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About Barcodes

Years ago, the US Postal Service started a comprehensive plan to use automated equipment to process mail as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. The main tool in automating the mail is the use of barcodes to indicate the destination and other information for each mailpiece. The most recent innovations are the Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) and the Intelligent Mail® package barcode (IMpb), which contain more information than previous barcodes.

An Intelligent Mail Package Barcode (IMpb) appears on:

The US Postal Service may provide discounts on the cost of mailings if the mailpieces have been barcoded and presorted by the customer. See the US Postal Service for details. (Endicia offers the DAZzle Express program that can help you qualify for discounts on such presorted mail. For more information, visit the Endicia website.) Although postal discounts are currently offered only for volume mail, you can still have your mail processed more efficiently and generally faster, by using barcodes when available.

DAZzle automatically prints the barcodes for you.

The Intelligent Mail package barcode does not fit on the following layouts, so the Type is limited to cards, letters, and flats:

About Barcode Choices

The Barcode Options dialog box lets you select the position of Intelligent Mail barcodes.

About Barcoding and ZIP Codes

DAZzle can include a barcode with a ZIP Code to your mail. The Intelligent Mail barcode requires a nine-digit ZIP Code (ZIP+4 in postal-speak). Because obtaining the ZIP+4 is often difficult, DAZzle eliminates this problem with Dial-A-ZIP. Dial-A-ZIP can find the ZIP+4 for US domestic delivery addresses using either the Internet or a US Postal Service-approved DVD. Dial-A-ZIP can also correct many common errors and misspellings in your addresses. This is known as address verification or address standardization.

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