Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Automation-Compatible Mail — Mail that can be scanned and processed by automated mail-processing equipment such as a barcode sorter.

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Barcode — A series of vertical bars and half bars on a mailpiece used to represent a series of digits and to facilitate automated processing of mail.

BMC — Bulk Mail Center. A postal facility that processes and distributes Periodicals and Standard Mail.

Bound Printed Matter — A type of Package Services presort. Mailings generally consist of materials such as books and catalogs containing advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material. Charges are based on piece weight and zone.

Bulk Mail — This term is generally used to describe presorting mail including Presorted First-Class Mail and Standard Mail.

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Carrier Route — The address to which a carrier delivers mail.

CASS — A certification process developed by the USPS to standardize address elements.

COA — Change of Address. Citizens fill out of a change of address form upon changing addresses. The USPS keeps track of these changes, and mailers can access the database via NCOALink processing.

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Dedupe — Eliminating duplicates in mailings.

Destination Discounts — Discounts that may be claimed for some Periodicals and Standard Mail. Minimum pieces requirements must be met and mail must be dropped at the BMC, SCF, or DDU which serves the Zip Codes represented in the mailing.

DPV — This type of processing reveals whether an address itself is a deliverable destination. This is another method of catching undeliverable as addressed (UAA) locations to reduce mail waste and increase response rates. BCC offers DPV as either an option or via BCC Data Services.

DSF2 — DSF2 is an address-only process that helps eliminate UAA mail. This is a companion service to Delivery Point Validation (DPV) that identifies addresses by postal carriers and generates Walk Sequence numbers to match your job's records to the order of the carrier's delivery route.

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ECR — Enhanced Carrier Route. Mail pieces must be part of a group of at least 10 and sorted to the same carrier route. Pieces that cannot be sorted to carrier routes do not qualify for the lower rate and cannot make up more than five percent of the mailing.

eLOT — Enhanced Line of Travel processing is available through ZIP+4 processing. This places mail in the general sequence for the postal service.

Encode — The process of assigning additional information, such as ZIP+4, Carrier Route, Line-of-Travel, or Return Code to a record.

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FASTForward — An online method of comparing addresses in mailing lists against those listed in USPS NCOA files. This process was replaced by NCOALink processing.

Flats — Flat-size mail. Mail that exceeds at least one of the dimensions for letter size mail.

Firm Packaging — Combines all pieces sent to one mailing address, enabling a postage charge for one piece only, regardless of how many are included.

First-Class Mail — A term referring to mailing letters, bills, postcards or statements of accounts and checks or money orders. To qualify for automation discounts, the mailing must have at least 500 pieces.

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Indicia — An imprint indicating postage was paid.

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LACSLink — This type of processing compares your lists to a database of former Rural Route and Highway Contract addresses, now converted to modern city-style address format. This is another method of reducing undeliverable mail.

Letters — Letter-size mail. Mail which is rectangular and whose dimensions fall in the following ranges: height 3.5-6.125 inches, length 5-11.5 inches, and thickness .007-.250 inches.

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Mail.dat — Allows users to save the details of a mailing electronically (using the industry-standard Mail.dat file format) instead of hand-preparing paperwork.

Mailing Permit — Permission to mail at bulk (presorted) rates.

Merge / Purge — The process of combining two or more data files and eliminating the duplicate entries.

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NCOALink — Satisfies Move Update requirements by using an encrypted process to compare address information to the USPS Change of Address (COA) database.

Nonautomation Mail — Mail that is not barcoded and therefore cannot go through automated processing.

Nonmachinable Surcharge — A surcharge applied to mailpieces that cannot be sorted on mail processing equipment because of size, shape, content, or address legibility. Such mail must be processed manually.

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Package Services — Consists of flats and parcels weighing 1-70 pounds. Mailpieces generally consist of books and catalogs. Minimum number of pieces is 50 for Parcel Post or 300 for Bound Printed Matter.

Palletization — This occurs when pallets with mail are combined and shipped. Palletizing is generally used for high volume mailings.

Parcel Post — A type of Package Services presort. Mailings consist of Standard Mail weighing between 1 and 70 pounds which is not mailed as Bound Printed Matter, Special Standard Mail or Library Mail.

PAVE — The USPS verifies the quality of mailing software programs by testing and determining compliance of sorting address information compared to USPS standards.

Periodicals — Newspapers, magazines, and other publications that are issued at least four times a year at regular, specified intervals. They generally have a list of subscribers. This was formerly called Second-Class Mail.

PLANET Code — An additional barcode that is used exclusively for mail tracking purposes.

Presort — The process by which a mailer prepares mail so that it is sorted to the greatest extent required by the standards for the rate claimed. Generally, presort is performed sequentially, from the lowest (finest) level to the highest level, to those destinations specified by standards and is completed at each level before the next level is prepared. Not all presort levels are applicable to all mailings.

Presorted Mail — A form of mail preparation, required to bypass certain postal operations, in which the mailer groups pieces in a mailing by ZIP Code or by carrier route or carrier walk sequence (or other USPS-recommended separation).

Presorted Rates — A reduced postage rate. In exchange for this discounted postage rate, mailers must sort their mail into containers based on the ZIP Code destinations on the mail.

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RDI — Cross-references against the most up-to-date USPS data, it flags residential addresses that can cost mailers extra, depending on your shipper. Essentially, it keeps home and work addresses separate.

Return Code — A two-digit code returned during ZIP + 4 encoding. These codes recognize whether or not a record was successfully encoded.

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SCF — Sectional Center Facility. A mail processing facility that distributes mail to post offices in a specific area.

Standard Mail — Often promotional or informational mail that is printed in significant standardized quantities. Each piece must weigh less than 16 ounces, and to qualify for automation discounts, there must be at least 200 pieces.

Standardized Address — An address that contains abbreviations and city names that meet USPS standards.

Suppression Services — These services flag addresses matching undesirable user-specified criteria. These, in turn, allows you to not send mail pieces to addresses unlikely to respond, improve response rates, and ultimately return on investment (ROI). Some suppression choices include deceased suppression, colleges, nursing homes, and prisons.

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USPS — United States Postal Service. The public United States service for mail delivery.

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Walk Sequence — The exact path the carrier walks when delivering mail.

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ZAP — Zone Analysis Program. It provides a common platform to measure the quality of zone assignments, ensuring the accuracy of postage rates claimed in accordance with requirements set forth in the DMM. Software products, such as Mail Manager 2010, that successfully complete the ZAP testing process are identified as ZAP approved.

ZIP + 4 — A 9-digit ZIP Code assigned to an address by the USPS. Using a ZIP + 4 can increase mailpiece delivery speed.