Mailer Solutions

Mailers should beware of postal officials bearing gifts.

The U.S. Postal Service announced a few days ago a “Technology Credit” of up to $5,000 for mailers who use Full-Service Intelligent Mail Barcodes. But if the Postal Service gets its way, the one-time credit would result in a permanent and ultimately far more expensive price increase for senders of First Class, Standard, Periodicals and Bound Printed Matter mail.

For those of you who aren't direct mail writers or designers, you may not realize the range of response-influencing decisions that go into creating effective envelopes. 

Dover, New Hampshire-based Relyco recently introduced the Formax ColorMax 7 Digital Inkjet Color Printer, a high-quality inkjet printer featuring the industry’s lowest cost per print and total cost of ownership (TCO).

A printing business that's been in operation in Englewood Cliffs for 90 years plans to close this year, citing a stagnant economy and faltering industry chipping away at profits for more than a decade.

Handford Brown Co. Inc. has been running since Jay Handford Brown founded the money envelope and stationery manufacturing plant in 1923.

But now William MacPhail, the grandson of Brown's wife who has been running the company since 1960, plans to stop its machines by the end of the year, not only because of his age—he is 77—but because of changing technology and the challenging economic climate.

Many businesses know the value of visual marketing to potential customers—visuals highlight a product’s functionality, aesthetics and especially potential. So the stage is set, the curtain is up and it’s time for a product exhibition. Here, companies give examples of new products, best sellers or items they are proud to showcase.

Predictions, speculations and forecasts were the hot topics of the year. With the United States’ success at the summer Olympics, a pivotal presidential election and Hurricane Sandy’s disastrous effects, the United States had its fair share of ground-breaking headlines.

The results of Print+Promo's 2012 top suppliers list taught us to anticipate the unexpected. We saw positive and negative changes alike.

Snail mail prices are creeping up.

Starting January 27, the price of a first-class stamp will increase one cent to 46 cents, the Postal Service announced Thursday. Postcard postage will rise one cent as well, to 33 cents.

The Postal Service and one of its largest unions have agreed to offer retirement incentives to a wide swath of postal employees.

The American Postal Workers Union said in a Monday statement that full-time career employees could receive $15,000, in two separate installments, under the agreement.

"Our goal was to achieve an incentive for members who are ready to end their postal careers; to ensure that no groups of employees are excluded, and to lessen the hardships of excessing for those who remain," Cliff Guffey, the president of APWU, said in a statement. "This agreement accomplishes those objectives."

Commercial Letter Inc., a St. Louis-based corporation celebrating its 100th year in business, has begun offering a full range of multi-channel direct marketing services that will prepare them to meet clients' marketing needs for the next hundred years.