![]() Instead, these customers can deposit their postage check into their home permit account, eliminating hassle and speeding up the release of their mail into the mail stream. Periodical mailers no longer need to send their postage check to the entry point of their mail – a process that can hold up the release of jobs into the postal stream. So if you’re based in Philadelphia, you can use your Philly permit to mail from any location, including our facility in South Burlington, Vermont. With it, standard mailers no longer need to purchase a permit for each mailing location. Mail Anywhere makes all of this much easier. Mail Anywhere is the newest benefit available through the use of IMb, and it’s exciting (as far as postal perks go).ĭealing with mailing permits can be both costly (mailing standard from multiple locations) and cumbersome (paying for periodical postage at additional entry points). On request, we can supply you with a file that will help you connect the dots and make better use of this address correction tool. Unfortunately, the list the Postal Service provides is not readily decipherable and therefore not all that useful when it comes to updating your mail file. ![]() With OneCode ACS, you can access a list of returned mail pieces in your USPS account on the Business Customer Gateway (more on this below) along with updated address information. While OneCode ACS is not new, it is now enabled through IMb. This is one of the IMb benefits that requires you, the publisher, to register with the USPS (see ‘Can I – and should I – access my postal information online?,’ below). These have included incentives for integrating augmented reality, QR codes, and mobile commerce (among others) into your printed pieces. There are also discounts available through the USPS’s Seasonal Promotions and Incentives. For example, we recently ran a job for about 20,000 pieces wherein the difference between non-automation and automation rates was $1,500. (*A small percentage of addresses will not match a postal directory and therefore not be assigned a Zip+4.)ĭiscounts vary, but they can be significant. Our mailing software assigns Zip+4 to all addresses possible in your mail file. This refers to a zip code appended with a 4-digit code indicating postal “delivery point” information, which improves sorting. Specifically, it gives “Automation Discounts” to IMb-compliant mailers provided all eligible* addresses in a given mailing include “Zip+4” zip codes. The USPS rewards those who make mailing easy. That is, you can’t take advantage of these benefits unless you’re mailing with a full-service-compliant IMb mailer. The USPS continues to offer more benefits through full-service IMb mailers. IMb is a more robust code than previous versions because it contains more information while still using a small space on the mailpiece. IMb combines the data in the old POSTNET™ and PLANET barcodes, as well as additional data, into one barcode. IMb replaces POSTNET and PLANET barcodes. Why did the USPS upgrade the barcode system? The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb), formerly called the “4-State Customer barcode,” is a USPS barcode that mailers print on letters, flats, and packages. (For Review…) What is Intelligent Mail barcode? If there are any on your mind that we missed, please email them to us at and we’ll be happy to answer those, too. And, because the benefits and perks associated with IMb are constantly evolving as the Postal Service offers more programs to fully compliant mailers.įor your reference, we’ve pulled together your most common questions here. Still, a number of common questions pop up about IMb – in part because the setup and maintenance of the barcode happens on our end and is therefore transparent to you. This means that, by now, all of our customers are using the barcode format and receiving the savings associated with it. Here at Lane, we were an early adopter of IMb, starting with the “Basic” program in 2010 and achieving “Full Service” status in 2012. At the very least, you’ve heard of it and know that compliance with the barcode format means postage savings. ![]() ![]() By now, you’re surely familiar with the Postal Service’s Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb). ![]()
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