Terms That Direct Mailing Professionals Need to Know

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A brief glossary of some of the most widely used terms in the direct mailing industry.

The printing industry is much more complex than you might think. Producing specialty mail pieces requires a very careful process that can only be executed by direct mailing specialists with years of experience under their belts. Whether it’s business cards, brochures, rack cards, or a postcard printing service, there is a lot of industry-specific information that one must have knowledge on.

As an experienced direct mail company, we know that there is a lot of lingo to keep up with. Following the right language is crucial to how well your direct mail campaign turns out and being fluent with the industry’s terminology can make all the difference.

What Are The Most Important Printing Marketing Materials?

Before you put a direct mail marketing plan together, make sure that you brush up on these important terms:

  • Flat-Size Mail: Any flat item mail pieces like letters, magazines, and newsletters. There are two primary sizes for flat-size mail pieces. You’ll be able to print either packages with that measure 8 ½ X 11 inches or 9 X 12 inches.
  • Fugitive Glue Material: Fugitive glue is low-tack adhesive material that creates a sturdy, yet non-permanent bond between marketing materials. If you get a credit card in the mail, this is the sticky holding material that is keeping it attached to the mail piece.
  • Gloss Paper: Have you ever been mailed a letter or invitation that is especially shiny? That’s probably because it was printed on gloss paper. There are two levels of gloss paper: high and semi-gloss. For an extreme shine and smooth texture, you’ll want to go with a high gloss paper, while semi-gloss items reflect a soft, matte appeal.
  • Letter Size Mail: In order for a mailpiece to be eligible for postage service, the item needs to fit three important requirements. The item needs to be rectangular-shaped, and least 3 ½ inches high X 5 inches long. The mailpiece must not exceed a height of 6 ⅛ inches or a length of 11 ½ inches.
  • Machine Insertables: Some materials cannot be simply inserted into envelopes. These are usually special delivery items that must be placed into the envelope through machine delivery.
  • Matte Paper: Matte paper is best used for printing heavy text. Unlike gloss paper, sheets of matte paper have very little shine appeal.
  • National Change of Address (NCOA): The NCOA is a dataset of changes recorded by the United States Postal Service (USPS). This provides a long list of address changes for families and businesses.
  • Offset Paper: This is one of the strongest forms of paper stock in the direct mailing industry. Offset paper is made with special fibers that are designed to soak up the highest quality of ink from the printer cartridge.
  • PMS Ink: Often referred to as a spot printing solution, the pantone matching system (PMS) is responsible for producing exact color matches.
  • Process Ink: This is the ink solution that’s responsible for delivering your CMYK color scheme. With process ink, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of colored inks in either the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, or Key (black) color segments.
  • Production Outsourcing: When most people hear this term, they often associate it with industrial production. Instead production outsourcing is a cost-effective way to manage direct mail items in its production stages.

St. Louis’ Sharpest Printing Experts – Presort Inc.

Now that you’re familiar with some of the direct mail industry’s most popular terms, it’s time to build the perfect mailing campaign and printing strategy. That’s where the experts at Presort can help most. As full-service mailing specialists, we’ll be there from the initial design to the final print and beyond. With nearly 30 years of experience as outsourcing professionals, our team will be able to support you with print marketing materials that help enhance any of your direct mailing efforts.

Give us a call today so you can take advantage of any of our unique printing solutions!