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This Mail User Guide has been prepared as a source of basic information to enable the University Community to obtain the best available mail services with regard to efficiency and economics. It briefly touches on topics such as campus mail, mail preparation, envelopes, specialized delivery services, and other information basic to your daily needs. We hope this guide will be a useful desk companion for you.
The more we know about your needs and concerns, the better we can fulfill them. Let us know, in advance, when you are preparing a large/unusual, outgoing mailing project or if you have an unusual delivery request. If you have any questions, we encourage you to call our Mail Center Supervisor at 368-2565.
The Mail Center address is Cedar Avenue Service Center, first floor, 10620 Cedar Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4911. Staff is available to assist you Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The University Community has only one mail run. (See Appendix A for route schedules). All departments receive mail and have mail picked up daily with deliveries on campus from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (time approximate). Personnel are available in the Mail Center to respond to inquiries and may be contacted at 368-2565 or 368-1392.
The Case Western Reserve University Shipping and Receiving Department and the Internal Postal System are established and operated solely for the purpose of University-related mail to ensure efficient internal operation of University business. Items of personal property shall not be mailed to individuals via the University Shipping and Receiving Department and/or the Internal Postal System.
The University shall not be responsible in any way for personal mail items which are mailed to any employee using the University's address or the employee's campus address. The University expressly disclaims responsibility for any loss or damages of such items from any cause whatsoever.
When preparing campus mail, be sure to use campus mail envelopes only. Use either the green letter-size envelope or the large brown Kraft envelope for non-confidential correspondence. Use the blue envelopes when mailing correspondence of a confidential nature. Campus mail envelopes should be addressed with the following information: Full Name, Department, Building/Room, and Location Code. Be sure to always list the four-digit location code for the department receiving mail to ensure fast and efficient distribution and delivery of campus mail. Do not use plain white envelopes for campus mail. They may be inadvertently mistaken for First Class Mail and metered with outgoing mail. As a result, sorting and delivery is delayed and unnecessary postage could be affixed to the envelope at the user department's expense.
Special mail is received at the Mail Center throughout the day. Upon arrival it is logged in for documentation of receipt. When delivered, departments must sign the mail carrier's log sheet as verification of receipt. Delivery logs are returned to the Mail Center and filed for reference. Special mail consists of express mail, certified mail, insured mail, overnight courier mail and registered mail.
Special mail is delivered by Mail Center Staff in both the morning and afternoon. If special mail is received at the Mail Center before 11:00am, it will be delivered to departments during the morning. If special mail is received after 11:00a.m., it is delivered during the afternoon. If mail arrives between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. departments will be notified and given the option to pick up their mail piece at the Mail Center before 4:30 p.m., or have it delivered the following morning. After 4:30 p.m. weekdays or on weekends when the Mail Center is closed, the Post Office will deliver express mail and any other sensitive material to the Security Department. Security will accept responsibility for the mail and turn it over to the Mail Center the following business day.
Business Reply Mail service enables mailers to receive first class mail by paying postage only on the mail which is returned. All business reply postage and handling charges are billed back to the departments. When your department decides to design a business reply envelope or post card, please contact the Printing Department at 368-2550/368-8788 or contact the Supervisor in the Mail Center at 368-2565.
In June 1991 the Mail Center implemented the use of Zip + 4 location codes to help ensure timely and accurate mail processing and delivery.
Location codes serve two purposes in aiding the Mail Center's efforts to accurately and efficiently sort mail. It helps the U. S. Post Office identify the exact location of inbound mail prior to its arrival at the Mail Center. It also assists the Mail Center staff to better identify the mail piece destination on campus. We encourage departments to place their Zip + 4 location code number on all departmental stationery, envelopes, and business cards.
This same Zip + 4 number is your location code for all campus mail. If you are a sender of campus mail, please take a few extra seconds to note the appropriate location code of the individual or department who will be receiving your mailing. An omission of the location code when addressing campus mail will slow down mail sorting and distribution. Envelopes that do not list location codes will be the last mail pieces sorted.
For your reference, a list of CWRU Zip + 4 location codes is included in Appendix B of this manual. A similar list is included in the CWRU Telephone Directory. In addition, each department listing in the Directory notes the corresponding Zip + 4 code.
The following information is recommended by the U.S. Postal Service to minimize the time required to process your mail:
- Type or print all address information. Make sure print is clear and sharp. Ensure address characters do not touch or overlap. Black ink on a white background is best.
- Maintain a uniform left margin. Use uppercase letters. Omit all punctuation.
- Include floor, suite, and apartment numbers whenever possible. Put the city, state, and zip code and/or + 4 code in that order on the last line.
- If there is not enough room, you can place the zip code and/or + 4 code alone on the bottom line. Use standard two-letter state abbreviations. (See Appendix C for state abbreviations).
- When using window envelopes, make sure the complete address is always visible--even when the insert moves. Leave one or two spaces between words and between the state abbreviation and zip code/zip code + 4 code.
- When Post Office automated sorting equipment sorts your mail, it reads from the bottom up. It reads the zip code, state, city, street address or post office box, and company name/addressee. Be sure to list your return address on the envelope. This information should be completely filled out using the block style form. Example:
- John Doe
Purchasing Department
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106-4909
- The top line should be the attention line or the name of the person. The second line is the name of the department. The third line is the name of the company or recipient. The fourth line should contain the street address, post office box/rural route number followed by the apartment, unit, and office/dwelling number. Finally, on the last line place city, state, and zip code or zip code + 4 code.
- If you have international mail, place the country name on the last line of the address block in capital letters in English.
White standard-sized #10 business envelopes should be used when possible. The white background with black ink shows up best when processed on Post Office automated equipment. The Mail Center's postage meter machine can seal white standard sized envelopes that are not overstuffed. Envelopes should be aligned with the flaps opened. Overstuffed envelopes should be sealed prior to mailing by departments to prevent them from being damaged during processing by the postage meter machine. Flats, defined as envelopes 6 x 9 inches and larger, must be sealed by departments prior to mail pick-up. The postage meter machine cannot seal envelopes larger than letter size. The upper right corner of the envelopes and parcels is reserved for stamp or meter posting.
When submitting out-going mail to the Mail Center for metering, bundle separately as follows: Domestic, International, Mexican, Canadian, and stamped mail. For all groups except stamped mail, the sending department may elect to use a Metered Mail Request form with each bundle.
When this form is used by the sending department, it improves the accuracy of processing the mail. These forms are available at no charge from the Mail Center and can be obtained by calling 368-2565 or by requesting a supply from your mail carrier.
If not designated, all mail will be processed as first class mail. International mail processed by the Mail Center must first be sealed by departments prior to being picked up by the mail carrier. Any unsealed international mail envelopes will be left or returned to departments to seal.
Certificate of Mailing
A certificate of mailing provides evidence that the item was mailed. The fee paid for a certificate of mailing does not insure the article against loss or damage. Certificates of mailings are prepared by the mailer, except those who live on rural routes. Individuals and firms mailing book certificates must show the name and address of both the sender and addressee and the amount of postage paid. Identifying invoice or order numbers may also be placed on the certificate. This is an excellent cost reduction service for anyone who simply requires proof that the postal service has accepted the item for mailing.
Certified Mail
Certified mail provides you with a mailing receipt and a record of delivery is maintained at the recipient's Post Office for two years. A return receipt to provide you with proof of delivery can be obtained for an additional fee. Certified mail service is available only for Domestic First Class Mail. No insurance coverage is provided. A numbered label and completed receipt must be affixed.
Expedited Mail
Expedited mail is an extremely reliable and fast delivery service available from the U. S. Postal Service. It reaches all major markets in the U. S. and 84 foreign countries. Expedited mail provides for the shipment of letters, documents, packages, and other mailable items and carries document reconstruction insurance up to $500 at no additional cost. The maximum weight allowance is 70 pounds.
First Class Mail
First class mail is matter wholly or partially handwritten or typewritten (including carbon copies), postcards, completed forms, statements, invoices, business reply mail and priority mail. First class mail is sealed and closed against postal inspection.
Standard Mail A
Items that qualify for the special fourth class rate are: Books of at least 8 pages, 16mm or narrower width films, film catalogs, printed music, objective test materials, sound recordings, video recordings, manuscripts, play scripts, educational reference charts, medical information, and computer readable media, guides and scripts. Parcels must be marked special fourth-class rate. Enclosures, such as envelopes or order forms, are permitted. You do not have to obtain a special permit to use this rate.
Standard Mail B
Includes the following: Packages or parcels, library material, bound printed matter, sound recordings, merchandise, complete media, books, films and video tapes. Each piece of fourth class matter must not exceed 70 pounds in weight and 108 inches in length and girth combined.
Insured Mail
With insured mail you can obtain payment for domestic mail that has been lost, rippled or damaged. You can buy insurance up to $600 for priority, first, Standard Mail A & B class mail. Express mail includes $500 insurance at no extra charge.
Library Rate
Items On Loan Or Exchange. The following items may be mailed at the library rate when they are loaned or exchanged between schools, colleges, universities, public libraries, museums, herbariums and non-profit religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic (charitable), agricultural, labor, veterans or fraternal organizations. Library rate may be used when these organizations loan or exchange the following items to their members, readers or borrowers:
- Books, consisting wholly of reading matter, scholarly bibliography, or reading matter with incidental black spaces for notation and containing no advertising other than incidental announcements of books.
- Printed music.
- Bound volumes or academic texts in typewritten or duplicated form.
- Periodicals, bound or unbound.
- Sound recordings.
- Other library materials in printed, duplicated or photographic form or in the form of unpublished manuscripts.
- Museum material, pediments, collections, teaching aids, printed matter and interpretative materials intended to inform and to further the educational work and interests of museums and herbariums.
Items Not On Loan. The following items may be mailed at the library rate and are not required to be on loan or exchange. Any of these specific items may qualify if they are sent to or from schools, colleges, universities, public libraries, museums and herbariums, and to or from non-profit religious, educational, scientific or philanthropic (charitable), agricultural, labor, veterans, or fraternal organizations.
- 16 millimeter or narrower width films, filmstrips, transparencies, slides and microfilms. All of these must be positive prints in final form for viewing.
- Sound recordings.
- Museum material, specimens, collections, teaching aids, printed matter and interpretative material intended to inform and to further the educational work and interest of museums and herbariums.
- Scientific or mathematical kits, instruments, or other devices.
- Catalogs of the materials named above and guides or scripts solely for use with such material.
Priority Mail
All first class mail exceeding 11 ounces, but no more than 70 pounds is considered priority mail. No minimum weight limitation exists. There is a flat rate up to two pounds.
Registered Mail
Registered mail is designed to provide added protection for valuable mail. Postage insurance may be purchased to cover articles valued up to $25,000. Registered mail is the most secure mail the postal service offers. It incorporates a system of receipts to monitor registered articles from the point of acceptance to delivery. Added security may delay delivery up to 48 hours.
Standard Mail
Includes the following: Circulars, booklets, merchandise, photographs, catalogs, newsletters, product samplers and printed matter. Each piece of third class mail must be less than one pound. Anything heavier must be mailed fourth class or priority mail. The standard for size and surcharge for single piece third class mail weighing one ounce or less, is the same price for first class mail.
The Mail Center offers international mail service to all countries. Mail to Canada and Mexico is processed as first class mail through the U.S. Postal system. International mail processed by the Mail Center must first be sealed by departments prior to being picked up by the mail carrier. Any unsealed international mail envelopes will be left or returned to departments to seal.
The bulk mail operation is located in the Mail Center on the 1st Floor of the Cedar Avenue Service Center. Departments may receive significant savings with large mailings should they meet the following specifications for third class/bulk/non-profit mailings:
- The contents of each mail piece must be identical except the recipient's name and address.
- All bulk mail must be domestic.
- Each piece must weigh less than 16 ounces in weight.
- Each piece must say bulk rate or non-profit organization.
- Each piece must have a zip code listed.
- Each mailing must have a minimum of 200 pieces or weigh at least 50 pounds.
- Bulk mail may not consist of the following items: personal letters, checks, bills or statements of accounts or special service type mail.
- For additional information regarding bulk mail requirements and saving incentives, call 368-2565.
Non-Profit Mail
On October 1, 1998, the Case Western Reserve University Mail Center assumed the responsibility for processing the University's Non-Profit Mail. Non-Profit mail was previously processed and managed by Printing Services. To provide a more efficient and cost effective service for user departments, the Department of Material Support has out-sourced this service to a third party vendor, Midwest Direct.
Midwest Direct Marketing Services is a full service mailing operation, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, which specializes in a variety of mailing needs. Midwest Direct opened its doors for business in 1982. Upon opening its doors for business, CWRU was its second customer. In its infancy, Midwest specialized in presorting mail only.
Along with providing basic bulk mail sorting, postage, and letter shop service, Midwest Direct offers a menu of additional services to select from at a very reasonable cost. The additional mailing services include the following:
 Laser printing
Data Processing
Bursting
Tabbing
Folding
Cutting
Nesting
Inserting
Slitting
Metering
Ink jetting
Wafer seating
Self mailers
And various types of label creation and affixing
What qualifies as Non-Profit mail?
The U.S. Postal Service has issued the following requirements to qualify mail as Non-Profit/Bulk Rate mailings.
- Each mailing must consist of a minimum of 200 pieces, all of which must be identical in content, size and weight, or 50 pounds of addressed pieces. The pieces must each weigh less than 16 ounces and be prepared in a manner that allows for efficient handling.
- Foreign mail cannot be sent at non-profit mail rates and should not be submitted with such mailing.
- The organization generating the mailing must be a non-profit organization.
To Maximize Postage Savings
Mailing at non-profit mail rates can provide substantial savings for departments annually. To achieve these discounts, departments must utilize this cost savings system that is managed by the Mail Center.
A non-profit mail piece can come in a variety of sizes. The size specifications includes, the post card, the #10 size envelope (business envelope), the 6" x 9" envelope, and the 10" x 12" envelope (flat).
Cost
The applicable non-profit postage rate is based on each mailings level of automation, address standards, weight and size, and characteristics (i.e. self-mailers). In addition, the current service charge for each piece, which measures 6" x 9" or less, is $.036 per piece. For flat mail or mail larger than 6" x 9" the service charge is $.066 per piece. These rates are very competitive to the rate charged if non-profit mail was processed in house.
Preparing your Mailing
Departments are asked to first contact the Mail Center when planning a mass mailing for needed information or consultation. The Mail Center can also verify that the items being mailed are consistent with the minimum specifications for handling and postal regulations and to facilitate proper scheduling.
Prior to mail preparation, please contact the Mail Center staff to arrange for a mail pick-up. On many occasions, your mail carrier will pick up your mailing when making his daily delivery and pick-up of U.S. and campus mail in your building.
A completed Purchase Requisition or Mail Processing Form (available from the Mail Center) must accompany your mailing. List the services that are required to complete your mailing and the departmental account number.
As a no charge service the Mail Center can seal #10 business size envelopes and other sizes that are less than 6" x 9". Envelopes that are larger than 6" x 9" must be sealed by departments. Midwest Direct can provide this service for you at a charge.
Non-profit mail is picked up by Midwest Direct daily from the Mail Center at 3:00 PM. Midwest will process your mailing and deliver it to the Post Office in three to five working days.
Midwest Direct will charge departments based on the services they render when preparing your mailing. If only the non-profit indicia or permit number is needed to qualify and complete a mailing, departments will be charged only for postage and the service fee of $.036 or $.066 per piece (depending on the envelope size).
Mail Tips
Automation is the key to postage cost savings. It is extremely important for departments who have not yet had their address files standardized, cleansed, or updated, do so. Automation will not only qualify mailers for lower cost and better mail rates, automation will also enable mail to be processed by the Post Office much faster. Midwest Direct can update and standardize your address files.
Automation may include the following:
- Adding zips + four codes to all addresses
- Adding delivery point bar codes to all addresses
- Update address formats every 180 days.
- Add directionals to addresses that require them.
- Place endorsements on each mail piece for forwarding purposes. (I.e. Return Service Requested, Address Service Requested, Address Change Service).
For assistance call Crystal Campbell at x1354, Darlene Hall at x2565, or Art Hardee at x5113.
For more information regarding services provided by Midwest Direct call Frank McMullen at (216) 251-2500.
As a service to the University population, personnel from the Mail Center can help you plan the preparation and distribution of large mailings. By contacting a Mail Center Supervisor, we can assist you in preparing a cost-effective, professionally planned mailing. Mailing projects exceeding 2,000 pieces require advance notice for handling and processing. Please call our Mail Center Supervisor at 368-2565 for details.
The five-digit zip code enables the Postal Service to machine sort to the delivery post office. Zip + 4 allows automated sortation directly to a carrier, reducing the manual sorting that was historically done by postal clerks who memorized the addresses delivered by each carrier.
What do the digits of the zip code mean?
- The first 3 digits (441) represent a sectional center facility or a major city.
- The 4th and 5th digits (06) represent a local post office or delivery unit.
- The 6th and 7th digits of the + 4 code represent a sector, and
- The 8th and 9th represent a segment.
The University has a U.S. Postal Substation conveniently located in the Atrium of Thwing Center. The substation, operated by University employees under the direction of Thwing Center, offers a variety of personal mail services for faculty, staff, students and the general public. Personal letters and packages can be mailed from the substation via the U.S. Postal Service. Operating hours are 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday during the months of September through May. During the months of June through August operating hours are 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; closed Saturday. The U.S. Postal Service pick-up time at Thwing is 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There is no weekend U. S. Postal Service pick-up at Thwing. For information about mailings from this location, please call 368-2678 during normal business hours.
The Mail Center has an abundance of trays available for departments needing trays for large mailings. Call 368-2565 if you are planning a large mailing and need to reserve mail trays. The Mail Center can give cost and weight estimates for mail being processed, if needed. A variety of postal forms are available upon request from the Mail Center.
Our Campus-wide University Courier Service is an on-call service designed to transport small non-mail items and time sensitive correspondence to other campus locations. The target turnaround time for this service is one hour. All items being sent via the courier service must be small enough to transport campus wide, without the use of an aid (cart, two wheeler, etc.). The University Movers are available to move large quantities and/or heavier items. There is a charge applied when using the courier or moving service. The courier service cost is $5 per delivery stop. Departmental account numbers may be used to cover the cost of the service charge.
The courier service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays by calling 368-2565. When courier service is requested, the following information is needed: Account number for billing, contact person, location of pick-up, telephone number and campus delivery destination. The item for delivery should be packaged, addressed and ready for delivery at the time the request is made. A signature is required from the requesting department at the time of pick-up. The department receiving the delivered item will also be asked to sign a log sheet.
Change of Address and Mail Forwarding
A change of your internal location must be acted upon promptly. If you are transferring to a new department, you must use your new department's location code. If an entire department is moving to a new location, the department will retain their old location code. Please submit in writing any location changes, staff additions, and location/staff deletions. For persons transferring to a new department, list in writing your old and new location code numbers.
The Mail Center will not be responsible for forwarding mail to persons no longer located in their previous department or to persons no longer a part of the University family. Mail will be sorted to the department listed. It is each department's responsibility to forward mail to those no longer located in their department.
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