Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter – How to get it right

Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter

How to get it right

This document offers a technical guide to addressing and preparing Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter. Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter is defined as mail that is sized between C5 to a maximum of C4, meets specific Large Letter criteria and is machine readable with an optical character recognition (OCR) font. If you have any questions, please call us on 08457 950 950. We can advise you on envelope sizes and layouts, paper types and weights, direct mail, business mail and anything else regarding large letter mail preparation.

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This document can be used for information and advice about: 1. Mail characteristics ……………………………… ………………………………….. ……3 2. Physical properties ……………………………… ………………………………….. ……3 3. Mail piece dimensions (height & width) … ……………………………….. ……3

• Impact of non conformance 4. Mail piece weight ……………………………………………………………………………..3 5. Mail piece thickness / spatial distortion … ……………………………….. ……3

• Impact of non conformance 6. Lateral movement of mail item… …………………………………………….. ……6 7. Inserts placed in mail items … ……………………………….. ……………………..6

• Impact of non conformance 8. Mail piece shape… ……………………………….. ……………………………………..…7

• Impact of non conformance 9. The aspect ratio of a mail item … …………………………….. …………… ……8 10. Mail piece rigidity … ……………………………….. ………………………………… ….8 11. Envelope material ………………………….. … … 9 12. Mailpiece construction……………………………… … …9 13. Paper weight … ………………………………………………………………….... … …10 14. Paper opacity … ……………………………….. ……………………………………. … 10 15. Paper absorbency … ……………………………….. ……………………………..… 10 16. Paper porosity … ……………………………….. …………………………………….. 11 17. Paper colour … …………………………………………………………………..….. ……11 18. Window film properties … ……………………………….. ……………………….…11 19. Size, position, number of windows … ……………………………….. ……..…11 20. Gloss … ……………………………….. …………………………………………………….…12 21. Haze … ……………………………….. …………………………………………………….… 12 22. Window strength … ……………………………….. …………………………………… 13 23. Window zone requirements for address block “tap” test …………… 13 24. Customer applied attributes & Royal Mail clear zones … …….. …… 13 25. Indicia types … ……………………………….. …………………………………………... 14 26. Delivery address specification… ……………………………….. ………………… 16 27. Location of address block/clear zone/return address ……….. …… 16 28. Recommended fonts … …………………….. …………………………………..…… 18 29. Printing characteristics … …………………….. …………………………………… .19 30. Punctuation or graphical symbols in the address block ……….. ……19 31. Postcode format … …………………….. ……………………………………………..…20 32. Address structure … …………………….. ………………………………………………20 33. Address justification … …………………….. ………………………………………..…22 34. Print contrast … ……………………………………………………………….…….. ……24

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1. Mail Characteristics This section outlines the mail characteristics that fall into 3 categories: • Physical properties • Customer and Royal Mail applied attributes • Constraints on the mail piece

2. Physical Properties The physical properties to be defined are: • The maximum & minimum size of a mail piece (height & length) • The maximum & minimum thickness of a mail item plus maximum spatial distortion • The maximum & minimum mail item weight • The shape of the mail item • The rigidity of a mail item • The mail item construction • Inserts in the mail item

3. Mail Piece Dimensions (height & length) Maximum (mm) Minimum (mm) Length 324 229 Height 229 162

• Impact of non conformance Items that fall outside of these dimensions begin to degrade the performance of the flat sorting machines, which increases processing cost and can adversely impact the quality of service.

4. Mail Piece Weight Max (g) Min (g)

Weight 750 >50

5. Mail Piece Thickness Mail piece thickness is defined in two ways:

1 where the thickness across the mail piece is consistent 2 where there are step changes in the evenness of the thickness

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The table below defines this in terms of a maximum thickness and the spatial distortion of the mail item (the variation in evenness of the mail item)

Max (mm) Min (mm) Thickness 10 1.0 Spatial Distortion <=5 N/A Figure 1 Spatial Distortion gives examples of spatial distortion across a mail piece.

• Impact of non conformance Mail items thicker than 10mm start to degrade the performance of the flat sorting machine. The purpose of this product is to maximise the capability of the machine. Items less than 0.5mm are too flimsy and can be damaged during the de stacking process, furthermore they can be de stacked as doubles and get missorted, causing an impact to quality of service. Additionally if there is a variance in the thickness of >5mm across the surface of a mail item, this will create difficulty in the ability to singulate the item, impacting performance of the flat sorting machine and risking damage to the mail item. Non-conformance impacts both Royal Mail and the Customer, as it tends to increase processing cost and can adversely impact the quality of service, additionally there maybe a risk of damage to the mail item.

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3mm Base Envelope

5mm Base Envelope

= 4mm Spatial Distortion

6 mm Spatial Distortion

7 mm Base Envelope

Overall Thickness =<10 mm

Spatial Distortion => 5mm

>0.25mm =<10mm

A No Distortion

X7 mm

Overall Thickness >10 mm

Spatial Distortion =<5mm

B

2

Spatial Distortion => 5mm

XC

6 mm Overall Thickness = <10 mm

D

X

X X

7 mm Spatial Distortion

Figure 1 Spatial Distortion

6. Lateral Movement of the mail item The lateral movement in the item should not exceed 30mm in both the horizontal or vertical planes. Figure 2. Lateral Movement in the Vertical Plane .

5

Horizontal Plane

Lateral movement Total = 15 + 15 =30

A Insert

15mm 15mm

B Insert

15mm 20mm X Lateral movement Total = 15 + 20 =35

Figure 2. Lateral Movement in the Vertical Plane

7. Inserts Placed in Mail Items An insert could be a pen, keys, or small gift. Inserts placed in envelopes should not alter the properties of the mail item in that the mail item now falls outside of the automation requirements. Inserts that are placed in an envelope must be fixed in position and must not move around during the processing of the mail item.

• Impact of non conformance Mail items with inserts change the physical properties of the mail item and where these go outside of the parameters defined for spatial distortion, there is a high probability of the mail item sustaining damage in the automation stream, as well as possible damage to the flat sorting machine, both of which impact upon quality of service.

8. Mail Piece Shape Apart from the size constraints, the shape of the mail piece must adhere to the following simple rules: • It shall have four sides that are straight lines • The intersection of each side shall have a 90 degree angle

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Figure 3 Example Shapes: A - D Example A is the only shape that meets the criteria of 4 sides made up of straight lines, where each intersection has a 90 degree angle. Large Letter Shapes

90 Degrees

<90 Degrees

A

C

X

Undulating lines

B

X

90 Degrees

D

X

>90 Degrees > 4 sides

Figure 3 Example Shapes

• Impact of non conformance

Mail items are detected as irregular shapes by the sensors in the flat sorting machine. In the examples B, C and D in Fig 3 the flat sorting machine will be confused by the size causing the mail item to be rejected from the automation. This is done because the edges are used as reference points for applying Royal Mail codes; if they are not at 90 degrees the code will not be applied to the mail item correctly and will not be recoverable in subsequent passes. This will add cost to processing the mail item as it will be processed manually. Additionally example B will cause a problem for the flat sorting machine, as it will detect many small items, by sensing the undulating

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9. The aspect ratio of a mail item There are no constraints for the aspect ratio for a large letter, provided that the mail item fits within the dimensions expressed.

10. Mail Piece rigidity Items that are too flimsy are unsuitable to be processed using the flat sorting machine, as they cause problems with de stacking. This degrades the performance of the equipment and causes the items to be rejected to manual processing.

In order to determine whether mail falls within this category, a ‘mail test procedure’ (described below) will be used.

A single mail item is placed on a flat surface with the leading edge of the mail item overhanging the edge of the flat surface by a horizontal distance of 100mm. The leading edge of the mail item is then released and allowed to bend down under its own weight. If the leading edge drops to 46.5 mm or more, then the rigidity is less that 8N and the mail item shall be classified as unsuitable for processing by the flat sorting machine.

The test tool to measure this characteristic shall incorporate:

• A ‘stop’ to position the overhanging leading edge of the mail item in the correct horizontal position, relative to the edge of the flat surface;

• A step to indicate the maximum acceptable curvature of the leading edge of the mail item.

Test shows a suitable tool (drawn upside down) to carry out the above test.

320

10015

150

=

=

46.5+/

- 0.1

250

25

Cutout 200 x155 Deep 40 R= 10

60 m

at

Figure 4 Rigidity Test

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11. Envelope Material The envelope material for Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter must be paper based, it can be a postcard type item, but the paper properties must as a minimum meet the envelope paper requirements. A window is allowed on the front of the mail item.

12. Mail Piece Construction • Envelopes must be securely sealed on the front, back, and all edges. • Any opening flap can fold to either the back or the front of the mail item; all

flaps must be securely sealed and must not fall within the codemark clear zone. • Envelopes with apertures must have a window film covering the aperture, and

this must be securely sealed on all sides of the aperture such that edges of the aperture do not create a tear point on the item

• The paper colour of the envelope must ensure that minimum contrast ratio for OCR reading is achieved (details in section 34).

• The colours to be avoided are dark colours, particularly red, green and black envelopes. These colours significantly reduce the contrast ratio value and may well result in the address not being detected on the mail item.

• The impact of dark coloured envelopes is to lead to image quality problems on the flat sorting machine, which results in items requiring manual intervention.

• A window film insert must be flat when fixed to the envelope and meet the window material specification. (page 11).

• Adhesives used in production of envelopes should not leak onto the open surface of the envelope

13. Paper Weight The value for paper density is defined in grams/square meter (gsm)

The table below provides the gsm values for mail items

Paper Weight Min Value Envelope Paper 70 gsm Postcards 200 gsm

Rational

A low density of the paper results in a thinner and weaker envelope, In order to automate a mail item it requires a minimum strength due to the mechanical handling properties of the equipment.

A mail item must be robust enough to withstand several passes through the flat sorting machine.

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14. Paper Opacity Paper opacity is the measure of transparency of the paper

Topic Value Paper Opacity ≥ 85%

Rational

Part of the process of the flat sorting machine is the ability to identify and interpret the address on the mail item. If the opacity value of the envelope is <85%, there is a high probability that text or graphics or security patterns printed on the inside of the envelope or on the insert will show through the envelope, creating problems in both identifying the address block and interpreting the detail of the address.

15. Paper Absorbency Paper absorbency is the measure of the amount of moisture that the paper absorbs under specified conditions.

This is measured using the “Cobb Test Standards”

Topic Value Paper Absorbency 15 - 35gsm of water in 1 minute

Rational

Royal Mail applies code marks to a mail item. The mail item surface must be such that the inks applied will adhere to the mail item with clean definition and not smudge or saturate into the paper with a blotting paper effect.

16. Paper Porosity Paper porosity is the measure of the amount of air that can be drawn through the paper under specified conditions.

Topic Value Paper Porosity < 700 ml/minute

Rational

In order to de stack mail items, the mail item requires a minimum level of suction to be applied to the envelope in order to singulate the mail piece. If suction is able to pass through the mail item, it will cause two items to become stuck together as one. This can cause missorts, which could potentially delay the mail.

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17. Paper Colour The paper colour of the envelope should ensure that minimum print contrast ratio for OCR reading is achieved (details in section 34). The colours to be avoided are dark colours, particularly red, green and black envelopes. These colours significantly reduce the contrast ratio value and may well result in the address not being detected on the mail item. The impact of dark coloured envelopes lead to image quality problems on the flat sorting machine, which results in items requiring manual intervention.

18. Window Film Properties This section defines window film properties that need to be met to ensure that window envelopes can be automatically processed. The requirements for window film fall into two categories:

1 the size and position of the film on the envelope 2 the window film characteristic

19. Size, position & number of windows The maximum area for window usage on the envelope must not exceed 25% on the front of the envelope

The information displayed through any window placed on the front of the envelope must be relevant to the delivery address,

The position of the window film must be within the addressing area see Figure 5 Landscape Clear Zones and Figure 6 Portrait Orientation

The maximum number of windows on an envelope is 1. This must be rectangular and positioned on the front of the mail item i.e. the address side. Additionally there must be a minimum of a 5mm clear zone around the edge of the address block, Page 17 explains the requirements for clear zones.

20. Gloss Gloss is expressed as a unit and it refers to the amount of light that is reflected back from the surface being illuminated.

The gloss value is measured using ASTM 2457 Measured at 60 degrees)

Topic Value Gloss <= 150

Rational

The higher the unit value, the glossier the material being measured. In order to ensure that the reflected light doesn’t interfere with address image quality the value has been set at <=150

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When the reflected light interferes with the address image acquisition quality, it produces an image of poor quality. This will result in the optical character recognition (OCR) system being unable to correctly determine the recipient’s address, causing the item to be rejected to manual handling that will increase processing costs.

21. Haze Haze is a measure of transparency of the window film.

The haze value is measured using the ASTM D1003-00 Procedure a Haze meter

Topic Value Haze <=75 % Rational: Haze is expressed as a percentage (%), e.g. 25% is an indication of the opaqueness of the material being measured. The higher the haze the more difficult it is to see through the material. In order to ensure the information behind the window is visible the value has been set at <=75%. If the haze level interferes with the image acquisition quality, it produces an image of poor quality. This results in the OCR system being unable to correctly determine the recipient’s address, causing the item to be rejected to manual handling increasing processing costs.

22. Window Strength If the window material can be reliably handled during the envelope production process it will be strong enough to affix to an envelope and withstand handling through the flat sorting machine. However, any wrinkling or creasing of the window will significantly affect the ability of the flat sorting machine to read the address. It is therefore essential that the window be:

a) Robust enough not to become distorted

b) Fixed to the envelope evenly across the surface area it is in contact with.

23. Window zone requirements for the address block The insert for a window envelope must ensure that the address block falls within the visible area of the window and provides a minimum of 5 mm gap around all sides of the address block and the edges of the window. This can be reduced to 2mm provided there is a 3mm clear zone on the envelope around the perimeter of the window The reason for maintaining the minimum of 2mm in the window is to ensure that the imaging & OCR system are able to differentiate between the changes in layers from window film to the envelope paper.

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The following rules assume that the mail item provides a clear zone of =>3mm on the envelope around the perimeter of the window. (A clear zone is defined as an area free from print graphics or patterning) If this is not the case then all references to the =>2mm must be ignored and revert back to the =>5mm value.

If the insert is such that it can move inside the envelope, then the rules for checking movement of the insert are as follows:

1. If the address block when tested (“tap” test) for horizontal movement causes the address block to be obscured or does not provide an =>2mm clear zone around the window edge and the address block, the item will have failed, as this will impair the ability to automatically read the address block using the flat sorting machine.

2. If the address block when tested (“tap” test) for vertical movement causes

any of the address block to be obscured or does not provide an => 2mm clear zone around the address block, then the item will have failed, as this will impair the ability to automatically read the address block using the flat sorting machine.

24. Customer applied attributes & Royal Mail clear zones This section outlines the attributes that can be applied by a customer and Royal Mail. Customer applied attributes are: • Indicia • Delivery Address Royal Mail applied attributes are: • Tag code mark. The Codemark provides a reference number for the mailpiece

that facilitates processing.

25. Indicia Type This section defines the indicia constraints for the Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter. The indicia type for the product range is a Printed Postage Impression (PPI). Note: A mail piece must only have one indicia, this must be printed on the mail piece as specified in this document.

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40mm

229mm Max 162mm Min

324 mm Max 229 mm Min

75mm

E

B

A C

15mm

15m Clear Zone

Indicia Area D

Landscape Large Letter

RM Tag Code Zone

Mr R Smith Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX 5 mm

5 mm

60mm

30mm

15m100mm

Figure 5 Landscape Clear Zones

A Address Zone : The address must be within the hatched area B Clear Zone : Edge clear zone, nothing should be in the clear zone C Address Clear zone : A 5mm Clear zone around the address block D Indicia Zone Area : This area is reserved for the Indicia only E RM Tag Zone Area : This area is reserved for the RM Tag code

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Mr P Smith Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

Clear Zone

Indicia Zone

Tag Zone

Clear Area

Note: All dimensions for zones are the same as for the landscape

Large Letter The reference letters A-E have the same definition

C

D

E

A

B

Figure 6 Portrait Orientation

The orientation and facing of Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter is key when presented to the flat sorting machine to ensure successful processing. For landscape mail:

The item is faced with the address to the front (visible to operator) The indicia to the top right hand corner

26. Delivery address specification This section provides information with regards to the structure and presentation of an address. By following these guidelines, it will ensure that the mail item is fully machine readable. The delivery address specification section will detail both the delivery address and the return address.

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The information in the delivery address must comply with the information in Postal Address File (PAF)

27. Location of the delivery address block on the mail item This section details the addressing positional standards required for OCR mail items, to maintain Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter in the automation stream. If these are not adhered to there is a high probability that the mail item will be rejected and manual sorting will be required. Reasons for the mail item to be rejected could be due to: • The address not being found, resulting in either manual coding or the item being rejected to manual sorting. • An address that intrudes the clear zones, causing the mail item to be rejected to a manual stream at the next stage of processing, due to not being able to read the Royal Mail applied codes.

• Address Location The address location area is dynamic; it can be different for the varying size of envelope that can be used. Figure 5 Landscape Clear Zones and Figure 6 Portrait Orientation show how the area is affected for the different orientations.

• Address Clear Zones for OCR mail items The minimum clear zone around the address block must be 5mm, the two figures below show examples of how the 5mm zone can be constructed. The first example is a non window envelope; the second example is a window envelope.

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Mr P Smith Royal Mail Engineering Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

5mm

5 mm

5 mm Clear Zone

Address Block

Non Window envelope

Mr P Smith Royal Mail Engineering Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

5mm

5 mm

2 mm window Clear Zone

Address Block

Window envelope

3 mm envelope Clear Zone

Note : For window envelopes, the 5mm clear zone for address can be made up of a combination of the window clear zone and envelope clear zone.

Figure 7 Address Block Clear Zones

As can be seen both examples provide a 5mm clear zone around the edge of the address block, The second example shows how this can be made up of a 2mm clear zone around the address and perimeter of the window film and 3mm clear zone on the envelope around the perimeter of the window. This gives the => 5mm requirement of a clear zone around the address block.

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Requirements for the Return Address block on the mail piece To ensure that the return address does not intrude any clear zones it is recommended it should be on the reverse of the envelope.

28. Recommended Fonts Whilst the flat sorting machine can read many fonts, the performance of these fonts is variable. In order to maximise the opportunity to accurately read the address and provide a high level of performance the following range of fonts has been specified for use on Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter.

Font Type Point Size

Arial 10 - 12

Avant Garde 11 - 15 Century School Book 10 – 11 Courier 10 - 15

Courier new 10 – 15

Frankfurt Gothic 10 - 12

Franklin Gothic (Book) 11 - 14

Geneva 10 - 12

Helvetica 10 - 14

Letter Gothic 12

Lucida Console 12

Lucinda Sans Typewriter 12

Monaco 12

News Gothic MT 10 - 12

OCR B 12

Univers 10 - 15

Verdana 10 - 12

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29. Printing Characteristics In order to ensure that the address is readable the following constraints apply Each line of the Address must be made up of characters of the same font and point size

8-15 point font size. Check the font table for the permissible sizes for the font to be used.

Characters printed per inch Character pitch must be 10 to 12 characters per 25.4mm with clear vertical gaps of at least 0.25mm between the extremities of adjacent characters.

Spacing between words 10mm (max)

Uniform spacing between lines Minimum – 1mm, Maximum - 4mm (Measured from descender to ascender)

Maximum characters per line of the address 64 characters (including spaces)

Number of lines per inch 6 lines per inch

Skew of address block ± 5 degrees

Negative contrast is not allowed

Print quality must be such that characters are not blurred, smudged, or incomplete.

The must be no “blank” lines in the address

Adequate Contrast must be achieved see section 34

Preferred print colour for the address is black.

Uniform line spacing – no “blank” lines

30. Punctuation or graphical symbols in the address block Only punctuation and non-alpha numeric symbols that are included within the delivery address (but excluding the addressees name and title / department) as specified in the Postcode Address File may be used.

Punctuation and graphical symbols may be used within any ‘Mailer Defined Information’ and addressee fields.

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31. Postcode format The Postcode is made up of two components. An outward component and an inward component, the two elements must not be joined. The separation between them must be either 1 or 2 spaces. The Postcode must be placed on the last line of the address.

32. Address Structure The table below describes how to layout the address.

Element Description Example Requirement

Addressee Elements

Name of Recipient Mr P Smith Yes See note 1

Name of Company Royal Mail Engineering Optional Premise Elements

Sub Building Name Optional See note 2

Name of Building Wheatstone House Yes (if Applicable)

Number of Building (to be applied on same line as the Dependent Thoroughfare or Thoroughfare information)

3 Yes (if Applicable)

Thoroughfare Elements

Dependent Thoroughfare Name

See Note 3

Dependent Thoroughfare Descriptor (Road, Street, Lane, etc.) (to be applied on same line as the Dependent Thoroughfare information)

Thoroughfare Name Wheatstone Yes (if Applicable)

Thoroughfare Descriptor (Road, Street, Lane, etc.) (to be applied on same line as the Thoroughfare information)

Road Yes (if Applicable)

Locality Elements

Double Dependent Locality (Area, etc.)

See note 4

Dependent Locality (District, etc.)

Dorcan See note 4

Post Town The first character of the Post Town must be in upper case

Swindon Yes

County County Wiltshire See note 6 Country Country England See note 7 Postcode Positioned as last line of SN3 5XX Yes

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Element Description Example Requirement

address in upper case. Information used by Royal Mail to aid processing)

See Notes 5 & 7

All the information provided in the Address Block must correlate with the Postal Address File (PAF). Notes: 1. The recipients name is required on all mail items, and if the address is

behind a window, it must be visible. 2. A combination of premise elements may be present. A sub building name

cannot be present on its own. There will always be a building name or building number data present when a sub building is present. If the address relates to an organisation name then it is possible that none of the premise elements will be present.

3. There may be no thoroughfare information present for an address. This

usually occurs in rural areas, when the locality information identifies the location of the address. A dependent thoroughfare cannot be present on its own; there will always be thoroughfare data present when a dependent thoroughfare is present.

4. A locality consists of a Post Town, with dependent locality and double

dependent locality further defining the geographic area where required. The Post Town will always be present, i.e. all localities have a Post Town. For some localities this will be the only element present. A double dependent locality can only be present when a dependent locality is present. The POST TOWN must start with an UPPER CASE character. Examples of Post Towns:

Birmingham Milton Keynes Ross On Wye

Each of the stated elements (Post Town, Dependant Locality etc.) must be on separate lines.

5. The Postcode will always be present and must be relevant to the address as

specified in PAF. The Postcode must always be printed in UPPER CASE and positioned as the last line of the address. Exceptionally, it may appear to the right of the last line of the address.

6. The county is not required as part of the address block if the postcode is

present, if applied it should be on a separate line between the Post Town and the postcode

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7. For inland mail items the country must not be used. The country is only required when the posting is for outside of the United Kingdom (UK).

8. Where the address complies with PAF details, and there is no other text/

information on the face of the mail item that could be construed as an address the following exceptions apply:

a. The Postcode may be preceded by a County on the last line of the address, provided that the space between the County and Postcode is one or two characters b. The Post Town may be followed by a County on the penultimate line of the address, provided that the space between the Post Town and County is one or two character spaces c. The Post Town and Postcode may jointly be on the last line of the address provided that the Post Town precedes the Postcode and the space between the two elements is one or two character spaces

Notes: i) The requirement for "no other text/information on the face of the mail item that could be construed as an address" includes any areas of an insert that may appear in the window of the mail item arising from insert movement.

ii) The address and postcode applied to the mail piece must correlate with the information on the Postal Address File (PAF) iii) Addresses that are Flats, Factory units or Office Blocks etc. should also indicate the name and number of the block or building and the floor number of the recipient.

33. Address Justification The address must be left hand justified; Figure 8 Address Justification

shows an example of correct and incorrect justified address blocks.

Incorrectly justified addresses are difficult for the OCR systems to interpret and will greatly degrade the performance of the flat sorting machine, requiring manual intervention to sort the mail.

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P J Smith RM Engineering Wheastone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

P J Smith RM Engineering Wheastone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

Royal Mail

Postage

Left Justified

Royal Mail

Postage

x Indent Justified

Royal Mail

Postage

P J Smith RM Engineering

Wheastone House Wheatstone Road

Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

x

Right Justified

Royal Mail

Postage

x

P J Smith RM Engineering

Wheastone House Wheatstone Road

Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

Centre Justified

Figure 8 Address Justification

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34. Print Contrast The ability of the equipment to be able to differentiate the address information from the envelope background is essential. The criteria to determine the suitability of an item are:

1. Print contrast ratio,

2. Reflective difference

3. Background reflectance.

Note that the word reflectance does not refer to values used for measuring the gloss value of paper they refer to the measurements of absorption of light (at a given frequency) on a substrate.

• The Print Contrast Ratio (PCR) The PCR is an indication of how well the printed address printed on the letter stands out from the background of the letter. When calculating this, the following measures need to be obtained: Background Reflectance; this is the white space of the clear zone around the address block Printed Character Reflectance; this is the address block characters.

When measuring these values, a range of readings for both the background reflectance and the printed reflectance should be taken and an average calculated for both values. The PCR is then calculated using the formulae below

( )eRefelctanc Background

eReflectancCharacter Printed - eRefelctanc Background100 = % PCR ×

Required Value Print Contrast Ratio = > 50 %

• The Reflective Difference (RD)

This value sets the required value for RD such that the when the address block is applied to a mail item, it will be clearly visible. This value is simply the difference between the reflectance values for the background and printed characters.

%RelectanceCharacter Print - % eReflectanc Background = % RD

Required Value Min Reflective Difference = > 30 %

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• Background Reflectance (BR) This value sets the required value for BR such that it restricts the use of dark colours; the requirement of a minimum value for background reflectance restricts the use of dark colours to assist with visibility of address.

% eReflectanc Background theof readings of Average = % BR

Required Value Min Background Reflective = > 35 %

The address clear zones must be observed as described in page 17 & figure 9. Where the address is printed onto a label, then, provided that the label provides the 5mm clear zones, the label will be deemed as the background level for determining the contrast values. Notes: Positive contrast or inverse printing (address block lighter than the background) is not permitted. Light source wavelength used for these measurements is in the red region.

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Mr P J Smith RM Engineering Whaetstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

X

=>2mm

=>2mm

A

Mr P Smith RM Engineering Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

=>2mm B

X

Mr P SmRM Engineering Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon

ith

SN3 5XX

< 2mm C

X

< 2mm

=>2mm

X

Mr P Smith RM Engineering Wheatstone House Wheatstone Road Dorcan Swindon SN3 5XX

=> 2mm D

X

=>2mm

Lateral Movement Example

X < 2mm

=> 2mm

=> 2mm

=>2mm

Perpendicular Movement Example 1

Perpendicular Movement Example 2

=>2mm

=>2mm

=>2mm

=> 2mm

This fails because there is not a 2mm gap to the left hand vertical side of the address block

Note: The total clear zone around the address block must be =>5mm. This can be made up of =>2mm around the window + =>3 on the envelo

Clear Zones for Address in Window Envelopes

pe (see section 3.3.2.1.2)

This passes the tap test provided that there is a =>3mm clear zone on the envelope, giving a total clear zone of =>5mm.

This fails because there is not a 2mm gap to the upper horizontal of the address block.

This fails because there is not a 2mm gap to the lower horizontal of the address block.

Figure 9 Examples of widow film clear zones

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Royal Mail, the Cruciform and the colour red are registered trade marks of Royal Mail Group Ltd, Automated Standard Tariff Large Letter™ - how to get it right © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2009. All Rights Reserved Version 6th April 2009