Our Postage Services

The cost of actually delivering the mail piece virtually always outweighs the cost of producing it. So, for a cost-efficient mailing campaign, it is crucial to obtain the best possible postage rates. Keeping abreast of the postage industry is no mean feat, and we’re experts here at Washington Direct Mail.

There are so many options to consider when trying to identify the cheapest postage option, and we’ll help you to determine the right choice for your business needs. We have a dedicated Postage Coordinator whose finger is always on the pulse and makes sure we are always up to date with the services we are offering. We hold accounts with and receive daily collections from Royal Mail, Whistl and UK Mail, but we also send mail through Secured Mail and Onepost on behalf of our clients.

UK Postage

Size/Weight

• Letter — Up to 240x165x5mm and 100g
• Large Letter < 100g — Up to 353x250x25mm and 100g (non-machine readable) and up to 345x245x10mm and 100g (machine readable)
• Large Letter 101-250g—– All large letter dimensions the same
• Large Letter 251-750g — All large letter dimensions the same
• Packet

Sorted/Unsorted

• Unsorted — For low volume mailings where there is no cost benefit in sorting the mail. Discounts can still be achieved for advertising mail and by using Unsorted Mailmark or Unsorted OCR (see below)
• Low Sort — For bulk mailings savings can be made by sorting the mail before release. There is a machine-readable guide that must be followed to ensure a mail piece is machine readable. If your mail piece is machine readable, you can use the low sort services which are Mailmark and OCR:
• Mailmark — Requires a Participant ID and an SCID and then we print a 2D barcode that can be read by sortation machines. Delivery dates and statistics can be obtained using this service and it is the cheapest service available.
• OCR — The address block must be printed in a precise format (size, font and line spacing) and clear zones which allow the address to be read by sortation machines.
• High sort — Another sorted service which can be used for non-machine readable mail.
• Packet Sort — For large batches of packets.

Type

• Business Mail — No additional discounts, but you can use the sorted and unsorted options above.
• Advertising Mail — Discounts are available for mail pieces that are classed as advertising mail. There is a set of guidelines that determine this, and we can advise if your mail piece qualifies. A “seed” must be sent to Royal Mail and the Downstream Access provider if required so they can verify it.
• Subscription Mail — A special service only for subscriptions that uses the Mailmark service and requires a subscription code supplied by Royal Mail.
• Partially Addressed Mail — A halfway house between advertising mail and door drop in terms of application and pricing. Mail is printed with an address and sent to a generic name, (“Homeowner” for example) and must be sent to a minimum of 10,000 recipients made up of entire postcodes (every address in each postcode used).

Speed

• 1^st Class — Next day.
• 2^nd Class or equivalent — between two and three days.
• Economy — between three and five days. This service is only offered by Royal Mail, and we can usually find a two/three days service for a similar price using a Downstream Access provider.

Carrier

We can arrange consumables, collections and forecast for all the main providers:

• Royal Mail
• Downstream Access Provider — Whistl, UK Mail, Secured Mail, or Onepost.

Door Drop

The cheapest way to deliver a mail piece which must be generic and be sent to entire postcodes. After a few bad experiences using leaflet distribution companies, we decided to only offer the Royal Mail Door to Door service for leaflet distribution. It is slightly more expensive, but we can be sure that the mail piece will be delivered, and it is substantially cheaper than addressed mail. We will get your artwork approved by Royal Mail and ensure the print is properly labelled and delivered to the correct distribution centre at the agreed time. Typically, we require three weeks’ notice to book a delivery slot if you opt for this service.

Courier/Haulage

We work closely with a number of reliable suppliers who cater for a wide variety of requirements.

International

As with UK postage, the more items you send, the more potential there is to sort the mail and achieve cheaper rates. For low volumes, we would simply sort between the EU and the rest of the world. For larger volumes, we can sort by country or by access point. For large mailings to a single country, we can arrange a direct entry mailing.

Response Services

We have Business Reply and Freepost accounts where you can use your own company name with our PO Box to have response mail delivered back to WDM. If the replies need to be sent to a different address, we can help setup the accounts with Royal Mail and provide the artwork for the reply mail piece.

What Makes Us Different

Advice

Although postage is a complex topic, we’ve made it our business to know everything there is to know about it. But we’re not secretive with our knowledge, and we are more than happy to share it with our clients and prospects. We will find you the cheapest service for your original spec, but we will also offer recommendations on how to make additional savings if possible.

Fast turnaround

Urgent deadlines usually require first class mail. Our bespoke MIS can create and schedule a job rapidly, and with our efficient Production Department, it is possible to produce the job so quickly that we can use a second class service, reduce costs, and still hit the deadline.