Good Mailing Practices

Separation of Mail:

Note: Mail must be facing one direction with all return addresses in the upper left hand corner of stack, do not put mail upside down or backwards.
Letter sized mail will receive faster processing through Mailing Services and the Post Office if it is separated and rubber banded in the following bundles: Please group all department metered mail together after you have broken them down as followed.
- Stamped Mail (Please sort into stamped mail basket)
- Campus Mail ((Zip Code 81102) Please Sort into Campus Mail Basket)
- Special Service Mail (Registered, Certified, Insured, etc.)
- Foreign Mail
- Alamosa Mail (Zip Code 81101)
- Valley Mail (Zip Codes with 811--)
- Colorado Mail
- Mixed State Mail (Including: APO, FPO, and US territories)

To save you time letter sized metered mail can be sealed at the same time it is metered, again make sure items are bundled according to previous sortation requirements. Do not let envelope flaps over lap, this causes damage to flaps and makes them harder to seal.
Note:
- Manila envelops and large or overstuffed regular envelopes must be sealed prior to coming to the mailroom.
- Care should be taken when folding and inserting mail that the item inside the envelope does not stick out past the top of the envelope. This will result in your mail being returned.

Items that are heavier than 1 Ounce should be separated from mail less than 1 ounce.

To avoid delays and extra expense, use machinable size mail. A surcharge per piece will result for mail pieces that:
- Weigh one ounce or less that exceeds 6 1/8" high, 11 1/2" long or 1/4" thick.
- Don't meet guidelines under Designing Mail pieces.
Note:
- The minimum size for a letter or postcard is 3 1/2" x 5" and .007" thick. Any piece less than these dimensions are unmailable, no exceptions can be made, these are Postal regulations.

Do's:
- Do face and rubber band mail into bundles as described previously
- Do make sure all foreign country addresses are in English with the name of destination country on the last line
- Do wrap packages correctly
- Do mark out bulk mail permit imprint when mailing as a single piece or enclosing in an envelope
- Do use the proper forms when mailing Express mail & FedEx packages
- Bundle all metered department mail together
- Mark out any old labeling on reused boxes
- Do not use Pririty or Express Mail packaging for anything other than what they are designated for
Don'ts:
- Don't mix Campus Mail with metered mail
- Don't mix stamped mail with metered mail
- Don't put hand cancel, or oversized mail with regular mail
- Don't put irregular objects, such as pens & pencils, into letter sized envelopes

Campus mail not separated from outgoing
Stamped mail not sepaerated from metered mail
Outgoing mail not bundled correctly
Contents of letter to bulky to be sealed by postage machine, must be sealed by department
All outgoing mail must have correct zip codes, find these @ www.usps.com or by contacting the mailroom
Metered mail must have a complete ASC return address, including depatment name, no personal addresses
Keep upper-right hand corner of metered mail free of words, stickers or printing
Incorrectly prepared for class of mail requested
Improper or incomplete address
Certain items can not be mailed in letter sized envelopes, they must be placed in manila envelope. These include:
- Pens
- Pencils
- Keys
- Etc.
Item exceeds size/weight limit for services selected
Pre-stamped mail must be sealed
Bundle letters separately from flats
Whenever possible combine mail into one envelope to save postage costs
All items weighing 16 ounces or over and going to foreign or military addresses must be accompanied by a US Customs form
Unknown Recipient

Note:
In many cases Mailing Services will fix problems associated with mailings, however if we are unable to solve the problem, or if it has been a reoccurring problem, we will return mail to you to correct current and prevent future mistakes.