USPS Delays New IMb Requirements

A shake-up in the world of discounted automation mailing rates was set to happen in May 2011. Don’t worry! You can relax. Your coffers of printed business-reply envelopes (BRE’s) are safe. You can still receive the discounted rates . . . for the time being, anyway.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recently announced an indefinite extension to the May deadline for transitioning from the traditional POSTNET barcode (see “PrinterSpeak” in this newsletter) to the new, more efficient Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb®).

The benefits of IMb include the ability to hold more data (e.g., class of mail, mailer ID, serial number, delivery point) without taking up more space on the mail piece.

According to the USPS website, officials recognized “ongoing concerns about mailers’ readiness for broader adoption of IMb” and are “relaxing the requirements beyond the planned timeframe to allow for easier transition to the full use of the IMb while continuing to receive the automation discounts.”

The bottom line is you still have time to deplete your BRE supplies without losing the automation discounts. But before you reprint, be sure to follow the new IMb regulations to retain the discounted mailing rate.

To learn more about IMb’s, visit the USPS “Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS)” online (ribbs.usps.gov) for resources to download and free webinars, entitled “Migrating to IMb.”

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