Idustry Eye: Shop Talk - Understanding Postal, Letter to the Editor

Effective Jan. 4
The new rules take effect Jan. 4, three months later than the original September 2009 implementation date, following protests from mailers and their associations. Many catalog mailers and their printers are re-evaluating their designs to ensure compliance.

The rules apply to all catalogs and magazines except those mailed at USPS saturation or high-density, carrier-route prices. The revision to the rule changes the four-inch droop allowance to three inches and eliminates the current exception for oblong pieces — i.e., those with a bound edge on the shorter side. Oblong pieces could still qualify by adding a tab to the open edges opposite the bound edge, or by other design changes.