Departments sending official university mail to addresses off-campus are responsible for the proper preparation of all letters, flats, and parcels. The following guidelines should eliminate unnecessary return, delay or excessive postage charges on outgoing mail.
1. Mail
Most mail is sent at a discounted presort mail rate. This postage class still receives first class turn around times with the US Post Office. Anything heavier than 13 ounces will be mailed at the first class postage rate. Every piece of mail that can be mailed at a discounted rate (less than 13 ounces) will be. This is a savings to the University that is passed down to each department.
Envelopes or postcards that are smaller than 3 1/2 inches by 5 inches are NON-mailable per U.S. Postal regulations. Any non-mailable pieces received by Print & Mailing Services will be returned to the originating department with the next scheduled delivery.
White, standard-sized, envelopes are recommended for metered letters. Dark colored envelopes do not offer enough contrast to be sorted by postal machines and their use is discouraged because it can slow down the mail. Because our metering ink is red, Print & Mailing Services cannot, under any circumstances, accept red cards or envelopes for metering.
No printing is allowed below the addressee’s address of any mail that is to be sent first-class or bulk rate. This space is reserved for a bar code.
2. Addressing
The upper right-hand corner of each envelope or parcel is reserved for meter posting only. Do not place any classification, address or departmental information in that corner. Each piece of outgoing university mail (letter, flat or parcel) must include the following information:
a. Return Address in upper left corner. The return address must include department or office name and university address.
Outgoing mail without a return address will not be processed. Print & Mailing Services will attempt to return this mail to the originating department. Mail that is not in a DePaul University envelope or does not have a DePaul University return label, must be accompanied by the department letterhead indicating what budget department ID the postage should be charged to. It should also be signed and dated. All postage is charged to the department listed in the return address unless otherwise noted.
b. Complete Address or Recipient must include name, agency or company, street address or P.O. Box, city, state and correct zip code. The zip code should appear at the end of the last line of the address. No other addressing information should be placed below the zip code.
c. Window Envelopes must be matched with the insert so that the entire address will show through the window no matter how much the insert slides around inside the envelope. Pieces not meeting this requirement will be returned to the department.
3. Preparing Mail for Pick-up
Departmental outgoing mail must be separated and banded according to the following categories at the pick-up site prior to the mail clerk’s arrival.
a. Inter-Office Mail
b. Outgoing Domestic mail with a destination address within the United States.
c. Outgoing Air Mail (destination addresses outside the United States)
4. Forwarding of Mail
Ambiguously addressed mail (i.e. person’s name and department don’t match) will, by default, be delivered to the department indicated on the piece. The assumption will be that if a person has changed jobs or terminated employment with the university, the piece of mail would still be of interest to that department. If that is not the case, the piece may be forwarded internally by crossing off the incorrect department, writing the correct department and campus, and placing the piece with outgoing inter-office mail for pick-up.
If the piece is to be forwarded to an address outside the university, please keep in mind that the U.S. Postal Service will not forward that mail unless it is put into a new envelope with new postage. Mail which comes into the university with a name and no department will be looked up in the campus address database and forwarded to the proper department within one working day.
First-class mail addressed to names not in the Employee Directory will be returned to sender. Non-returnable mail will be discarded. Please ensure that your Campus Delivery Address is current.