Mailers can be complex--fly sheets and tabs, inserts and perfs. But Giammona has profited by making the complex seem simple and providing value-added solutions. A prime example is an insert mailer Giammona designed for a municipality in 1990. "I designed it then, and it has stayed the same ever since," he says.
The municipality required mailers to send customers past-due notices about situations such as outstanding real estate taxes. Giammona provided a 5-part mailer. Part 1 was a fly sheet with billing information that's retained by the municipality. Part 2 was the face of the outgoing envelope, and Part 5 was the back of the envelope. Parts 3 and 4 were inserts--one with billing information for the customer and the other a remittance copy. The mailers were 2-color, with the municipality's red and black logo appearing on the fly sheet and customer insert. The customer insert also included backprinting, with details about who recipients should call with questions about their bills.
But soon the municipality had another need, which added a twist to the mailers. Occasionally, it wanted to insert notices in the mailers to promote town events, announce changes in services and so on. Because this added information wouldn't always appear, Giammona couldn't simply design the mailer as a 6-part construction and add another insert. Instead, he presented the municipality with another option.
The mailers now include transfer tape on the inside of Part 5, the outgoing envelope. When the municipality adds an extra notice to the past-due mailers, employees tear off the margins, insert the notices and reseal the mailers manually with the transfer tape. Then the client sends mailers to customers.
This extra touch has served the municipality's needs "perfectly" for 12 years, Giammona says. He provides the municipality with 40,000 insert mailers twice a year.
Striking a Chord
Many business mailings require several components, including letters, notices or invoices, outgoing envelopes and return envelopes. Mailers eliminate the need for separate pieces by incorporating them into a single product ready for personalization and mailing. Mailers speed up the communication process and eliminate costly folding and inserting during mail preparation. In addition, companies that use mailers avoid the embarrassment and expense of incorrectly stuffed packages because all parts of a mailer are registered on a collator and personalized simultaneously by a printer.
There are two basic types of multipart mailers: peel-back and insert. Peel-back mailers are manufactured using a continuous web with line holes. Glue lines that run parallel to the line holes fasten the two sides of the envelope, while spot glue placed across the web fastens the top and bottom. Perforations parallel to the web allow a recipient to tear off one end and peel back the face of the envelope to expose the message inside.
Insert mailers include promotional messages, coupons, ID cards, invoices or other items placed inside the mailer. Inserts may be free-floating or held in place with fugitive glue, a temporary forms fastener or loose perforations. Although a variety of opening constructions exist, one of the most common is a perforated left stub that, when removed, exposes a thumb notch that allows recipients to easily grasp and withdraw the insert.
Two-way mailers speed the payment process because preprinted envelopes generally make it through the postal system faster than hand-addressed envelopes. And unlike separate bills and envelopes, mailers are self-contained, reducing the likelihood that recipients will misplace the preprinted envelope, thereby delaying payment.
The latest mailer type is a 1-part mailer. These mailers, available in continuous and cut sheet formats, begin as a single piece that's printed, imaged, folded and sealed. Like their traditional multipart mailer cousins, 1-part mailers (also called self-mailers) eliminate the time-intensive process of stuffing envelopes. Plus, they can be imaged by laser printers.
Singing the Blues
Mailers can be difficult products for customers--and distributors--to master. Mailer manufacturers can help you learn about insert, peel-back and 1-part mailers. But, in turn, you will need to educate your clients. Consider performing a cost analysis to show customers how mailers--which may seem pricey at first--actually reduce processing and storage costs. In addition, show prospects samples, and let them take the samples apart so they can see how mailers work.
Because mailers are more complex than most document management products, two issues are critical. First, make sure the mailers you design function properly and with relative ease. There's nothing more frustrating to mailer recipients than puzzling over how to open them or ripping sheets while pulling tabs and separating parts. Second, make sure mailers are compatible with customers' equipment. Test multipart mailers on printers to ensure they don't jam and to check that imprinting shows through on all parts in the right spots. Run 1-part mailers through clients' folder/sealers to ensure they process correctly.
The name "mailers" alludes to another tricky area: mailing. Visit the U.S. Postal Service's web site at www.usps.com for design and mailing regulations for mailers. You need to adhere to a plethora of rules about mailer thickness, imprint areas, address lines and other issues.
Susan Keen Flynn, a freelance writer based in Cleveland, is a frequent contributor to Print Solutions.
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* Test mailers on printers and other
processing equipment.
It's a standard industry mantra, but testing is critical with mailers. While 1-part mailers typically run smoothly through equipment, bulkier insert and peel-apart mailers can bunch and jam or print illegibly. Frank Giammona, vice president of sales for distributorship Quality Business Products Inc., Oradell, N.J., has experienced problems personalizing insert mailers. "If you get too much air in the pockets of inserts and the printer hits those pockets, then it's not legible," he says. "If the information on a mailer is illegible, then it's worthless." Imagine the headaches created for a company sending illegible bills--calls to customer service, unpaid or mispaid bills, and so on.
* Don't assume simple is best.
One-part mailers can be personalized on laser printers, then processed through folder/sealers to make their own envelopes. But a customer's needs and equipment may require more complex insert and peel-apart mailers. Don't avoid these traditional mailers, Giammona says. "Some distributors shy away from [traditional mailers] because they're complex," he says. "But vendors will walk you through the process."
* Add value to mailers.
Consider incorporating bar codes or security features. For example, a non-profit organization sending information about a fundraiser may include bar codes on return slips to track responses. And companies mailing payroll checks or valuable coupons should include multiple security features.
* Design with simplicity in mind.
Mailers may run more smoothly through printers and mail sorting equipment if they have fewer parts. For instance, if a client doesn't require a file copy of an insert, eliminate the fly sheet. In addition, keep text on the outgoing envelope to a minimum. Customers may want to use the outside of mailers as a promotional tool, but beware of adding too much. Mailers heavy on text, graphics or screens may have to be hand sorted at the post office.
* Sell the complete package.
If your customer requires a 1-part mailer, consider selling the folder/sealers to process them on. Even if you sell traditional mailers, additional sales opportunities abound. For example, if a membership organization orders mailers to send new members ID cards, then offer to provide the cards. Or, offer to handle mailing services for customers.
