T SERVICES –  Labeling, Inserting, Folding and Tabbing

Mail encapsulates Labeling, Inserting, Folding and Tabbing

Rate of Service- $0.11 cents per piece up to three pieces, anything thereafter is free

All mailing lists are uploaded into our Pitney Bowes ConnectRight Database, and we perform NCOA for free.  Mail Services updates all mailing lists for the departments for free when we do the mailings.

Mail Services can help the campus community eliminate time consuming tasks of folding and inserting by using our Pitney Bowes Relay 2500 Folder Inserter for accuracy and uninterrupted process performance as well as our Pitney Bowes Tabber to apply wafer seals to material that require them.

Mail Services is a mailing agent for Stony Brook University and provides the most cost efficient savings on your material and mailings with no hidden charges.

Please contact Central Services today to see how we can better service your needs.

Campus Mail

• General Policy
• Addressing Envelopes
• Large Packages
• Campus Address Directory

General Policy

Inter-office mail service should be used only for official University correspondence. There are certain materials that should not be sent through Campus Mail, including stapled items, currency, library books, liquids, medical supplies, personal items, and office supplies. 

Addressing Envelopes

It is essential to include the departmental/office Zip+4 extension in the mailing address. Please adhere strictly to the format below when sending on-campus mail.

Recipient's Name (if applicable)
Department/Office Name
Campus Zip+4

Please note that room numbers, building names, street addresses, etc. should never be used.

When using reusable manila inter-office envelopes, please cross out the previous address with a single line and use the next sequential empty address box from top to bottom, left to right. This common sense approach allows us to use the previous address as a return address in the event of a delivery problem.

When using regular envelops, please but your return Zip+4 in the upper left hand corner (no other return information is needed.) It is recommneded that two X's be written in the upper right hand corner of the envelope so that the mail is not confused with mail going off-campus. 

Large Packages

Please do not send printed materials in boxes larger than a mail bin. If a large volume of letters, flyers or other documents are being sent to a single destination, please apportion them into a few separate packages. In addition, please remember that if you have difficulty lifting a heavy package, your mail carrier will have a challenge transporting it to its destination.

Campus Address Directory

The most current address information for campus employees may be accessed using the Campus Address Directory. We encourage you to bookmark this site and use it whenever convenient.

Department Zip Codes

General Policy

Inter-office mail service should be used only for official University correspondence. There are certain materials that should not be sent through Campus Mail, including stapled items, currency, library books, liquids, medical supplies, personal items, and office supplies.

• Hospital Clinical HSC
• Campus

Residential Student Mail

For more information please see Mailroom Services for how to pick up your mail.

Incoming Mail

• General Policy
• Campus Zip+4
• Campus Address Format

General Policy

The use of Stony Brook Mail Services is limited to the conduct of University business. Personal mail should not be sent through Campus Mail.

Campus ZIP+4

The Zip code 11794 is used exclusively by Stony Brook University, and is the only information needed by the U.S. Post Office to direct a piece of mail to the University. The four-digit Zip+4 extension assigned to each department is the primary means of sorting mail by Mail Services and is absolutely necessary for efficient handling of your mail. This extension, also known as your Mail Code, should be included whenever campus addresses are used (envelopes, letterheads, business cards, websites, etc.)

Campus Address Format

Please adhere to the standard campus address format when giving your address. We find that in many instances users are including more information than necessary in their address to properly route mail to departments, while often excluding the Mail Code, which is vital for accurate routing of mail.

Your Street Address

Rather than use street addresses derived from the campus road system, we use a much more specific "virtual" street address derived from each department's unique Mail Code. For your street address you should use your Mail Code (i.e., your Zip+4 extension) followed by the abbreviation SUNY. Please note that the order of the address lines is very important. The basic format is as follows:

In certain instances, recipients may wish to add more information to their address (for instance, room numbers & building names when an article might be shipped by a private carrier such as United Parcel or FedEx.) In such a case, all other information should be included above the street address; the bottom two lines of your address must always be the street address and city, state and Zip+4.

Outgoing Mail

• General Policy
• Mail Services Requisition Form
• Return Addresses
• Addressing Envelopes
• Large Size Mail
• International Mail
• Non-Profit (Bulk) Mail

General Policy

ALL OUTGOING MAIL must be bundled and separated by type as follows:

• Letter size mail
• Flat size mail (8 1/2' x 11 1/2')
• Express mail
• Foreign mail
• Inter-office mail

Please indicate on the Mail Services Requisition Form the Postal Class you wish each bundle of mail to be sent through U.S. Postal Service. If not designated, all mail will be processed as first class mail.

It is absolutely the sending department's responsibility to separate and bundle the mail; Mail Services will not pick up mail that is not prepared as listed above!

Mail Services Requisition Form

Mail Services Requisition Form

Return Addresses

All mail to be sent off-campus must have a return address. The return address should include the department's name and must include the campus Zip+4. The return address is absolutely necessary in case Mail Services needs to contact the sender's department before mailing an item or if an item is returned by the U.S. Post Office. Opening envelopes to determine the sender is extremely time-consuming and often inconclusive, and therefore Mail Services cannot guarantee return of any items without a return address.

Addressing Envelopes

Delivery Address Placement

On a letter-size piece, the recommended address placement is within the optical character reader (OCR) read area, which is a space on the address side of the mailpiece defined by these boundaries (see Example OCR Read Area) OCR Read Area}:

1. Left: 1/2 inch from the left edge of the piece.
2. Right: 1/2 inch from the right edge of the piece.
3. Top: 2-3/4 inches from the bottom edge of the piece.
4. Bottom: 5/8 inch from the bottom edge of the piece.

Example OCR Read Area

Address Placement Causing Mail to be Nonmailable or Nonmachinable

The location of the delivery address on a letter-size mailpiece determines which dimensions are the length and the height of the piece. Consequently, the placement of the address may render a piece nonmailable or nonmachinable.

Large Size Mail

Please notify Mail Services in advance when you have an unusually large mailing. Mail bins should never be more than 3/4 full. Please notify us a day in advance if you require extra mail bins.

Substantial savings can be realized by departments that do frequent or large mailings of certain types of correspondence. Please see our web page devoted to categories and classes of mail to see if a cheaper alternative to First Class Mail is possible for at least some of your mail.

International Mail

All International Mail over 13 oz. must have a Customs Declaration Form attached! If customs regulations are not followed completely and documentation is not exact, the mail will be impounded by customs until the addressee makes arrangements for clearance and pays the required duties for the release of the package.

The recipient's country name must be spelled out in capital letters in English and should always go on the last line of any foreign address.

Non-Profit (Bulk) Mail

All non-profit (bulk) mail must consist of at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds. All envelopes must arrive in Mail Services in zip code order. Each piece of mail must be identical in size, weight, and content in order to qualify for the non-profit rate. Foreign mail does not qualify.

Please call (631) 632-1189 for more detailed information on this service.

Sending Certified Mail

1. Fill in recipient's name and address at the bottom of the form and write the date mailed in the "Postmark Here" area.
2. Peel the backing from the bar-coded label and place at the top of the envelope immediately to the right of the return address so the dotted line is even with the top of the envelope. Fold the upper green part of the label over the top of the envelope. DO NOT place the sticker to the far right or on the side of the envelope; sufficient space must be left for attaching postage.
3. Detach the certified mail receipt and keep for your records (you will need the number on the receipt if you wish to trace the letter.)

Forms Order Sheet

The following items are available for order:

• Mail Service Requisition (SUSB 2)
• Bi-Weekly Attendance & Leave Accrual Report for Research Foundation (SUSB 128R)
• Bi-Weekly Attendance & Leave Accrual Report for State (SUSB 128S)
• Domestic Return Receipt (PS 3811)
• Certified Mail Sticker (PS 3800)
• Express Mail Label (Label 11-B)
• Express Flat Rate Envelope (EP 13-F)
• Priority Envelopes Large (EP 142)
• Priority Envelopes Small (EP 14B)
• Insured Mail Receipt (PS 3813)
• Delivery Confirmation Receipt (PS 152)
• Course Evaluation Form
• NCS Exam Form

To order any of these items, please call Mail services at 632-6231 or complete the Forms Order Sheet (SUSB 2732) and follow the submission instructions on the form.

Information Regarding USPS

For more information about USPS, visit their website below.

http://www.usps.com

Other services from them include:

United States Postal Service Current Price List

ZIP Code Lookup