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Smartbars12: IMB/Postnet barcode printer font
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Getting started with bulk mail
Barcoding and CASS certification
Complying with the move-update requirement
Is your piece a letter or a flat?
Standard Class bulk mail rates
First Class presort rates

Bulk Mail 101
Help Topics:

Getting Bulk Rate Discounts
Barcoding and CASS
Move Update Requirement
Is it a Letter or a Flat?
Bulk Mail Postage Prices
Presorted First Class Prices

Mailers with large quantities of bulk mail can save by barcoding that mail. For smaller quantities, the savings are not as certain after the costs involved in barcoding are included.

To get barcoding discounts in addition to the regular discounts for bulk mail, your mail must be able to pass through automated sorting equipment. Mail that is thick, irregularly shaped or too stiff to bend is not eligible for barcoding discounts since it cannot be sorted on automatic machines. Check with your postmaster if you think your mail might not be eligible.

The USPS is phasing out the current style of barcodes, known as "Postnet barcodes", and replacing them with new "Intelligent Mail Barcodes" (IMBs). Postnet barcodes and IMBs will both be accepted until through December, 2012. After that, Postnet barcodes will no longer be acceptable. While the conversion is not difficult, we encourage mailers who use barcodes not to wait until the deadline to make the switch.

Intelligent Mail Barcodes look like this:

Note that unlike the older Postnet barcodes, not all the bars in an IMB start from the bottom of the line. Some start in the middle and go up. IMBs also contain 65 bars, whereas Postnet barcodes had only 62, so IMBs print slightly wider than Postnet barcodes.

Our Smart Barcoder software creates both Postnet barcodes and IMBs. Mailers who have registered copies of our older "Secret Barcoding Ring" software may upgrade to Smart Barcoder for only $10. Click here for details on upgrading.

What does CASS certification do?

Actually, CASS certification is the USPS' procedure for verifying the accuracy of commercial zip code matching software. But most mailers and many postal employees think of CASS certification as the actual matching process that the software performs, rather than the postal service's testing procedure. So, we'll use the common meaning of the term here.

CASS certification is the process of matching your address list to the USPS master list of zip+4 codes. CASS-certified software is tested by the USPS to make sure it can perform a correct match even when there are errors in the address. That's why this process also helps you fix incorrect addresses.

Of course, if your wrong address happens to match another valid address, the software will not make the correction. Similarly, if there are several good choices for the correct address, or no good choices, the software will not match the address to a zip+4 code or attempt to correct the address.

You don't need CASS certification to get bulk mail postage prices!

Despite what you might have heard, you generally do NOT need CASS certification for bulk mailing if you are not barcoding. Most of the savings from bulk mailing comes from sorting, not from barcoding. If you don't barcode, you don't need 9-digit zip codes, so you do not need CASS!

An exception to this is if you are sending a "carrier route" mailing, which is generally only if you are mailing to every house or business on a mail carrier's route. This type of mailing needs special sorting, and CASS certification must be done to make sure your list has current mail route information. Most mailers do NOT do carrier route mailings.

When would I need to do CASS certification?

A CASS report (Form 3553) is produced only by CASS software or by a processing service using CASS software. You cannot fill out a blank form yourself.

Bulk mail that is barcoded can qualify for lower postage rates than non-barcoded bulk mail. But to get the additional discounts for barcoding, you must prove that your barcodes are based on accurate 9-digit zip codes. USPS doesn't want to give you a discount and then have to handle the mail by hand anyway because the barcode is inaccurate.

The USPS will accept your barcodes as accurate if you show that you have recently matched your address list against their master 9-digit zip code list, using CASS-certified software to do the matching. The software will print a "CASS report" (USPS Form 3553) showing how many addresses were reviewed, how many were matched, when the matching was done, and the date of the master list.

The information on Form 3553 provides proof to the USPS that you have properly processed your list. You are not required to submit the form to the USPS unless they ask for it, but you must keep it on file. There is also a place on the postage statement where you must indicate the date when CASS-certified matching was done.

CASS-certified zip+4 matching software is expensive, since it must include a copy to the huge USPS master zip+4 file, which must be updated every two months. Fortunately, there is a much less expensive alternative. Most small mailers who use barcoding send their lists to a list processing service to be CASS certified instead of buying and maintaining their own CASS-certification software. Such processing can cost as little as $20 for a small mailing list. Details on these options are discussed below.

If you purchase a CASS-certified mailing list from a list vendor, make sure it comes with CASS report, so that you can provide it to the USPS if required. If you use a processing service to CASS-certify your list, they will provide the CASS report as part of the file they return to you.

How much do I save if I add barcodes?

Most of the savings in bulk mailing comes from sorting. Barcoding typically reduces your postage cost by anywhere from 0.3¢ to 2.3¢. The largest barcoding savings are for mailings that have more than 150 pieces going to the same 5-digit zip code, with smaller savings for mailings that are scattered among many zip codes without 150 pieces to any one zip code.

For a typical one-ounce letter, card, tri-fold, etc., here are the postage prices you can expect:

Regular First Class mail: 45¢

Standard bulk mail - sorted - no barcodes:
22.2¢ to 28.1¢
Standard bulk mail - sorted - barcoded:
19.9¢ to 27.8¢

Standard bulk mail - sorted - no barcodes - nonprofit:
11.3¢ to 17.2¢
Standard bulk mail - sorted - barcoded - nonprofit:
8.7¢ to 16.6¢

Because the quantity discount categories for barcoded mail are different from those for non-barcoded mail, an address that gets the lowest non-barcoded price will often not get the lowest barcoded price. This means the savings for a barcoded mailing will often not be as large as the differences in prices would seem to indicate.

Here's what you need to get barcoding discounts:

To get the barcoded prices, you must do everything you need to do for regular bulk mail prices, plus the following:

Get a "mailer ID" from USPS. To use the new IMB barcodes, you need a special mailer ID number from USPS. This is NOT the same as your permit number or your nonprofit number. It is a unique number nationally that will allow USPS to track your mail when you use IMBs. To get a mailer ID, start here.

CASS-certify your list. You don't need to do this every time you prepare a bulk mailing, but you must do this the first time you mail using barcodes to a particular address, and at least once every six months thereafter for every address on your list.

Any addresses that CASS-certified software cannot match with a 9-digit zip code cannot be barcoded. If you are mailing flat-sized pieces, you can mail non-barcoded and barcoded pieces in the same mailing, in which case the mailing is called a "co-sacked" mailing. If you are mailing letter-sized pieces, any pieces you cannot barcode must be mailed separately, either at non-barcoded bulk mail prices if you have at least 200 pieces, or at the regular 45¢ First Class price.

There are two ways to get CASS-certified 9-digit zip codes. The easiest is to use an online list processing service. Some we have used are SmartyStreets (formerly Qualified Address), Anchor Computer, Lorton Data, and MailNet Services. You send them your list through the Internet. They run your list through their matching software, and then return the matched list to you through the Internet along with the required CASS report. They charge according to how many addresses you run, with an inexpensive minimum charge (typically around $20).

If you are mailing to a very large list, or if you regularly get new lists that need to be matched, it might be more economical to purchase list matching software. One source many of our customers use is Semaphore. The software tends to be expensive since the master zip code list it includes has around 30 million entries and must be updated every two months.

If you are considering buying CASS software to avoid using a list processing service for CASS, you should think first about what method you will use to meet the move update requirement. If you are going to use a processing service for NCOA, you can probably get CASS certification as part of your NCOA process for little or no extra cost, meaning that you will not save by buying CASS software.

If you are buying a list from a list vendor, it's worth it to buy from a vendor that will CASS-certify the list for you. One good source of CASS-certified mailing lists is InfoUSA.

If you are using labels for your addressing, you'll need labels wide enough for the barcodes to fit. Barcodes are anywhere from 2.6" to 3.25" wide, depending on your software and printer. Plus, the USPS requires that there be at least 1/8" between the barcode and the left and right edges of the label.

That means that labels that are 3-across on a standard-size sheet won't work! Make sure your labels are at least 3 1/2" wide to allow for variations in software, printers, and alignment.

You'll need software to create the barcodes. Beware: the barcode that Microsoft Word automatically creates is not the barcode you need for bulk mailing discounts! If you have a version of Word that offers a USPS barcoding feature, turn it off!

If you're clever with Excel, you can probably create Postnet barcodes using Excel without additional software. Unfortunately, the new IMB barcodes are much more complicated and cannot be created without using software designed for that purpose.

Our barcoding software, called Smart Barcoder, is only $35. If you buy the Pro version of our Postage $aver bulk mail sorting software, we'll give you Smart Barcoder free as part of the package.

In addition to software, you need a barcode font to print the barcodes. When you print a barcode on an envelope or label, what you are really doing is printing a string of digits or letters using a special font that prints the each character as either one or five bars. You may have this font already on your computer. Look for something called "USPS bar code" or something similar.

If you don't have the font, you can buy ours for only $15, or we'll include it free when you buy either Smart Barcoder or Postage $aver Pro.

Make sure the sorting software you are using can handle barcoded bulk mail. Bulk mail that is barcoded goes to different postal sorting centers than non-barcoded bulk mail. If you are using sorting software to prepare your mailing (and we strongly recommend that you do), make sure it can handle barcoded mail. Postage $aver Pro handles barcoded mail, but Postage $aver Lite does not.

Other differences when using barcodes:

In general, you follow the same procedure for barcoded bulk mail as you would for non-barcoded bulk mail, except:

You must print the barcodes on your mail per USPS rules (obviously). There are only certain places on your mail where the barcode can go. You must always use black ink for the barcodes, and you must not make them larger or smaller than their required size. Check with your post office for complete specifications.

The sorting combinations for barcoded mail are different than those for non-barcoded mail. You must sort your mail according to the rules for barcoded pieces, which may be different from the rules you are used to following for non-barcoded mail. If you are using PAVE-certified sorting software like Postage $aver, it will automatically take any differences into account when it sorts your mail.