All letters or packages delivered by Royal Mail must have an indication that the postage has been paid. Individual letters or packages posted in small quantities will have a postage stamp or a franking label attached. Large mailings, however, use a quicker and more cost effective way, which is to imprint a personalised Printed Postage Impression on the mailing envelope.

The PPI has two functions.

1. To show that postage has been paid on the mail.

2. To identify which postal account the mail has been posted on.

The PPI usually appears in the top right hand corner of the envelope. You will notice that there is a PPI on most pieces of mail which come through your door. Have a look at the envelope your next bank statement comes in.

PPIs have two main advantages over stamps or franking.

1. Printed Postage Impressions are much more efficient (and cheaper) to apply as they are bulk-printed onto the envelope before the envelopes are filled.

2. Your mail piece will look more professional and improve your company's image.

PPIs are essential for any mail which is to be despatched via a Royal Mail Postal account. The alternative, which is to ask Royal Mail to frank your letters is an expensive option on all but very small mailings. It is charged at 10% of the postage cost.

Your mailing house will be able to produce envelopes with PPIs on them for use with your own postal account or via their own. They should also be able to offer you advice on their use.

If you already have a postage account with Royal Mail, you will have received 3 rubber stamps. These will have your PPI licence number on them. Your mailing house will need this number if they are to produce envelopes suitable for your postal account. If you do not have an account, most mailing houses will despatch via their own account, though they will all ask for postage payment in advance.

Open your own Roayl Mail Postage account to use your own Printed Postage Impression
If you would like your own postal account and you plan to spend more than £5000 per annum on postage, you can call Royal Mail on 08457 950 950. You will reach your local sales centre who will help you with opening your account. Alternatively, click here for Royal Mail account details.

The standard Royal Mail Printed Postage Impressions have recently changed. these are the latest PPIs available for use with 1st and 2nd class mail and with Mailsort

First Class Printed Postage Impression Second Class Printed Postage Impression Mailsort Printed Postage Impression

If you wish to order print which will utilise our standard PPI, Centreprint can supply the PPI artwork ready done for you. Just contact us. However, please remmeber that our own printworks are often cheaper and you will save the delivery cost to our warehouse. PPIs are also used on postcards, packets, catalogues and magazines, in fact anything which is to be posted via a postal account. Alternatively, Centreprint can print the envelopes or cards for you - see our printed envelopes page.

Another essential element for any mailing is the return address. As of April 2003, all PPI mail despatched must also display a return address. This is used by Royal Mail when the mail cannot be delivered for any reason such as:

The addressee has gone away
The address is incomplete
The address is incorrect
The address has become obscured or is missing
The item has been refused by the recipient

In these instances, the mail will be returned directly to the return address on the outside of the envelope. This will enable you to either rectify the address problem(s) or to remove the record from your database. Removing the address is essential so that you do not waste money on further abortive mailings.

The return address can either be printed in the top left hand corner of the front of the envelope, on the envelope flap or on the reverse of the envelope. Unless the envelopes are being printed while they are being made (for large orders) it is cheaper to have the return address printed on the front of the envelope. Your mailing house should have a Royal Mail Post Office Box address available for you to use if you do not want your own address on the envelope.

Thank you for reading this article, which, hopefully has proved useful to you. If you would like further advice on any specific aspect of leaflet production or direct mail, please feel free to contact us.

Please feel free to reproduce this article elsewhere if you wish, as long as all links remain intact.

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