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Print Workflow and Processes: Designing for Mailings

Print Workflow and Processes: Designing for Mailings

Designing for Mail – Episode Summary

In this compliance-critical episode of The Print University, Pat McGrew and Ryan McAbee break down the essential dos and don’ts of designing for mailing. From direct mail to transactional communications, success begins long before the envelope is stuffed—it starts with design that respects postal regulations. This episode is a must-watch for designers, prepress teams, and CSRs involved in printing industry training programs for new employees, color management training for new hires, or outsourced training for print production staff.

The episode explores two major mail types: transactional mail (bills, statements, notices) and direct mail marketing. Both must comply with postal standards for address placement, barcodes, and clear zones. Ryan and Pat explain the consequences of poor design: rejected mail, postage penalties, and costly reprints. Whether you’re working with closed-face or window envelopes, the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) zones must remain unobstructed by graphics, logos, or decorative flourishes.

They cover how address formatting, font size, and envelope window alignment affect mail acceptance and rates. Specialized formats—like dual-window envelopes, tipped inserts, or multi-page folds—require precise coordination between design and production to ensure scannability, deliverability, and compliance.

Designers are encouraged to reference USPS tools like the Postal Explorer and the Domestic Mail Manual, and to remember: even the most beautiful mail piece fails if it can’t be processed efficiently. This module is about preventing mistakes before they cost you—or your clients—time and money.

You Will Learn:

  • How to design mail pieces that comply with USPS, Canada Post, and global postal standards

  • Differences between window and closed-face envelopes and their production implications

  • Why OCR scan areas, barcode zones, and address placement are critical for automation

  • When envelope design becomes a production liability vs. a marketing asset

  • Where to find official postal design guides and how to use them proactively

Who This Course Is For:

Designers, production artists, prepress teams, customer service reps, and compliance-driven PSPs creating print shop employee onboarding templates, color management training for new hires, or mail-focused bindery equipment training courses

Time to Watch:

Approx. 14 minutes

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