Simple Case Study on Using Open & Distribute Mailing with Card Size

Building a List

Export From Company’s Database
From the company’s database, build a query of records grouped by 3-digit ZIP and count the number of duplicates. Include only domestic addresses. The 3-digit ZIP is the first three digits in a zip code. Select the ZIP which has the most number of records. The BMC which service that 3-digit ZIP would be a good place to do a drop ship. In our database, “601” happens to be our most common 3-Digit ZIP.

From Dat-Mail, select “Toolbox” -> “Drop Ship Database”.

Press the “Facilities” button from the toolbar.

Select the “BMC” tab. Type “601” from the zip code search. It shows “BMC CHICAGO IL 60808” as the facility we could drop ship. The list to the right shows all the 3-Digit ZIP which it service. We could now build a query of all companies which are located in the 3-Digit ZIP code. Include the client ID, contact number, first name, middle initial, last name, job position, phone number, company name, street address, address2, city, state, zip, country, email, and whatever else you need to print for the mailing. The client ID and contact number are important for updating the company’s shipment database.

Import into the Presort Program
Once the records are imported into the presort program, validate the records. It is vital because the addresses must be standardized. All non-deliverable Standard Mail cards are thrown into the trashcan. Use the NCOALink to update the companies who had relocated. Delete all records which are foreign, missing components, address is blank, undeliverable, and multi matched. The address format must be “UPPER”.

Estimate Size and Thickness of Cards to Mail.
Weigh the entire stack of cards that will be mailed. For example, if the entire stack of 605 cards weighs 7.47 pounds, then each card is 0.01235 pounds.

Measuring the thickness can’t be exact. Measure the ream of 250 sheets using a ruler. They are roughly 2.25 inches thick. That will make each card about 0.009 inches thick, the bare minimum for cards bigger than postcards to be mailed in automation. That’s good news because the thicker 140 pound paper has to be hand fed at the Canon Printer feeder; they won’t work in the tray. Moreover, the 140 pound paper was not meant to be printed on laser or inkjet printers. It’s best to outsource that job to a professional printer.

Printing the Cards - First Step
Design the cards using a graphics designer program. Make sure they are printed as two cards for each page, double sided, portrait mode. Do not print the addresses as the addresses must be presorted. Make sure you print the presorted standard mail permit with the cards.

In the example below, page two has the address side of the card.