                                Addressing with
                              U. S. Postal Service
                                   Bar Codes


    The laserjet font in MAILCODE.SFP is a U.S.P.S Bar Code font, which should
speed your correspondence through the postal service, and make you eligible for
presorted bulk rates in large mailings.
    If your mail isn't readable on the U.S.P.S. optical character readers
(OCRs) and doesn't have bar codes, it requires mechanized or even manual
processing.  (U.S.P.S. Notice 189, ZIP+4 COde Procedures, has information on
readability requirements.)
    If it's readable, the mail first passes through the OCR which converts the
numeric code to a bar code.  (You can see the bar codes on the bottom margin of
much of the mail you receive.)  Then it goes to a car code sorter (BCS) which
reads only the bar code and sorts the mai lto its final destination.
    If you bar code your mail, it skips the initial processing steps
altogether, and goes straight to the BCS, saving time for your mail, and saving
your tax dollars for the U.S.P.S.
    Nothing but bar codes must go in the Postnet Clear Zone.  This is the lower
right 4-1/2" by 5/8" of your envelopes.  The bar codes themselves must fit in
the area between 3/16" and 7/16" from the bottom of the envelope, and between
5/8" and 4" from the right edge of the envelope.  The preferred base height is
1/4" from the bottom of the envelope,and the preferred leading edge is 3-7/8"
from the right edge of the envelope.
    U.S.P.S. bar codes are made up of either 8 or 12 individual codes.  The
beginning code is a single tall bar, followed by the 5 or 9 digit zip code,
followed by a single check digit, followed by an ending code, also a single
tall bar.
    To calculate the check digit, add the 5 or 9 digits of the zip code, and
select a check digit so that when you add it to the total, it becomes divisible
by 10.  For example, if your zip code is 91011, 9+1+0+1+1 is 12, so the check
digit is 8.  If your zip code is 90071-1793, 9+0+0+7+1+1+7+9+3 is 37, so the
check digit is 3.
    The laserjet mail code font, MAILCODE.SFP, is created in 9 pt. text, and
only contains twelve characters.  There are ten digits, plus the beginning code
(entered as > greater-than hex 3C) and the ending code (entered as < less-than,
hex 3E).  Merely type the beginning code, the 5 or 9 digits of the zip code,
the check digit, and the ending code.  Make sure you have placed them in the
Postnet Clear Zone.  Then print your envelope.  Compare it with some of the bar
coded envelopes you receive every day, and if it looks right, mail it.
    To learn about bulk mail rates, see the U.S.P.S. Domestic Mail Manual, or
Publication 25, A Guide to Business Mail Preparation.


Bill Principe Compuserve 71521,1406
