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                                   A PRIMER ON
                              ADDRESSING STANDARDS
                        FOR UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
                                    AUTOMATED
                       OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR)
                               AND POSTNET BARCODE
                                  MAIL SORTING

                          How to format address output
                  on labels or envelopes to make maximum use of
                            automated mail processing

                            


                                    Including

                         Letter mail size specifications
                        Address location on the mailpiece
                            OCR readable type styles
                              Address data elements
                          Address format specifications
                             Standard abbreviations
                   POSTNET Barcode interpretation and location
                                USPS publications
                               Shareware programs


                            

                                K. P. McClanahan
                               5787 Sebring Drive
                             Indianapolis 46254-1539
        (Not connected in any way with the United States Postal Service)
                                   April 1993
                                  Revision 2.0

        This document is written for personal computer users everywhere.
             It is not copyright.  It may be freely copied, edited,
                      and distributed or even plagiarized.


        Ŀ
            Disclaimer:  While best efforts have been made to assure   
            the accuracy of the information in this document, it is    
            not intended to be authoritative.  Readers seeking to      
            conform to United States Postal Service standards should   
            consult Postal Service publications listed in the Refer-   
            ence section rather than rely on the information here.     
        



        TABLE OF CONTENTS
        

        Introduction..................................................  1
             Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing...............   1
             Glossary.................................................. 2

        Automated Sorting.............................................  4

        Letter Mail Specifications......................................6
             Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing..................6
             Locating the Address on the Mailpiece....................  6
             Font Characteristics for OCR Reading.......................7

        Address Block Specifications................................... 8
             The Ideal Address Block................................... 8
             Data Elements............................................. 9
             Address Block Format......................................10

        Using Standardized Abbreviations.............................. 22
             United States and its Territories and Possessions.........22
             Canada....................................................23
             Geographical Abbreviations (Directionals).................23
             Street Designators........................................23
             Secondary Unit Designators................................24
             Hispanic Style Addresses..................................25

        POSTNET Barcoding............................................. 26
             Using the POSTNET Barcode.................................26
             Delivery Point Barcode................................... 26
             Barcode Format............................................27
             Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode......................... 27
             Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece.................28

        Facing Identification Mark.....................................30

        Something for Nothing..........................................31

        References.....................................................32




                      A PRIMER ON ADDRESSING STANDARDS FOR
                POSTAL SERVICE AUTOMATED OCR SCANNING AND SORTING

                  Standards and specifications for structuring
                a mailing list database on your personal computer
                        and printing labels or envelopes


        INTRODUCTION
        


        Benefiting from Automated Mail Processing

             Most of us take addressing a letter for granted.  We write
        or type the address--or what we think is the address--on an en-
        velope, stamp it, put it in the mail, and then become angry when
        the Post Office (oops!, Postal Service) takes days or even weeks
        to deliver it across town.

             Well, a lot has changed since that idea has become fixed in
        our collective consciousness.  In the first place, more and more
        mail is being addressed using personal computers at home and in
        the office.  And the Postal Service is into its second generation
        of automated OCR sorting equipment--vast improvements over the
        first versions.  OCR systems now read the address line as well as
        the ZIP Code line in the sorting process.  Yet, even the newer
        Optical Character Recognition scanners can only handle a 40
        character line with at most eight words per line.  Any line ex-
        ceeding those parameters is ignored and the mailpiece is spit out
        for manual sorting.  Thus, the use of standard formats and ab-
        breviations is particularly important to speed mail processing.

             This document is intended as a primer on structuring a
        database and formatting an address to meet USPS OCR and POSTNET
        Barcode specifications.  For some readers the information here
        will not go far enough, and I refer them to USPS publications 25
        and 28 on addressing standards (See References).  For other
        readers, anything that smacks of uniformity and standardization
        is a challenge to be as non-conforming as possible.  Neverthe-
        less, in recent years the hygiene (or etiquette, if your prefer)
        of addressing "mailpieces" has evolved, and a primer such as this
        in order.

             The first section deals with mailpiece dimensions and the
        address block location that can be scanned by OCRs.  The second
        section specifies the structure of an address block, its data
        components, and the preferred or standard specifications for each
        component.  A third section lists most of the USPS specified ab-
        breviations for use in automated sorting.  And the final section
        describes POSTNET barcode usage for readers with access to
        POSTNET Barcode printing programs such as WonderBar 4.1 or Under-
        Bar 2.1 (See References).

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--2
        



        Glossary

             Below are definitions of some less-than-obvious terms or
        terms with specific meanings used in the text.

        Address Block:  The group of address lines on a mailpiece.

        BCS:  BarCode Sorting--Automated sorting equipment and process
             for interpreting the POSTNET barcode and sorting the mail-
             piece.

        BRE:  Business Reply Envelope(s)--Letter mail with prepaid
             postage and the endorsement "Postage will be paid by
             addressee"; in other words a BRM envelope.

        BRM:  Business Reply Mail--Preaddressed, postage-paid-by-
             addressee letter mail that adheres to specific Postal Serv-
             ice regulations. The addressee pays First-Class postage
             (plus a fee) for mail actually received.

        CRM:  Courtesy Reply Mail--Letter mail preaddressed by the ad-
             dressee, but requiring postage.  CRM is similar to BRM and
             is typically used by utilities, credit card companies and
             others for bill payments.

        Delivery Address Line:  The "street" or PO BOX line of an ad-
             dress, directly above the Last Line in a properly formed ad-
             dress.

        Delivery Point Barcode (DPBC): An 11-digit POSTNET barcode that
             identifies every delivery address in the US.

        FIM:  Facing Identification Mark--A barcode printed at the upper
             edge of letter mail to the left of the postage area that
             provides a machine-detectable indicia for automatic facing
             and canceling, particularly for letter mail that does not
             have stamps or meter imprints that can be detected by
             automated sorting equipment.  The FIM is used primarily on
             BRM and CRM, although it may be printed on other letter mail
             as well.

        Last Line:  The CITY, STATE, ZIP line of an address.

        Letter mail:  Mail (mailpieces) meeting specific size standards
             for OCR or BCS processing.

        Mailpiece:  A Postal Service term meaning any item in the mail.



        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--3
        

        OCR:  Optical Character Recognition--an automated process for
             reading typewritten or printed addresses on letter mail.

        OCR Read Area:  The area of a mailpiece which is scanned by wide
             area OCR scanners to optically read the address, print a
             POSTNET barcode, and perform an initial sort.

        POSTNET Barcode:  POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique Barcode--A
             series of long and short bars that encode address informa-
             tion.  It may be printed on a mailpiece by the customer or
             by the Postal Service to facilitate sorting and delivery.

        Range:  The numeric part of a street address or secondary unit.
             In 1234 MAIN ST APT S23,  "1234" is the address range and
             "S23" is the secondary unit range.

        Recipient Line:  The address line above the Delivery Address
             Line.  For residence addresses this is the person for whom
             the mailpiece is intended; for business addresses it is the
             name of the organization.

        Secondary Unit Indicator:  An additional address specifier fol-
             lowing the street address for apartment, room, building,
             etc.

        State designator:  The two-character alphabetic abbreviation for
             states, territories, possessions, and FPO/APO military ad-
             dresses of the United States and for provinces and ter-
             ritories in Canada.

        ZIP Code:  Zone Improvement Program Code--A five digit number
             placed after the state designator that specifies a Postal
             Service delivery zone.

        ZIP+4 Code:  A numeric code placed after the ZIP code, and
             separated from it by a hyphen, providing additional sorting
             information.  The Zip+4 Code may now consist of a hyphen and
             4 or 7 numerals (the 7 numerals are allowed only if the
             mailpiece is barcoded by the customer before mailing accord-
             ing to Delivery Point Barcode standards).












        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--4
        


        AUTOMATED SORTING
        

             Basically, the Postal Service processing system is comprised
        of four sorting levels:

        Level 1:  Preliminary Sorting
        
             Advanced facer-cancelers which face mail properly, can-
             cel postage and separate machine addressed letters for
             processing on optical character readers.  These machines
             also read Facing Identification Mark patterns on busi-
             ness reply and courtesy reply mail and separate it for
             further automated processing.

        Level 2:  OCR Scanning/Sorting
        
             High-speed optical character readers (OCRs) that read
             machine printed addresses on letter mail, print a
             POSTNET barcode in the lower right corner of each mail-
             piece and perform an "initial sort."  OCRs are capable
             of reading, barcoding and sorting mail at a rate of 10
             pieces per second (compared to one piece per second for
             manual barcoding).

        Level 3:  POSTNET Barcode Scanning/Sorting
        
             High-speed barcode sorters (BCSs) designed to read
             POSTNET barcodes on letter mail and sort it accordingly.
             Mail "prebarcoded" by postal customers bypasses OCR and
             other sorting operations for direct BCS processing.

        Level 4:  Manual Barcoding
        
             Remote Barcoding Systems (RBCSs) which provide a means
             of barcoding letter mail that is not "prebarcoded" by
             postal customers, nor "OCR readable."  RBCSs are much
             more efficient and perform more functions than the older
             mechanized means of sorting mail but are still slower
             than automated sorting.  RBCS operates at one piece per
             second.

             OCRs are designed to read machine printed addresses informa-
        tion on letter mail and convert that information into a postal
        barcode, which it prints on the mailpiece.  To read the delivery
        address, the OCR must be able to find it.  Once the scanner lo-
        cates the address, it must be able to see all elements clearly.
        Thus, location on the mailpiece and print quality are important.
        If address characters are excessively slanted or touch each


        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--5
        

        other, or if there is not sufficient contrast between the back-
        ground and the address characters, the OCR can't accurately read
        the address.

             After successfully reading the address, the OCR searches its
        files for the same address.  Once found, it prints the ZIP+4 and
        Delivery Point Barcode in the lower right corner of the mail-
        piece.  The OCR then performs an "initial sort" based on the bar-
        code it just printed.  From that point on, the mail is sorted on
        high speed barcode sorters from origin to the letter carriers who
        will deliver it.

             Unlike OCRs, barcode sorters ignore all alpha/numeric print-
        ing and read only POSTNET barcodes.  The wide area scanners on
        BCSs read barcodes printed in the address area as well as in the
        conventional lower right corner.  Mail is therefore processed
        much faster.



































        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--6
        


        LETTER MAIL SPECIFICATIONS
        


        Letter Mail Dimensions for OCR Processing

             Although postal OCRs and BCSs can sort a variety of letter-
        mail sizes, it's necessary that the mailpieces be rectangular and
        fall between the minimum and maximum dimensions in Table 1.
        Otherwise, the pieces tend to tumble and jam during transport. To
        determine if your mail meets the needed "aspect ratio" (is suffi-
        ciently rectangular), divide the length by the height.  If the
        answer falls between 1.3 and 2.5, and your mail is within the
        size ranges shown in Table 1, it is "machinable."

                       Letter Mail Dimensions (inches)
                   Ŀ
                    Dimensions    Minimum     Maximum  
                   Ĵ
                    Height         3-1/2"     6-1/8"   
                    Length          5"       11-1/2"   
                    Thickness      .007"*       1/4"   
                   
                                  TABLE 1

                   *Letter mail should be at least .009" in
                    thicknesses if it exceeds 4-1/4" in
                    height or 6" in length.

                    The length of a mailpiece is the dimension
                    parallel to lines of the delivery address.

             For example, a 4" x 5" (height x length) envelope is not
        "machinable" since its aspect ratio is 1.25 (5 divided by 4),
        wile a 4" x 6" envelope is machinable with its 1.5 aspect ratio,
        even though both envelopes are within the parameters of Table 1.


        Locating the Address on the Mailpiece

             The left edge of the delivery address block (the address)
        shouldbe located within 10-1/2" of the right edge of letter mail
        measuring between 10-1/2" and 11-1/2" in length.  The address
        block should be completely within an area no higher than 2-3/4"
        and no lower than 5/8" from the bottom edge of the mailpiece.






        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--7
        


        50% of lengthĴ
        Ŀ
                                      33% of     FIM       POSTAGE   
            RETURN ADDRESS AREA       height     AREA        AREA    
                                     
            Ŀ    
              2-3/4" from bottom edge of piece to top of area       
        1\2"                                                    1/2"
                            OCR READ AREA                           
                       Print address or place label                 
                             in this area                           
                                                                    
                                                                    
            Ĵ
                  5\8"                       BARCODE CLEAR AREA      
        
                                         4-3/4"Ĵ

                                    Figure 1


        Font Characteristics for OCR Reading

             Because they are more easily read by OCRs, type styles
        (fonts) described as "simple sans serif" (nonserifed) are recom-
        mended for printing the delivery address.  As a general rule,
        type styles defined as light, bold, extended or condensed should
        not be used.  Another rule of thumb is to avoid type styles that
        contain numbers which are more likely to be misread by OCRs than
        others.  These include styles with "flat top threes", which may
        be read as fives, and sixes or nines which may appear as eights
        to an OCR.  Italic, highly-stylized, and script-like styles
        should also be avoided.  Dot matrix characters are OCR readable
        if the dots, that form each character, touch each other, or are
        not separated by more than .005".  [Note:  some of the type
        styles tested and approved are Standard Typewriter, Helvetica
        (Geneva), Futura Medium, Univers, News Gothic, and Century Light
        Schoolbook.  Avoid Times Roman and similar styles.]

             OCRs will read type sizes between 8 and 18 point.  The
        recommended type size is 10 or 12 point (standard typewriter
        Elite--12 characters per inch or Pica--10 characters per inch).
        Kerning should not be used, and at least a space of two points
        (1/36") should separate lines.  The address should not be slanted
        (or skewed) more than 5 degrees, relative to the bottom edge of
        the mailpiece--especially important with address labels, since
        OCRs can't read crooked labels.




        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--8
        


        ADDRESS BLOCK SPECIFICATIONS
        

             In a perfect world, all that would be needed to identify a
        particular state and delivery area would be the ZIP Code.  The
        city and state is actually redundant.  Unfortunately, the Postal
        Sevice wants the redundancy since a great deal of ZIPped mail is
        incorrect.  In fact, they're kinda cranky if you leave out the
        city and state.  Too many people inadvertantly transpose digits
        in the ZIP Code.  The city and state names serve as a cross
        check, allowing the Postal Service to correct customer errors
        avoiding the infamous "Return to Sender" rubber stamp.  In addi-
        tion, in rural areas or small towns with a ZIP Code that serves
        several named localities, the city and state actually assist in
        sorting.  So, even with a 5-, 9-, or 11 digit code, the complete
        address is required.


        The Ideal Address Block

             The address block on a properly addressed mailpiece follows
        a specific format.

                        A well-formed residence address:

                            MR JOHN DOE
                            1234 N WILLOWBY ST APT 101
                            ANYTOWN US  12345-6789

            All lines of an address block are formatted with a flush
             left margin and are within 5 degrees of parallel with
             the bottom edge of the mailpiece.

            Each line of the address is no longer than 40 characters
             and consists of no more than eight elements (e.g. num-
             bers, words, and abbreviations separated by spaces).

            Uppercase letters only are used (although lower-case
             letters in a number of styles, particularly standard
             typewriter Courier are acceptable).

            A sans serif, fixed pitch, 12 point font is used, al-
             though Courier is acceptable.  Script fonts and fonts
             with curved serifs such as Times Roman, are not accept-
             able for OCR scanning.  Kerning must not be used.

            No punctuation except a period, slash or hyphen in the
             address range (e.g.: 39.2 or 1/2 or 345-10) and hyphen
             in the ZIP+4 code is used.  No commas, no periods, no
             quotes, no percentage signs, no pound signs (designating

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--9
        

             apartment number, for instance), no parentheses, nor as-
             terisk are used.  Only the characters A-Z, numerals 0-9,
             "/", ".", and "-" are appropriate.

            Only one space separates address elements, except two
             spaces separate the state designator and the ZIP Code or
             ZIP+4.


        Data Elements

             In conjunction with the direct mail industry, the USPS has
        defined a set of 27 data elements, particular to business-to-
        business mailings (which are the most difficult addressing
        challenges).

           Company/Contact Information:
           

             Name Prefix                   (MS, MR, PROF, DR etc.)
             First Name
             Middle Name or Initial
             Surname
             Suffix Title                  (JR, III and PHD, JD, etc.)
             Professional Title            (PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER)
             Functional Title              (DESIGN MANAGER)
             Division/Department Name      (BRAKE DIVISION)
             Mailstop Code                 (MSC 123)


           Distribution and Delivery Address Information:
           

             Street Number
             Predirectional                (N, E, S, W, NE)
             Street Name                   (OAK)
             Street Suffix                 (ST, AVE, BLVD)
             Postdirectional               (N, E, S, W, NW)
             Secondary Unit Indicator      (APT, BLDG, RM)
             Secondary Range (number)      (234)
             Company Name                  (BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED)
             PO BOX Number                 (PO BOX 12345)
             City                          (ANYTOWN)
             State                         (US)
             ZIP Code                      (12345)
             ZIP+4 code                    (-6789)
             Carrier Route Code            (CR23) [only for bulk mail]
             Optional Endorsement
             Key Line Code
             POSTNET Barcode
             POSTNET Address Block Barcode

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--10
        


        Address Block Format

             Postal Service OCR equipment looks for specific information
        at specific locations within the address block.  Consequently,
        each line in an address has meaning in the automated sorting
        process. (Also see line wrapping below.)


                           Line-Specific Data Elements
        Ŀ
         Line                                                          
         Number    Line Designation              Example               
        Ĵ
         1*      Optional Endorsement Line   #ABCDEFE#*******CR02      
         2**     Key Line Data               #ABCDEFGJKLMNOP/1234456   
         3**     POSTNET Address Block                                 
                 Barcode                                   
         4***    Mailstop Code               MSC 123                   
         5***    Attention Line              MS MILDRED SMITH          
         6***    Individual Title            PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER     
         7***    Functional Title            DESIGN MANAGER            
         8***    Group, Division,                                      
                  Department Name            BRAKE DIVISION            
         9*      Recipient Line              BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED 
        10*      Delivery Address            12 E BUSINESS LN STE 209  
        11*      Last Line                   ANYTOWN US  12345-6789    
        12*     Country (if not USA)         GERMANY                   
        
                                    Table 2

               *  These lines directly affect USPS distribution and
                  must be included on all mailpieces, except for line
                  number 1 which is only required for bulk, presorted
                  mail.

              **  These lines are required for some USPS programs.

             ***  These lines are optional, but may be needed for
                  distribution within a particular business location.

           Note:  The POSTNET barcode above uses ASCII characters for
                  display purposes only.  These are not valid barcode
                  characters for mailpieces.








        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--11
        


        LAST LINE
                        For automated processing, the format of
                                 the last line is particularly vital.  It
                                 contains the City, State and ZIP Code or
                                 ZIP+4 information. It is strongly recom-
                                 mended that only approved last line
                                 (city or place) names as listed in the
                                 Postal Service City State File currently
                                 in effect be used.

                                 A hyphen must separate the first five
                                 and last four numerals in the ZIP+4
                                 code.  No other punctuation should be
                                 used.

                                 City names should be spelled out com-
                                 pletely.  However, when 13-character ab-
                                 breviations must be used due to labeling
                                 constraints.  The 13-character abbrevia-
                                 tions provided in the City State File
                                 must be used.

                                      WEST STOCKBRIDGE becomes
                                      W STOCKBRIDGE

                                      NEWBERRY SPRINGS becomes
                                      NEWBERRY SPGS

                                 One space should separate the city name
                                 and two-character state abbreviation.
                                 Two spaces are preferred between the
                                 state abbreviation and ZIP+4 code.


        DELIVERY ADDRESS LINE
        
           Components            The components of the delivery address
                                 line are the:
                                      primary address number
                                      predirectional
                                      street name
                                      suffix
                                      postdirectional
                                      secondary address indicator
                                      secondary address range.

                                      101 W MAIN ST E APT 12




        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--12
        

           Punctuation           Punctuation in the delivery address line
                                 is limited to periods, slashes, and
                                 hyphens where such punctuation is sig-
                                 nificant in local addresses.

                                      Periods:  39.2 RD
                                      Slashes:  101 1/2 MAIN ST
                                      Hyphens:  289-01 MONTGOMERY AVE
                                 Hyphens in primary address numbers are
                                 usually significant and must be used.
                                 Hyphens in street names are normally not
                                 significant and should be replaced with
                                 spaces.

                                      455-01 MID-ISLAND PLZ becomes
                                      455-01 MID ISLAND PLZ

           Directionals          Abbreviate directionals (if they are one
                                 of the eight standard directionals
                                 listed below) to the appropriate one or
                                 two character abbreviations.

                                      234 NW SMITH ST
                                      61781 ROBERTS DR S
                                      1101 N BAY DR
                                      599 S BAY BLVD SW

                                 However, do not abbreviate the second
                                 PREdirectional, reading left to right if
                                 two directionals occur together:

                                      5000 SOUTH EAST END AVENUE becomes
                                      5000 S EAST END AVE

                                      1274 WEST SOUTH OAK ST becomes
                                      1274 W SOUTH OAK ST
                                 But:
                                      405 SOUTHEAST MAIN STREET becomes
                                      405 SE MAIN ST

                                 The same rule applies to POSTdirection-
                                 als, except the first (reading left to
                                 right) is not abbreviated.

                                      MAPLE CT NORTH WEST becomes
                                      MAPlE CT NORTH W

                                 But, where local usage (refer to the lo-
                                 cal USPS Address Information System)
                                 uses alphabetic designators, spell out
                                 post directionals to avoid confusion

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--13
        


                                 If local streets are designated

                                      FOOLS BAY A DR
                                      FOOLS BAY B DR

                                 then spell out the postdesignator for

                                      FOOLS BAY WEST DR

           Numeric Street Names  Spell out numeric street names only when
                                 there are duplicate street names within
                                 a postal delivery area, and the only
                                 distinguishing factor is that one is
                                 spelled out. (The street name should be
                                 shown exactly as it is listed in the na-
                                 tional USPS ZIP+4 File).

                                      SEVENTH AVE to distinguish it from
                                      7th ST

           Highways and Roads    Road and highway names are the exception
                                 to the general rule that address com-
                                 ponents should be abbreviated where
                                 standards are in place.  Road names
                                 should be spelled out if length restric-
                                 tions permit.  However, if the name of a
                                 state is only part of the primary street
                                 name, the standard two letter abbrevia-
                                 tion should be used.  For example:

                                      COUNTY RD 440 becomes
                                      COUNTY ROAD 440

                                      I10 becomes
                                      INTERSTATE 10

                                      HWY 66 becomes
                                      HIGHWAY 66

                                      CALIFORNIA COUNTY ROAD 555 becomes
                                      CA COUNTY ROAD 555

                                      KENTUCKY ST HWY 334 becomes
                                      KY STATE HIGHWAY 334

                                      HWY 11 BYPASS becomes
                                      HIGHWAY 11 BYPS

                                      HWY 31 BYPS ROAD becomes
                                      HIGHWAY 31 BYPASS RD

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--14
        


                                 Other examples:

                                      101 S COUNTY ROAD 20 E
                                      11216 COUNTY HIGHWAY 140
                                      1501 HIGHWAY 50
                                      220 INTERSTATE 680
                                      22604 ROAD 123
                                      1605 STATE HIGHWAY 335
                                      7890 STATE ROUTE 45
                                      115 US HIGHWAY 41
                                      3000 TOWNSHIP ROAD 20
                                      1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE

           Rural Route           Use the designator RR for rural routes
                                 and HC for highway contract routes:

                                      RFD 4 BOX 122-1A becomes
                                      RR 4 BOX 122-1A

                                      STAR ROUTE 4 BOX 227 becomes
                                      HC 4 BOX 227

                                 There should be no additional designa-
                                 tions, such as town or street names used
                                 on the delivery address line.  If secon-
                                 dary street names are used, they should
                                 be on the line above the delivery ad-
                                 dress line.

                                      DAVIS FARM RD
                                      RR 22 BOX 17

           General Delivery      The designation GENERAL DELIVERY is the
                                 only information on the delivery address
                                 line.  The final four digits of the
                                 ZIP+4 code will be 9999.

           Post Office Boxes     Post Office boxes should be in the
                                 PO BOX nn format.  Other designations
                                 such as "Postal Drawer L", "Caller
                                 Box L", or "Lockbox L" should be changed
                                 to PO BOX L.









        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--15
        


                                 Private mail boxes are not allowed to
                                 use the PO BOX nn designation.  Instead,
                                 use the mailstop code above the atten-
                                 tion or recipient line.

                                      MSC 127
                                      MR JOHN DOE
                                      1234 MAIN ST

                                 The delivery line address is the stan-
                                 dardized address of the private company
                                 renting mail boxes.


        DUAL ADDRESSING
        
                                 The use of dual delivery addresses such
                                 as both a street address and a post of-
                                 fice box is not recommended.  If dual
                                 addressing is used, one delivery desig-
                                 nation should be placed on the Delivery
                                 Address Line and the other on the line
                                 immediately above.  Mail will be
                                 delivered to the address on the Delivery
                                 Address Line, and for that reason the
                                 ZIP Code should reflect that address.

                                      GRAND PRODUCTS INC
                                      100 MAJOR ST
                                      PO BOX 200 <Mail will be
                                      ANYTOWN US  12345    delivered here


        MILITARY ADDRESSES
        
                                 The delivery line for all APO/FPO
                                 military mail must be standardized as
                                 follows:

                                      PSC (or UNIT) nnnn BOX mmmm
                                      or
                                      Ship name

                                      SEAMAN JOSEPH EGOR
                                      B DIVISION
                                      USS SEA DEVIL SNN-664
                                      FPO AA  34093-2344




        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--16
        


                                      SSGT ROBERT ROBERTS
                                      PSC 802 BOX 2625
                                      APO AE  09777-0010

                                 Note that the "state" abbreviation AE is
                                 for Armed Forces Canada, Europe, the
                                 Middle East and Africa; AA for Armed
                                 Forces Central and South America, and AP
                                 for Armed Forces Pacific.


        PUERTO RICO
        
                                 Addresses in Puerto Rico follow slightly
                                 different standards even though served
                                 by the USPS and generally use Hispanic
                                 designators.  See USPS Publication 28
                                 for specific information.


        INTERNATIONAL MAIL
        
                                 The bottom line of the address should
                                 show only the COUNTRY NAME in full (no
                                 abbreviations) in capital letters. Do
                                 not place the foreign postal code on the
                                 bottom line.

                                      INGE DIETRICH-FISCHER
                                      HARTMANNSTRASSE 7
                                      5300 BONN 1
                                      GERMANY


        CANADA ONLY
        
                                 Either of the following formats for
                                 Canada only may be used:

                                      MS HELEN SAUNDERS
                                      101 CLEAR STREET
                                      OTTAWA ON  K1A 0B1
                                      CANADA

                                      MS HELEN SAUNDERS
                                      1010 CLEAR STREET
                                      OTTAWA ON CANADA
                                      K1A 0B1



        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--17
        


        UNUSUAL ADDRESSES
        
                                 There are a number of situations that
                                 create standardization problems.

                                 Hyphens in address range, particularly
                                 in New York City and Hawaii:

                                      112-10 BRONX RD

                                 The hyphens are significant and should
                                 not be removed.

                                 Grid-style addresses:

                                      842 E 650 S

                                 E is a Predirectional, S is a postdirec-
                                 tional, and 650 is located in the
                                 primary name (street) field.  (This ad-
                                 dress is equivalent to
                                 842 E COUNTY ROAD 650 S in certain
                                 areas.)

                                 Combination address ranges such as
                                 N6W23001 BLUEMOUND RD as found in Wis-
                                 consin.

                                 Fractional addresses such as 123 1/2
                                 MAIN ST require a space before the "1/2"
                                 and must not use the "" character found
                                 on ASCII computers and some typewriters.

                                 Foreign words in addresses, particularly
                                 Spanish and French words in street ad-
                                 dresses are handled individually:

                                      CALLE RIO GRANDE
                                      RUE ROYALE


        ADDRESS FITTING
        
                                 The USPS OCR equipment can read a maxi-
                                 mum of 40 characters per line within a
                                 maximum of 8 separate words per line.
                                 If either parameter is exceeded, the OCR
                                 will ignore the entire line, forcing the
                                 mailpiece to be manually sorted.


        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--18
        

                                 If it is necessary to reduce the number
                                 of words or characters from business ad-
                                 dress data elements, use the following
                                 steps IN THE ORDER LISTED.

           Abbreviate            Use the standard business and address
                                 word abbreviations for address data ele-
                                 ments, but only when necessary.

                                      MS MILDRED DOE
                                      PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
                                      BRAKE DIVISION
                                      BIG BUSINESS INCORPORATED
                                      12 EAST BUSINESS LANE SUITE 12
                                      ANYTOWN US  12345-6789

                                 when fully abbreviated becomes

                                      MS MILDRED DOE
                                      PRO ENGR
                                      BIG BUS INC
                                      12 E BUSINESS LN STE 12
                                      ANYTOWN US  12345-6789

           Special Characters    Remove any punctuation and special
                                 characters from the address unless
                                 required as part of the address.

           Abbreviate State      When a state name appears in a business
                                 address, and the address must be com-
                                 pressed due to space restrictions, use
                                 the standard state abbreviation.
                                 (However, the full spelling is preferred
                                 whenever possible.)

                                      VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION

                                 becomes

                                      VA CONSTRUCTION CORP

                                      1435 VIRGINIA HILL WAY

                                 becomes

                                      1435 VA HILL WAY






        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--19
        

           Remove Words          Remove certain words listed below.
                                 However, using standard abbreviations is
                                 preferred over word removal.

                                      Replace " and " with a space
                                      Replace " & " with a space
                                      Replace number words such as
                                      "first" with "1ST"
                                      Remove "etc.", "% care of", "et al"
                                      Remove words such as: "the", "of",
                                      "by", "for", "at", "also"
                                      Remove "ATTENTION" and "ATTN"
                                      Remove titles such as "PHD", "MD",
                                      "DR", "RN", etc.

           Wrap Information      When address information will not fit on
                                 one line, wrap (move) the additional in-
                                 formation to either the line above or
                                 below, as indicated.  However, standard
                                 abbreviations are preferred to wrapping.

                                 No Wrap         1.  Optional Endorsement
                                 No Wrap         2.  Key Line Data
                                 No Wrap         3.  POSTNET Address
                                                     Block Barcode
                                 Wrap Down       4.  Mailstop Code
                                 Wrap Down       5.  Attention Line
                                 Wrap Down       6.  Individual Title
                                 Wrap Down       7.  Functional Title
                                 Wrap Down       8   Group, Division
                                 Wrap Down       9.  Recipient Name
                                 Wrap Up*       10.  Delivery Address
                                 Wrap Down**    11.  Last Line

                                  *   When the secondary address informa-
                                      tion, such as a room or suite num-
                                      ber will not fit on the delivery
                                      address line, it should be placed
                                      on the line directly above.

                                      1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW STE 5678

                                 becomes

                                      STE 5678
                                      1234 W MISSISSIPPI ST NW

                                 **   If the city, state and ZIP+4 will
                                      not fit on the last line, move the
                                      ZIP+4 to the next line down, flush
                                      left.

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--20
        

                                      ANYTOWN, US 12345-6789 becomes
                                      ANYTOWN, US
                                      12345-6789

           Remove Repeats        Remove repetitive words.

                                      GOODMAN GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW

                                      becomes

                                      GOODMAN WILSON AND HARLOW

           Substitute Endings    To fit addresses to a 40-character line,
                                      change word endings.

                                      an   to n
                                      cr   to r
                                      ial  to l
                                      al   to l
                                      ies  to s
                                      es   to s
                                      ed   to d
                                      ing  to ng
                                      tion to tn

           Last Words            If the last word of an address line is
                                 any of those listed below, first replace
                                 the word with the standard abbreviation.
                                 If additional compression is required
                                 remove the word or its abbreviation.

                                 This step can be applied only to address
                                 lines #6, 7, 8, and 9.

                                      ADMINISTRATION      ADMIN
                                      AGENCY              AGCY
                                      BRANCH              BRNCH, BR
                                      CENTER              CTR
                                      COMPANY             CO
                                      CORPORATION         CORP
                                      DIVISION            DIV
                                      ENTERPRISE(S)       ENT
                                      GOVERNMENT          GOVT
                                      GROUP               GROUP
                                      HEADQUARTERS        HQ
                                      INCORPORATED        INC
                                      LABORATORY[IES]     LAB, LABS
                                      LIMITED             LTD
                                      MANAGEMENT          MGT
                                      MANUFACTURER        MFR
                                      MANUFACTURING       MFG

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--21
        

                                      MUNICIPAL           MNCPL
                                      NATIONAL            NATL
                                      PARTNERSHIP         PRTNRSHP
                                      SYSTEM              SYS

           Vowel Removal         From the right side of the address line,
                                 beginning with the right most word,
                                 remove vowels as necessary on a word-
                                 by-word basis to achieve desired com-
                                 pression.  Leave the last vowel, and if
                                 the first character of a word is a
                                 vowel, do not remove that character.  It
                                 is also recommended that vowels not be
                                 removed from the left most words.






































        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--22
        


        USING STANDARDIZED ABBREVIATIONS
        

             Postal Service abbreviations fall into two categories
        depending on where they are used in the address block.  Standard
        abbreviations should always be used in the last line (city,
        state, ZIP), and in the delivery address line (street address)
        according to the general rules outlined above.

             Abbreviations in the company/contact (recipient information)
        lines should be used to meet the 40 character OCR limitation.  In
        an effort toward standardization, USPS Publication 28 provides 38
        pages of standardized business word abbreviations in addition to
        those below.

           Listed here are some of the more important abbreviations for
        use in the delivery address line and last line of an address
        block.

        United States and its Territories and Possessions

             Alabama             AL             Minnesota      MN
             Alaska              AK             Mississippi    MS
             American Samoa      AS             Missouri       MO
             Arizona             AZ             Montana        MT
             Arkansas            AR             Nebraska       NE
             California          CA             Nevada         NV
             Colorado            CO             New Hampshire  MH
             Connecticut         CT             New Jersey     NJ
             Delaware            DE             New Mexico     NM
             District of                        New York       NY
               Columbia          DC             North Carolina NC
             Federated States                   North Dakota   ND
               of Micronesia     FM             Northern Mariana
             Florida             FL              Islands       MP
             Georgia             GA             Ohio           OH
             Guam                GU             Oklahoma       OK
             Hawaii              HI             Oregon         OR
             Idaho               ID             Palau          PW
             Illinois            IL             Pennsylvania   PA
             Indiana             IN             Puerto Rico    PR
             Iowa                IA             Rhode Island   RI
             Kansas              KS             South Carolina SC
             Kentucky            KY             South Dakota   SD
             Louisiana           LA             Tennessee      TN
             Maine               ME             Texas          TX
             Marshall Islands    MH             Utah           UT
             Maryland            MD             Vermont        VT
             Massachusetts       MA             Virginia       VA
             Michigan            MI             Virgin Islands VI

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--23
        

             Washington          WA          Arcade            ARC
             West Virginia       WV          Avenue            AVE
             Wisconsin           WI          Bayou             BYU
             Wyoming             WY          Beach             BCH
                                             Bend              BND
             Armed Forces                    Bluff(s)          BLF
               Central and South             Bottom            BTM
               America           AA          Boulevard         BLVD
             Armed Forces                    Branch            BR
               Canada, Europe,               Bridge            BRG
               Africa, and the               Brook             BRK
               Middle East       AE          Burg              GB
             Armed Forces                    Bypass            BYP
               Pacific           AP          Camp              CP
                                             Canyon            CYN
                                             Cape              CPE
        Canada      Causeway          CSWY
                                             Center            CTR
             Alberta             AB          Circle            CIR
             British Columbia    BC          Cliffs            CLFS
             Manitoba            MB          Club              CLB
             New Brunswick       NB          Corner            COR
             Newfoundland        NF          Corners           CORS
             Northwest                       Course            CRSE
               Territories       NT          Court             CT
             Nova Scotia         NS          Courts            CTS
             Ontario             ON          Cove(s)           CV
             Prince Edward                   Creek             CRK
               Island            PE          Crescent          CRES
             Quebec              PQ          Crossing          XING
             Saskatchewan        SK          Dale              DL
             Yukon Territory     YT          Dam               DM
                                             Divide            DV
                                             Drive(s)          DR
        Geographical Abbreviations           Estate(s)         EST
        (Directionals)      Expressway        EXPY
                                             Extension         EXT
             North               N           Fall              FALL
             East                E           Falls             FLS
             South               S           Ferry             FRY
             West                W           Field             FLD
             Northeast           NE          Fields            FLDS
             Southeast           SE          Flat(s)           FLT
             Northwest           NW          Ford(s)           FRD
             Southwest           SW          Forest            FRST
                                             Forge             FRG
                                             Fork              FRK
        Street Designators      Forks             FRKS
                                             Fort              FT
             Alley               ALY         Freeway           FWY
             Annex               ANX         Gardens           GDNS

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--24
        

             Gateway             GTWY        Radial            RADL
             Glen(s)             GLN         Ranch(es)         RNCH
             Green(s)            GRN         Rapids            RPDS
             Grove(s)            GRV         Rest              RST
             Harbor(s)           HBR         Ridge             RDG
             Haven               HVN         Ridge(s)          RDG
             Height(s)           HTS         River             RIV
             Highway             HWY         Road              RD
             Hill                HL          Row               ROW
             Hills               HLS         Run               RUN
             Hollow(s)           HOLW        Shoal             SHL
             Inlet               INLT        Shoals            SHLS
             Island              IS          Shore             SHR
             Islands             ISS         Shores            SHRS
             Isle(s)             ISLE        Spring            SPG
             Junction(s)         JCT         Springs           SPGS
             Key(s)              KY          Spur(s)           SPUR
             Knoll(s)            KNLS        Square(s)         SQ
             Lake                LK          Station           STA
             Lakes               LKS         Stravenue         STRA
             Landing             LNDG        Stream            STRM
             Lane(s)             LN          Street            ST
             Light(s)            LGT         Summit            SMT
             Loaf                LF          Terrace           TER
             Locks               LKS         Trace(s)          TRCE
             Lodge               LDG         Track(s)          TRAK
             Loop(s)             LOOP        Trafficway        TRFY
             Mall                MALL        Trail(s)          TRL
             Manor(s)            MNR         Trailer           TRLR
             Meadow(s)           MDWS        Tunnel(s)         TUNL
             Mill                ML          Turnpike          TPKE
             Mills               MLS         Union(s)          UN
             Mission             MSN         Valley            VLY
             Mount               MT          Valley(s)         VLY
             Mountain(s)         MTM         Viaduct           VIA
             Neck                NCK         View(s)           VW
             Orchard             ORCH        Village(s)        VLG
             Oval                OVAL        Ville             VL
             Park(s)             PARK        Vista             VIS
             Parkway(s)          PKY         Walk(s)           WALK
             Pass                PASS        Way(s)            WAY
             Path(s)             PATH        Well(s)           WLS
             Pike(s)             PIKE
             Pines               PNES     Secondary Unit Designators
             Place               PL
             Plain               PLN         Apartment         APT
             Plains              PLNS        Building          BLDG
             Plaza               PLZ         Department        DEPT
             Point(s)            PT          Floor             FL
             Port(s)             PRT         Hanger            HNGR
             Prairie             PR          Lot               LOT

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--25
        

             Pier                PIER     Hispanic Style Addresses
             Room                RM
             Slip                SLIP        Avenida           AVE
             Suite               STE         Calle             CLL
             Stop                STOP        Caminto           CMT
             Trailer             TRLS        Cerrada           CER
             Unit                UNIT        Circulo           CIR
             Basement            BSMT*       Entrada           ENT
             Front               FRNT*       Paseo             PSO
             Lower               LOWR*       Placita           PLA
             Lobby               LBBY*       Rancho            RCH
             Office              OFC*        Vereda            VER
             Penthouse           PH*         Vista             VIS
             Side                SIDE*
             Rear                REAR*
             Upper               UPR*

             *These do not require the
             use of a secondary RANGE
             (number) to follow.
































        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--26
        

        POSTNET BARCODING
        

             This section describes the POSTNET (POSTal Numeric Encoding
        Technique) barcode and shows you where to locate it on the mail-
        piece and how to read it manually.  The text has been excerpted
        and edited from USPS Publication 25, "Designing Business Letter
        Mail," August 1992 (see References).  The complete publication is
        available from the Business Services Unit of most larger Postal
        Service offices.  It contains full POSTNET barcode specifica-
        tions.


        Using the POSTNET Barcode

             The POSTNET barcode was developed by the Postal Service to
        encode ZIP Code information on letter mail, which can be read
        rapidly and reliably by relatively inexpensive barcode sorters.
        The barcode may represent a five-digit ZIP Code (32 bars), a
        nine-digit ZIP+4 code (52 bars), or an eleven-digit delivery
        point code (62 bars).

             Postal customers may preprint POSTNET barcodes on outgoing
        letter size pieces, as well as on business reply and courtesy
        reply mail (see below).


        Delivery Point Barcode

             The Delivery Point BarCode (DPBC) was developed by the
        Postal Service to uniquely identify each of the 115 million
        delivery points in the Untied States.  It forms the system foun-
        dation for virtually eliminating the time used by carriers to
        sort letter mail prior to delivery.  The DPBC is formed by adding
        10 bars to an existing ZIP+4 barcode.  The 10 bars represent two
        additional numbers (normally the last two numbers of the street
        address, post office box, rural route or highway contract box).

             Postal customers who apply DPBCs may print the numeric
        equivalent of the DPBC on the last line of the address.  The
        numeric equivalent is formed by adding three numbers immediately
        after the ZIP+4 code.  The first two numbers correspond to the
        DPBC address coding rules, and the last number is the correction
        character.  When read from left to right, a correctly formatted
        DPBC numeric equivalent consists of five numbers, a hyphen, and
        seven numbers.






        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--27
        

        Barcode Format

             Whether it represents 5-, 9- or 11-digit ZIP code informa-
        tion, the POSTNET code should always be printed in a format that
        begins and ends with a "frame bar" (full or tall bar).  To ensure
        POSTNET accuracy during processing, it's also necessary that a
        "correction character" (five bars) be included immediately before
        the right-most frame bar of all POSTNET codes.  The correction
        character is always the number which, when added to the sum of
        other digits in the barcode, results in a total that is a mul-
        tiple of 10.  For example, the sum of ZIP+4 code 12345-6789 is
        45.  Adding a correction character of 5 results in the sum of the
        10 digits being a multiple of 10.

             MARK POLLAN              Correction character
             101 MAIN ST                sum of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,1
             ANYTOWN, US  12345-6789014  plus 4 to equal multiple of 10
                                    
                                    Last two numbers of
                                            the primary street address


        Interpreting the POSTNET Barcode

             The basic elements of the POSTNET barcode are binary digits,
        represented as full bars and half bars.  Full bars represent "1"s
        and half bars represent "0"s. Each code character is made up of 5
        bars which represent a single numeric digit.  Specific combina-
        tions of 2 full bars and 3 half bars represent the numbers 0
        through 9.  Only the 10 combinations shown below are valid code
        characters.  Note that they represent all possible combinations
        of 2 full bars and 3 half bars.  This feature is central to the
        error recovery feature of POSTNET, since reading a combination of
        5 bars containing other than 2 full and 3 half bars will be in-
        terpreted as an error by the system.

















        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--28
        

                       Numeric    Bar Position Weights
                        Value      74210   7 4 2 1 0

                         1         00011       

                         2         00101       

                         3         00110       

                         4         01001       

                         5         01010       

                         6         01100       

                         7         10001       

                         8         10010       

                         9         10100       

                         0         11000       

             With the exception of zero, the numeric value of each valid
        combination of 5 bars may be determined by adding the "weights"
        of the 2 positions occupied by the full bars ("1"s).  From left
        to right, the bar positions are weighted 7, 4, 2, 1, and 0.  For
        example, the combination 01010 contains a full bar in the second
        (weight 4) and fourth (weight 1) positions.  Adding 4 and 1
        yields 5, which is the assigned value of this combination.  The
        only exception to this rule is combination 11000 which has a to-
        tal weight of 11, but has been assigned a value of zero.


        Locating POSTNET Barcode on the Mailpiece

             When applied to outgoing letter mail by postal customers,
        the POSTNET barcode may be printed in the lower right corner or
        as part of the address block, either directly on the mailpiece or
        on a label affixed in the OCR Address Read Area.


        Address Block Option
        

             If the address block option is used, the preferred location
        for the barcode is in the upper portion of the address, above the
        recipient's name.  The barcode may also be printed below the
        city, state and ZIP Code line of the address.  If a non-address
        data line is present, the preferred location is above the
        recipient's name, but below the optional non-address line.  If

        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--29
        

        preferred, however, the barcode may be applied above that infor-
        mation.  The POSTNET code should not be applied in any location
        between the name of the recipient and the city, state, ZIP Code
        line of the address.

             (Note: these are ASCII display characters for screen
             viewing and are not valid as POSTNET bars.

           Preferred
                                  

                  BONNIE A LEE
                  PO BOX 6789
                  ANYTOWN MD  12345-6789

           Acceptable
                  BONNIE A LEE
                  PO BOX 6789
                  ANYTOWN MD  12345-6789

                                   

           Preferred
                  #JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80
                                  

                  BONNIE A LEE
                  PO BOX 6789
                  ANYTOWN MD  12345-6789

        Acceptable
                                  

                  #JAN93 000 MD #125BL 02 02 80
                  BONNIE A LEE
                  PO BOX 6789
                  ANYTOWN MD  12345-6789



        Conventional Lower Right Location
        

             POSTNET codes may also be printed in the lower right corner
        of the letter mailpiece.  This is where the Postal Service always
        prints barcodes from OCR scanning.  POSTNET codes printed in the
        lower right corner of letter mail should be positioned to begin
        no more than 4-1/4" from the right side of the mailpiece and no
        less than 3-1/2" from the right.  The lower edge of the barcode
        should be 3/16" from the lower edge of the mailpiece.


        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--30
        


        Ŀ
         Sender's Return                 FIM        Postage     
         Address                         Area        Area       
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                
                              BONNIE A LEE                      
                              PO BOX 6789                       
                              ANYTOWN MD  12345-6789            
                                                    ĳ5/8"
                                                       
                                                     ĳ3/16"
         0"
                                     Position of left-most bar
                                  4-1/4" MAXIMUMĴ
                                      3-1/2" MINIMUMĴ

                                    Figure 2


        FACING IDENTIFICATION MARK
        

             A Facing Identification Mark (FIM) is a type of barcode used
        by automated facer-canceler machines to identify, orient, and
        separate BRM and CRM mail for direct OCR or BCS processing.  An
        FIM is necessary on preprinted BRM, and optional on other first-
        class mail.  Sorting equipment recognizes luminescent stamps and
        meter imprints in the facing process, making a FIM unnecessary on
        regular First-Class letter mail.

           An FIM is essentially a 9 bit bar-no-bar code printed on the
        upper edge of the mailpiece.  Three codes are currently in use:

        Ŀ
           FIM        MAIL TYPE       BINARY CODE   PREPRINTED BARCODE 
        Ĵ
            A    Courtesy Reply Mail   110010011    POSTNET Barcoded   
            B    Business Reply Mail   101101101    NOT Barcoded       
            C    Business Reply Mail   110101011    POSTNET Barcoded   
        

           Layout, location and printing specifications for the FIM are
        very specific, since facing-canceling equipment is not as sophis-
        ticated as equipment later in the sorting process.  The Postal



        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--31
        

        Service Business Centers provide camera-ready BRM and CRM posi-
        tives to business mailers.  Technical specifications are con-
        tained in Sections 6 and 7 of "Designing Business Letter Mail."



        SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
        

             I bet you didn't know that the Postal Service uses two dif-
        ferent "flavors" of glue for postage stamps--and neither has any-
        thing to do with taste.

             The first is used primarily on commerative stamps for lon-
        gevity.  It mainly consists of corn dextrin and water.  The
        second, used on regular stamps, is a mixture of polyvinyl acetate
        and dextrin, with an added bonus of propylene glycol to reduce
        paper curl.

             Oh, just so you won't think there's a conspiracy to ruin our
        lives with chemicals, polyvinyl acetate is the main ingredient in
        bubble gum.

             There is about 1/30 Calorie per postage stamp.  Lick away.




























        
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        Postal Service Addressing Standards--32
        

        REFERENCES
        

        "Designing Business Letter Mail", United States Postal Service
             Publication 25, August 1992, 54 pages

        "Postal Addressing Standards", United States Postal Service
           Publication 28, January 1992, 116 pages

        "Domestic Mail Manual", United States Postal Service, Issue 44,
           September 20, 1992

        WonderBar v4.1 - a TSR (memory-resident) program which lets you
             print POSTNET bar codes wherever you want them:  on mailing
             labels, letters, envelopes, etc.  WonderBar works with
             whatever word processor, mailing list, or database program
             you already use.  It allows side-by-side (2-up, 3-up, 4-up,
             etc.) labels, and 5- to 50-digit ZIP Codes.  WonderBar takes
             up less than 2.3K of memory.  NO CHARGE for personal use by
             individuals.

        UnderBar v2.2 - a TSR program which prints an 11-digit Delivery
             Point Bar Code under any address which ends in a ZIP+4 code.
             UnderBar is totally automatic and works with any existing
             word processor, mailing list, or database program you al-
             ready use. Works with Epson printers, IBM ProPrinters, and
             LaserJets.  Registration:  none required for individuals;
             $35.00 for Commercial and Government users.

             Both WonderBar and UnderBar are copyright 1993 and are
             available from Binary Systems, P. O. Box 1621, Brandon, FL
             33509-1621.

        ENVLJ, Version 7.42   ENVLJ is a program which prints one or
             more envelopes on laser printers compatible with the HP
             LaserJet+, Series II(D,P) and Series III.  It will also
             print a 5-, 7-, or 11-digit POSTNET Barcode and Facing Iden-
             tification Mark (FIM) automatically.  A font cartridge or
             soft fonts are not required.  Standard envelope sizes are
             already configured, and other sizes can be added.  Both a
             return address and mailing address can be printed as
             desired.

             ENVLJ is copyright 1990 and available from Steven Stern,
             1213 Glencoe Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035.  The shareware
             license is $25.00.






        
        POSTAL.TXT Revised April 1, 1993
