Passing Postal Muster
By Nani Paape, independent project facilitator

I just hate receiving mail with those ugly little white stickers plastered onto it, don’t you? My mailing house contact calls them lim-lim stickers.

The USPS^® applies them because something printed at the bottom of the postcard is interfering with the clear zone, a 4-3/4″ wide by 5/8″area at the bottom right of the mailing panel/side.

Barcodes speed mail delivery
Automation-compatible mail gets the most efficient handling—and often, postage discounts.

The POSTNET™barcode that represents the ZIP Code™ is one key to that automation, which is the key to speedier mail delivery. This is true for both First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail^® letters.

If an envelope doesn’t already have a barcode, the OCR (optical character recognition) reader reads the ZIP Code numbers in the address and ink jets a POSTNET barcode onto it. But if the reader encounters other text where it plans to print that barcode—especially characters that could be interpreted as numbers—it applies the dreaded lim-lim sticker before printing the barcode. Not only that, sometimes it sticks a lim-lim on both sides of the piece!

Don’t Let Good Mail Go Bad
It’s such a shame to see one of these stickers on a handsome mailing or on an otherwise-classy black or translucent envelope. It pretty much cancels out the any coolness factor, don’t you agree?

If you plan to use a special envelope, be sure to think through the whole barcode and sticker question.

Disaster Avoidance Tips
You can take several steps to lessen the chance of postcard uglification via lim-lim sticker:

• Observe the clear zone rules by leaving an area 5/8″ tall clear of any type or image on the mailing side of your card. 5/8″ is the rule, but 3/4″ is safer, in my experience.

• Place the address and return address where they are supposed to appear on the mailing panel. The OCR-read-area should include the address information only. No snipes, headlines or patterns that could be misread as numbers should fall inside this zone.

• Include the barcode as part of the address. If you’re using addressing software, many packages are capable of generating POSTNET barcodes. The barcode can be laser or ink-jet printed directly onto an envelope or card, or applied to a mailing label.

• Avoid mailing disasters altogether by using a mail house. They keep up with all of the postal rules and will advise you—from the design all the way to the labeling and mailing—all for just a few cents for each letter or postcard.