Effective March 14, 2010, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 705.8.6.2 and 708.6.6 to provide a new option for Periodicals mailers preparing pallets or other approved containers bearing Intelligent Mail® container placards. We also provide additional options for mailers that prepare Intelligent Mail container placards smaller than the 8-inch by 11-inch format, under DMM 708.6.6.6; and make minor revisions to DMM 708.6.6.2 to clarify our current standards requiring Intelligent Mail container placards to be affixed to the outside of shrinkwrap or plastic.
Current standards require that placards on pallets containing Periodicals mail and bearing Intelligent Mail container barcodes must be pink. Optionally, placards may be white with a pink, left-justified, vertical 1/2-inch wide identification bar, when prepared in the optional format under DMM 708.6.6.6.
This revision will provide a third option (which may only be used with pallets bearing Intelligent Mail container placards) for mailers to identify Periodicals mail on pallets by allowing the Intelligent Mail container placard to be all white, when used in conjunction with a pink designator label under the following conditions:
n Pink designator labels must be printed in landscape orientation and must not include any print or graphics other than USPS®-required elements.
n Designator labels must meet or exceed both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the accompanying Intelligent Mail container placard and must bear only a “PERIODICALS” or “NEWS” marking at least 1/2- inch high (or at least 48-point type).
n Designator labels may be affixed on the outside, or be placed beneath any shrinkwrap or plastic, but must be immediately adjacent to the Intelligent Mail container placard.
n When using this option, each Intelligent Mail container placard must be accompanied by an adjacent designator label.
Current standards allow only a single line of text in the mailer/acceptance unit area, for Intelligent Mail container placards prepared in the optional smaller format under DMM 708.6.6, without regard to size. With this revision, for smaller format placards larger than the 4 inches by 7 inches minimum, we define the top 3.75 inches of the placard as the area that must be retained for USPS-required elements. This change will allow mailers preparing Intelligent Mail container placards measuring more than 4 inches high by 7 inches long in both (or either) dimensions to use all of the available area (below the top 3.75 inches for mailer/acceptance unit purposes), provided there is no mailer-use routing information that conflicts with the USPS destination line (line 1). Mailers preparing Intelligent Mail container placards in the minimum size of 4 inches high by 7 inches long will continue to be allowed a single line of text in the restricted mailer/acceptance unit area.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
700 Special Services
* * * * *
705 Advanced Preparation and Special Postage Payment Systems
* * * * *
8.0 Preparing Pallets
* * * * *
8.6 Pallet Placards
* * * * *
8.6.2 Specifications
[Revise the last sentence of 8.6.2 as follows:]
*** Placards, affixed to pallets containing Periodicals, bearing an Intelligent Mail container barcode and prepared in the optional smaller format under 708.6.6.6, may be white instead of pink, when a vertical pink 1/2-inch wide identification bar is included along the left-hand side of the placard; or may be white when used in conjunction with an adjacent pink designator label, under 708.6.6.5.
* * * * *
708 Technical Specifications
* * * * *
6.0 Standards for Barcoded Tray Labels, Sack Labels, and Container Placards
* * * * *
6.6 Intelligent Mail Container Placards (Labels)
* * * * *
6.6.2 Intelligent Mail Container Placard Configurations
[Revise the introductory paragraph of 6.6.2 as follows:]
Intelligent Mail container placards must be affixed on the outside of any shrinkwrap or plastic by self-adhesive or other adhesive means. Placards may be produced in two configurations:
* * * * *
[Revise item 6.6.2b as follows:]
b. Optional affixed placard measuring at least 4 inches by 7 inches. See 6.6.6 for placard specifications and 6.6.5 for placard placement.
* * * * *
6.6.5 Placard Requirements
[Revise the introductory paragraph and items a and b of 6.6.5 as follows:]
Mailers may use placards bearing Intelligent Mail container barcodes only under the following conditions:
a. Two placards must be placed on each pallet, one on each adjacent side. Placards must be affixed by self-adhesive or other adhesive means that will not obscure any required element of the placard and will remain secure throughout USPS processing.
b. One placard must be placed in the designated area on other USPS containers.
[Add new items c through e to 6.6.5 as follows:]
c. Placards affixed to pallets containing Periodicals mail must be pink, except under 6.6.5d or 6.6.5e.
d. Placards prepared in the optional smaller format under 6.6 may be white, but must include a vertical pink 1/2-inch wide identification bar along the left-hand side of the placard, unless prepared under 6.6.5e.
e. Placards containing Periodicals may be all white when used in conjunction with a pink designator label meeting the following criteria:
1. Designator labels must be printed in landscape orientation and must not include any print or graphics other than the required marking in 6.6.5e2.
2. Designator labels must meet or exceed both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the accompanying Intelligent Mail container placard and must bear only a “PERIODICALS” or “NEWS” marking at least 1/2-inch high (or at least 48-point type).
3. Designator labels may be affixed on the outside of, or be placed beneath, any shrinkwrap or plastic, but must be immediately adjacent to the Intelligent Mail container placard.
4. When using this option, each Intelligent Mail container placard must be accompanied by an adjacent designator label.
6.6.6 Optional Smaller Placard Format
[Revise the introductory paragraph of 6.6.6 as follows:]
Mailers may prepare placards bearing Intelligent Mail container barcodes (see Exhibit 6.6.6) in a smaller alternate format as follows:
* * * * *
[Reletter items b through g as new c through h, and add a new item b as follows:]
b. Placards must measure no less than 4 inches high by 7 inches long.
[Revise new item c as follows:]
c. Placards prepared in the minimum size of 4 inches high by 7 inches long may include a restricted mailer/acceptance unit area that cannot exceed one line of text or contain print no larger than 12 points. Text in the restricted mailer/acceptance unit area must be restricted to the bottom line of the placard (below the lower barcode identification bar).
[Reletter new items d through h as new e through i, and add a new d as follows:]
d. Intelligent Mail container placards prepared in the optional smaller format, but measuring more than 4 inches high by 7 inches long in both (or either) dimensions, must preserve the top 3.75 inches of the placard, or the area including and above the lower barcode identification bar (whichever is greater), for USPS-required elements. The remainder of the placard is available for restricted mailer/acceptance unit use. Text in the restricted mailer/acceptance unit area, when used, must contain print no larger than 12 points.
* * * * *
[Delete relettered item h in its entirety, and reletter new item i as new item h.]
* * * * *
We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 2-25-10
