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Postage $aver prints tray and sack tags on standard Avery business card forms.
On sale now at Office Depot!
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Frequent Questions about Postage $aver ProductsMy hard drive crashed (or, I have a new computer). How do I replace my copy of Postage $aver? As long as your registration is current, you may download a replacement copy of Postage $aver at no extra charge. You can have download instructions and registration and update codes automatically sent to the email address at which you are registered by going to "Lost Codes and Downloads". I entered the registration codes that I received when I purchased Postage $aver Pro (or Secret Barcoder Ring) and I still can't find the barcode font. The barcode font is not included in the demo package, so you cannot get it simply by entering the registration codes into your demo software. Your registration notice included instructions for downloading a complete file that includes all software and the font. You must download and install that file after you purchase Postage $aver Pro or Secret Barcoder Ring if you want to install the font. Postage $aver is telling me to put more pieces in a tray than will fit (or it is creating a new tray to a destination when the first tray to that destination is not full yet.) Every mailing has a different thickness, so it takes a different number of pieces to fill a tray. Postage $aver determines thickness from the number you put in the "Pieces in a 5-inch stack" question on the first screen of the wizard. For each mailing you prepare, you must stack up 5 inches worth and count the number of pieces in that stack. (Squish the pieces as tight as they would be if they were actually in the tray.) Postage $aver will determine the correct number for 1-foot and 2-foot trays from there. I keep getting your company name on my postage statement instead of my company. You need to enter your company information for the postage statement on the "Statement Information" screen under Settings on the Postage $aver main menu. If you don't enter the information for your company, Postage $aver will print sample information that we have entered. I printed my 9-digit zip codes using your barcode font and the post office says it is wrong. A proper postnet barcode contains more than just the 9-digit zip code. It is either 10 digits (for business reply mail) or 12 digits (for bulk mail), plus a start bar and a stop bar. Our Secret Barcoder Ring software creates the correct string of digits and start and stop bars for you automatically. Or, see our help page on delivery-point barcodes for technical information if you want to try to create the strings yourself. My USPS person tells me I have to use "Optional Endorsment Lines". Postage $aver says these are optional. What's the deal?So-called "Optional Endorsement Lines" (OELs) are no longer optional for some bundles in some categories of bulk mail. Up until this summer, mailers who prepared "bundles" of mail could choose to either place a single brightly-colored sticker on the top piece of the bundle, or could put an OEL (like ****** 5D 77025) as the top line of the address on each piece. Now, for some mail, the OELs are mandatory, and the stickers cannot be used. If you are mailing the following categories of mail, you MUST use OELs: Standard Class - Automation (Barcoded) Flats Standard Class - Co-Sacked Flats Periodical Class - Nonbarcoded Flats (only if your mail can be sorted by USPS on AFSM 100 or UFSM 1000 sorting equipment) Periodical Class - Barcoded Flats Periodical Class - Co-Sacked Flats Technically, some bundles in each of these categories can still be prepared with stickers. For example, all MXD ADC bundles can still use the tan "X" sticker instead of OELs. But in practice, it's easier to use OELs on the entire mailing than to worry about which is which, since an OEL can always be used instead of a sticker where a sticker is allowed. We have updated Postage $aver's Mail Preparation Instructions so that they indicate where OELs are mandatory. However, Postage $aver has always provide OELs for all of these categories of mail, so you don't need to download the latest update just to get OELs. OELs must be placed above the first line of the address. If the barcode is located above the address, the barcode goes above the OEL. The OEL must be in the same typeface as the address. The USPS is saying that my flat is now in a category called "not flat-machinable" (NFM). How do I use Postage Saver to process that category. Good news. As of the latest update to Postage $aver, now you can use it to process NFMs, if they weigh 6 ounces each or less. Note that these NFMs are prepared in sacks, but, unlike flats, are NOT bundled. (They are just loose in the sacks.) Since I installed the May '07 update, the tray tags I'm getting for 5-digit trays from Postage $aver do not match the contents of the tray. What's wrong? Probably nothing. The USPS now requires that some 5-digit zips be combined with others that are delivered from the same post office into what are called 5-digit schemes. Trays and bundles for the schemes are always labeled the main zip code for the scheme. So, if 77003 and 77010 are in the same scheme, the 5-digit scheme tray containing pieces to either of those zips may be in a tray labeled as 77003, even if all the pieces in the tray are for 77010. You can tell it's a scheme tray (rather than a tray for a single 5-digit zip) if it says SCH or SCHEME on the tag. The contents of the scheme tray or bundle are now shown individually on the rate qualification report. USPS says I should be using the 3602NZ (or 3602RZ) and Postage Saver is printing the 3602N (or 3602R). How do I make it print the NZ? The "Z" versions of the forms are the "short forms", which are convenient for mailers filling out forms by hand but are not required. Postage Saver prints out the longer form, which does not have the "Z" at the end, but is always acceptable. Questions About Periodical Class Mail:I'm totally confused. Is there an overview of all the new rules for Periodical Class mail somewhere? We've posted a powerpoint presentation that USPS has been using. Click here to see it.I understand that I can now include some addresses as In-County even if they are outside of the county. What's the deal? As of 8/30/07, USPS is allowing some additional addresses to be included as "in-county". Here is the difference: BEFORE 8/30/07: An in-county address was any address in the same county as the location of the mailer. SINCE 8/30/07: An in-county address is any address in the same county as the location of the mailer, PLUS any address that is delivered from a post office in the same county as the mailer. Another way to say this is that a piece qualifies for in-county if: it is addressed to a zip code that is handled by a post office located in your county, OR if it is handled by a post office outside of your county but the actual address on the piece is in your county. Please note that Postage $aver still has no way to automatically tell whether an address or post office is in or out of your county. You still must code each address in your data file that is eligible for in-county rates. But with this new rule, there may be additional addresses that qualify that you need to code to take advantage of the price break. Click here to get a list of all zip codes handled by post offices in your county. Why do I need to know what kind of sorting equipment the USPS will use for my flat-sized mail? We used to have automation flats and nonautomation flats, with the automation flats being barcoded and costing less postage. Now we also have an in-between category - flats that can be sorted on older "UFSM 1000" sorting equipment but not on the newer "AFSM 100" equipment. To get the best barcoded rates, your mail has to be qualified for the AFSM 100, which generally means it meets tighter size restrictions and must be able to bend. But you can still barcode and get an "in-between" rate if it doesn't work on the AFSM 100 but still works on the UFSM 1000. You also get a better rate for nonbarcoded mail if it can go on the AFSM 100 instead of using the UFSM 1000. Just to make it more confusing, UFSM 1000 compatible pieces are called "nonmachinable", even though they work on that machine. If your piece doesn't fit on either sorting machine, then it's no longer a flat - it's a parcel, and Postage $aver cannot sort it. What's the deal on bundles for automation letters? I thought letters were bundled only if they were nonautomation. That's partially true. Automation letters in full trays are not bundled. Those in partially full trays have always been required to be banded to keep them from getting loose. In those trays, you used to only have to worry about keeping the bundles under 6" thick - it didn't really matter which pieces were in them or how many bundles there were. Now, however, you are charged by the bundle, and the mailing must match the bundle report, so you have to make the right number of bundles. Postage $aver tells you how many to make in each partially full tray, and roughly how many pieces need to be in each, and uses the same information to compute your postage and complete the bundle report. Postage $aver assumes that you want to make the fewest number of bundles possible (since each one costs you a bundle charge) without exceeding the 6" maximum thickness. OK, so why do some trays that are partially full say not to make bundles? The USPS defines "full" as being any tray filled to at least 85% of capacity. Anything with that many pieces or more does not require bundling, and will not have a bundle charge, even though it is not technically full. Glad to know USPS are "half-full" folks instead of "half-empty" folks. But I have some bundles that are not charged, and it doesn't seem to follow any pattern. Is the software wrong? Probably not. There is no bundle charge for any bundle that contains only in-county pieces (assuming you are using in-county rates), and for any bundle that has at least some in-county pieces and goes to a single 5-digit area or 5-digit scheme. Same goes for container charges. Why do I have 2 different mixed sacks now, each only partially full? This is actually a change that went into effect last year. USPS now requires that mixed sacks be separated into two different groups, depending on how far the pieces will have to travel. The good news is that the pieces going to closer zip codes are actually supposed to be merged into the first class mail stream and processed more quickly than the rest of the mixed mail. These new sacks and bundles are called OMX, meaning "Origin Mixed". They are priced just like MXD pieces. I used to be able to make a sack if I had six pieces to a zip code. Where is that option now? That option mostly went away last year, although it technically remains available for nonbarcoded letters only. We no longer offer the option, however, since making the extra trays would really run your container charges up, without significantly improving service. However, 6-piece sacks and trays are still allowed for zip codes in your home SCF area (generally several surrounding three-digit areas) for all categories of periodicals, and those local trays and sacks are automatically made by Postage $aver wherever permitted. Why does page two of the 3541 print after all the others? That is the optional page that only prints if you are using in-county rates. It is printed after all the others. Did you know that certain pieces of info are not being printed on the postage statement? Like the permit number, issue number, etc? Yes, and we will catch up with those on a later release. Actually, those items did not print in the prior version either, and our priority was to finish the essential items, like the new reports and calculations. We appreciate your patience with all of these changes. |
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Copyright 2007 L. Scott Hochberg Last update: 11/8/07 |
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