When a bunch of people in the mailer community get together, it’s sure to be a good time. And that’s exactly what happens every year when the Chicago PCC, Northern Illinois PCC, and South Suburban PCC join forces to put on PCC Day.

Greater Illinois PCC Presents PCC Day 2024

Chicagoland’s largest mailing forum of the year, the Greater Illinois PCC Day provides a local opportunity for business mailers to connect, learn, and network.

Part of the larger National PCC Week, PCC Days will be held across the nation to help foster relationships between USPS and mailers.

From industry perspectives and thought leadership to a keynote from a USPS Headquarters Executive, 2024’s event is sure to be a memorable one.

With more details, speaker lists, and registration information to be announced in the coming weeks, you can learn more about the event at gipcc.org.

We’ll Be There. Will You?

As things come together, we’re sure to have more about this exciting event shaping the future of mailing. If you have any questions about us or would like to discuss how to get more from your mailing, drop us a line.

Did you know that the USPS offers nonprofit mailers with a special type of mail that allows them significant cost savings?

A carve-out of Marketing Mail, nonprofits can send letters and flats for a lot less than their for-profit counterparts.

Knowing this, the rules and requirements can be… interesting. Meeting these requirements can be challenging. And failure to do so can double your costs by turning a Nonprofit Letter or Flat into a Marketing Mail Letter or Flat. Or worse—turn your Flat into a Parcel.

If you’re considering a direct mail outreach campaign, have run afoul of USPS mailing requirements before, or are looking to mitigate risk and get more from your mail, we have an event for you.

Featuring Sepire’s Director of Postal Affairs Leanne Herman, our upcoming webinar titled Mailing Requirements and Postage Savings Opportunities for Nonprofits will explore the nuances of Nonprofit Marketing Mail from a Postal Affairs perspective.

In just under an hour, this informative webinar on September 17 will cover a wide range of topics designed specifically for nonprofit mailers. If you’re looking to understand any or all of the following topics, we encourage you to register and attend:

• What Goes into Nonprofit Mail?

• Unique Requirements, Regulations, and Challenges That Exist in Nonprofit Mail

• How Do You Obtain Nonprofit Mailer Authorization?

• The Nuances of Nonprofit Identification

• A Discussion on Payment Methods and Permits

• Nonprofit Authorization CRIDs

• The Upcoming Promotions & Incentives That Could Save You Even More

Register now!

If you’re a mailer, chances are that you are looking for any opportunity available to ensure timely, affordable, and accurate mail delivery. But making this happen can be a challenge. Because from idea to print and from processing to delivery, a lot of things need to go right. Or at least, a lot of things could go wrong.

If you’re looking for advice on how to achieve optimal (Automation) postage rates and delivery windows, our friends at the Mail Systems Management Association (MSMA) are putting on a webinar on the importance and nuance of mailpiece design.

Featuring Sepire’s Director of Postal Affairs Leanne Herman, this upcoming event titled Ins, Outs and Best Practices of Mailpiece Design / Mailing Requirements from the Industry’s Perspective will go through the many challenges that mailers face when designing a Domestic Mail Manual-Compliant mailpiece.

What You’ll Learn

Like the heavily attended session at the 2024 National Postal Forum and her in-person workshop with the Chicago Postal Customer Council (PCC), this event will offer attendees a thoughtful and detailed look at how design impacts pricing and deliverability.

Unlike those events, this presentation has been updated to reflect recent changes in pricing and will offer advice not just on policy—but on impact.

Among the topics to be discussed:

• Design Impact on First-Class Mail & Marketing Mail Letter & Flat Pricing

• Challenges in Meeting Design Requirements for All Six Types of Pieces Considered Letters

• The Dangers of Being Deemed Nonmachinable

• The Extreme Complexity of Folded Self-Mailers

• The Many Ways Flats Can Go Wrong

• Requirement Info for Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMb), Permits, Nonprofit Mailing, and more.

Whether you missed any of the prior events or need a different perspective or deeper understanding, we encourage you to take an hour or two out of your schedule to join MSMA and Leanne Herman on August 22, 2024.

Learn More

From the presenting organization:

Please join us for a discussion on the importance of Mailpiece Design and Mailing Requirements as they impact Mail Service Providers and Mail Owners.  The creation of automation compatible mail is critical in this time of rising postage costs.  Understanding factors that impact the creation and presentment of compatible mail can help reduce errors and issues that can be costly. 

Our presenter for this Webinar will be Leanne Herman, Director of Postal Affairs for Sepire, located in Burr Ridge Illinois.  She is active in MTAC, DTAC, MSMA, National Postal Forum and local Postal Customer Councils as well as serving on the PCC National Advisory Committee.  Leanne has facilitated training sessions over the years at the local, regional and national level and presents at various events

Registration Information

• Title: Ins, Outs and Best Practices of Mailpiece Design/Mailing Requirements from the Industry's Perspective

• Date & Time: 22 Aug 2024 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

• Location: Virtual

• Price: MSMA/AOSP Members (free), Non-Members (free)

Click here to register and learn more.

PS: If you can’t make it on August 22, meet us at Printing United in September for an in-person version of this event.

Maybe you missed National Postal Forum 2024 last June. Maybe you only got a day or two to learn, network, and connect. Or maybe you just want to see what others learned.

Whether you made it or not, our friends at the South Suburban Postal Customer Council are taking a second to break down all the things that their esteemed guests learned at the event.

NPF May Have Passed. But There’s Still a Lot to Learn

The National Postal Forum (NPF) is the Mailing and Shipping Industry’s Premier Educational Venue, Trade Show and Networking Event, held every spring to showcase the latest in shipping and mailing technology, innovation and related business needs.

This year’s event took place in Indianapolis this June and brought over 4,000 attendees both from the business and Postal Service side of the relationship and helped shape the future of mailing. We were thrilled to send three of our best to connect at the crossroads.

And there was a lot to learn. From educational sessions to a seemingly limitless amount of opportunity to network and drive change, we shared our own thoughts about this here.

Postal Experts to Share Takeaways at South Suburban PCC Event on July 24, 2024.

Part of their Business for Breakfast educational series, the session scheduled for July 24 is sure to be an exciting one. Titled “What I Learned at the NPF,” this virtual event is sure to deliver a host of insights, lessons, and takeaways for attendees.

Set to feature the “who’s who” of the Chicagoland Postal Affairs space (including our very own Leanne Herman), this short, virtual event is sure to provide a deeper look from the people who live and breathe mail.

Free to attend, you can learn more about the event and register here.

Let’s Talk Mail

Our website does a lot of talking. Ironically, we’re a lot better at listening. If you’re looking for advice, ideas, or help, we’re here for you. Get to know more about who we are and what we do, and when you’re ready to talk, drop us a line.

The Chicago PCC is excited to announce a hands-on workshop on Mailpiece Design and Mailing Requirements featuring industry expert, Leanne Herman of Sepire.

The workshop will review the basics of Mailpiece Design for Letters and Flats. Design rules and mailing requirements are key to preparing and presenting Automation compatible mail to the USPS. Design elements will be demonstrated and attendees are encouraged to bring their questions and mailpieces for discussion and review.

Learn more about this event in our blog.

UPDATE (06/17/2024): The event is currently sold out. Please contact us if you would like to discuss mailpiece design and their potential impact on postage costs.

Last September, two distinct Mail Growth Incentives were approved, established, and announced. With input from stakeholders, approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission, and encouragement from the Postal Service, the Mail Growth Incentives program provides an opportunity for mail owners to save money by increasing the volume of First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail, or both.

With a 30 percent credit available for every piece that you send beyond your baseline (with caveats), this could be big for your direct mail marketing or communications initiatives.

But here’s the thing. Time is running out to register. And we can assure you that you do not want to wait for the last minute.

If you’d like to learn how to understand the registration process, baseline calculation and dispute process, and other complexities to plan for before the June 30 registration deadline, join us on June 11, 2024.

The Sacramento PCC is hosting their annual Red, White, and Blue PCC Barbecue. Our very own Head of Postal Affairs, Leanne Herman, is heading out west to present on the dangers of, costs associated with, and remedies to undeliverable as addressed mail. Part of this larger networking and learning event, Leanne’s presentation will cover a whole lot of topics including:

• Know the Enemy: What Is Undeliverable As Addressed Mail?

• How Much UAA is Produced—and How Much Could You Be Wasting?

• Pre-Mail Data Hygiene Using CASS Certification and Change of Address Programs

• How the USPS Treats Undeliverable First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail, and Periodicals

• What a NIXIE Label Is—And How to Read It

• The Dangers of Using Ancillary Service Endorsement (ASE) Only

• A Free* Service That Gives Mailers COA and NIXIE Information

Whether you’re there for the free food or the free insights, learn more what this event holds at our blog.