Tag Archives: snail mail

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FlyDoc: Streamlining Snail Mail

Although the delivery of electronic documents is growing rapidly, agencies continue to send many standard letters. Flydoc.com is a Web-based service that allows you to streamline the process of sending printed letters.

To use the service, you simply install a new printer driver that you’ll use to “print” documents. You can print in black and white or color, on a single side or on both sides of the paper. You can choose from three standard double-window envelope sizes, but there’s only one paper option for your sheets: letter-size, 24 pound white.

When you select Print, the document is submitted through the Internet to FlyDoc’s service center. FlyDoc promises to print, stamp, address, and send your documents via first-class mail within 24 hours. The first page costs as little as $.36 per copy for black-and-white printing and $.48 for color; subsequent pages cost $.18 for black and white or $.30 for color. The largest envelope available can hold up to 70 pages.

One nice aspect of the service is that it does not require a minimum number of letters. Being able to pay for individual pieces means you can use the service to send customer invoices or the personalized letters you’ve created using the mail merge feature in your word processor.

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Internet Postage

For quite some time I have wanted to use a postage meter but, because of the small volume of mail I send, could just not justify the monthly rental expense. I looked into using an Internet postage account but was put off by the monthly fee. When visiting an agency recently I went to a small (15 people) satellite location that used a solution which I ended up purchasing.

Endicia DYMO Stamps allows you to print official U.S. Postal Service postage labels using the provided software and a DYMO label printer. When printed on DYMO Stamps labels, this postage can be used just like the stamps you buy from the Post Office. Using the included scale (connected to your computer via a USB cable) you can weigh any envelope or package up to 5 pounds. Once your mailpiece has the appropriate postage applied and is ready to go, simply hand it to your mail carrier or drop it off at your local Post Office.

Your no-monthly-fee Endicia DYMO Stamps account is simply a bank account for postage. You buy postage over the Internet and the purchase amount is added to your account. Each time you print postage, the postage amount is deducted, with no per-stamp fee or monthly service charge.

Postage must be printed on USPS-approved DYMO Stamps labels (30915). These labels are specially treated to be recognized by the US Postal Service scanners. Postage printed with DYMO Stamps is not date sensitive. You can print postage today and use it any time in the future. If the postal rates change, just print an additional postage label to bring the total postage to that required for your mailpiece. At present, refunds are not available for DYMO Stamps postage printed in error. Before printing postage, you should make sure the amount of postage for each label is correct and that DYMO Stamps will print to the label printer with DYMO Stamps labels loaded.

The total cost will depend on what you purchase. This is a great postage solution for a small office or home office that wants to use something other than regular stamps.