Below you’ll find useful information from the USPS website on postal requirements for folded self-mailers.
You can find the entire article at Commercial Letters, Flats, and Parcels Design Standards. Feel free to gives us a call if you have any questions or need help with designing, printing or mailing your direct mail piece.
A folded self-mailer is formed of two or more panels that are created when one or more unbound sheets of paper are folded together and sealed to make a letter-size mail piece. The number of panels is determined by the number of sheets in the mail piece and the number of times the sheets are folded.
Folded Self-Mailers Postal Requirements
a. Height: A minimum of 3-1/2 inches and a maximum of 6 inches.
b. Length: A minimum of 5 inches and a maximum of 10-1/2 inches.
c. Thickness: A minimum of 0.007 inch; (0.009 inch if the height exceeds 4-1/4 inches or if the length exceeds 6 inches); the maximum thickness is 1/4 inch.
d. Maximum Weight: 3 ounces.
e. Rectangular, with four square corners and parallel opposite sides.
f. Aspect ratio: within 1.3 to 2.5
g. Maximum number of panels: generally 12 (some exceptions).
h. Quarter-folded self-mailers made of a minimum of 70-pound book grade paper may have as few as 4 panels. Quarter-folded self-mailers made of 55-pound stock must have at least 8 panels and may contain up to 24 panels.
Too many rules and requirements? No worries, we’ll help you design a folded self-mailer that looks great, meets postal regulations and saves on postage, too.
Please call 818-709-1220 or email sales@clearprint.com. For more than 30 years we’ve been helping customers design, print and mail successful direct mail campaigns. Clear Print also provides mailing lists, and letter shop services for bulk mail handling. Located in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, we serve many areas including Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Valencia, Simi Valley, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, Burbank and more.
