Mailing
We have a polybagging line with insert hoppers. We print carrier sheets from your mailing list and then enclose your magazine, using Mailsorting, Presstream and Downstream Access to achieve discounts on postage.
We have an inkjetter and tabber, so we can print and enclose one-piece mailers, saving the need for polybagging or enveloping thereby saving cost and materials.
Our Indigo 5000 digital press offers full variable data personalisation (personalised images and text).
Deciding which service and provider to use
All of our customers use Royal Mail or Secured mail for their UK mailings, and most use them for overseas mailings as well, although we can arrange to supply to other operators such as TNT, DHL or independent mail consolidators, if required.
The charge for preparation of mailing files, polybagging and presenting to any postage service provider will vary depending primarily on the level of sortation required at Cambrian Printers. If you are not using Royal Mail, and are unsure as to how your service provider requires mail to be presented, please feel free to put them in touch with us directly and we can then provide you with a quote for our part of the mailing.
We are happy to provide advice on mailing, however we are not able to quote for the actual postage, we can only tell you what our costs would be for preparing the mail. Royal Mail Business Services can be contacted on 08457 950 950.
If you are using Royal Mail for your postage, please contact them directly to arrange for an account with them. Once you have this set up, and OBA (Online Business Account) access, you can enable Cambrian Printers to have access to your account to post items on your behalf. Please contact us if you require any assistance setting this up.
If you are unsure as to the best Royal Mail service for your needs you may find useful help on their website.
Royal Mail Services available to Customers at Cambrian Printers
Mailsort This service sorts the mail into separate bags for up to 1400 distribution centres around the UK. It offers two levels of discount, depending on how far down the line each item can be sorted.There are strict criteria for mailings to qualify for Mailsort, including quantity of mail, and accuracy of addresses.
Presstream This service is almost identical to Mailsort, but is only available for periodical publications which are mostly editorial content. Royal Mail have to see a sample of the job, and will set up an account directly with you if you don’t have one already, this process can take several weeks.
Packetpost / STL Unlike the sorted services, there is no discount available for presorting, only a discount based on the amount of work we send out annually. STL (Standard Tariff Letters) or Packetpost will be used depending on the size and weight of the item
Overseas For Royal Mail overseas mailings, we offer three main levels of sortation here – an unsorted overseas service, a sortation by zone and format (in most cases, separating Western Europe from the Rest of the World), and sortation into individual countries.
If you would like to use any other Royal Mail services, please contact us in advance.
Sending us data and instructions
Please separate UK, overseas and any bulk addresses into different files, and send them to us as Microsoft Excel (.xls), comma separated (.csv), or tab separated (.tab / .txt). The post town, postcode, and country fields should be in the same consistent column all the way through the data, and there should be no carriage returns, or non-ASCII characters used.
Please send the mailing files to your customer services representative as an email attachment, and specify how many UK and Overseas addresses are required for the total mailing.
Your customer services representative will provide you with a blank instructions sheet to fill in, in the form of an Excel spreadsheet that is a convenient way for you to provide us with the information we need to complete a mailing – it will also warn you if the selections you have made may not be possible (for example a Mailsort of less than 1000 items).
We also ask that if you are not using Royal Mail, you should provide us with detailed instructions on how to present the mail and who to contact for collection.
Carrier Sheets
The carrier sheet is white paper, printed with the individual address and a PPI (Postage Paid Indicia), which is then placed on top of the main item before polywrapping. Customers are welcome to provide the design for the carrier sheet, although there are limitations, including allowing white space for the double feed sensor, and using the correct PPI. Please contact us before commencing work on a design.
