Effective September 7, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 708.7.2.2, to provide a new font size option for mailers applying an optional endorsement line (OEL) to their mailpieces that do not bear a traditional Address Change Service (ACS™) participant code.
OELs are used by mailers as an optional method to identify the presort level of bundles of flats or letters or to fulfill other mail marking requirements. Current mailing standards for OELs require the font size and line spacing to be no less than that of the largest letters or characters in the address block or any part of the address label. The Postal Service provides an option to mailers by allowing a new minimum font size for the OEL when various size fonts are used in the design and printing of the delivery address and when a traditional ACS participant code is not part of the OEL.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
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708 Technical Specifications
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7.0 Optional Endorsement Lines (OELs)
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7.2 OEL Format
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7.2.2 Style and Size of Type
[Revise 708.7.2.2 as follows:]
The information in the OEL must meet the following conditions:
a. Letters must be the same type font as those in the address block.
b. The OEL must contain only capital letters of the alphabet, Arabic numerals, or asterisks.
c. Font size and line spacing must be no less than the size and line spacing of the largest letters or characters in the address block or any part of the address label, except as provided under 7.2.2d.
d. At the mailer’s option, characters must be a minimum of 8-point font size on mailpieces that do not bear a traditional ACS printed participant code (see 507.4). Under this option, characters may not overlap and must be evenly spaced.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 8-12-10
