Video tutorials:

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  How does mail move through our postal network?

  Building a Better Post Office

  It's an exciting time for Canada Post. At Canada Post, we're reinventing ourselves as the Modern Post. All across the country, we're building new plants and renovating old ones, introducing state-of-the-art sorting equipment and the latest mail processing technology.. We're improving our operations to serve you better, now and into the future.

  Automation is the key to this change. Our new 'multi-line' sorting machines can process mail about 25 per cent faster than the old models, and sequence it to a much finer degree. But that's not all. Driven by our centralized computer system, our new machines can read addresses and sort mail right into the hands of the letter carrier who will be delivering it. By fine-tuning our productivity, we'll be able to offer you more efficient service, enhanced offerings, and a whole new postal experience.

  One of the service enhancements you'll be seeing is 'inline' redirection. That means mail redirection will become much faster, because mail destined to a person that has a Change of Address Notification in effect, will automatically be identified and re-routed by our sorting machines. You'll also see improved address management and a selection of new service offerings.

  But if your mail isn't "machineable"-that is, if it can't be machine-read and processed by our sorting equipment-you'll miss out on all these benefits.

  So we've developed the Machineable Mail Advisor to help you out. This self-serve, online tool teaches you how to design creative, machine-friendly mailings. And did we mention it's easy? Just click your way through these four simple steps:

  Step 1:
  Choose a mail format, either an envelope or card.

  Click on the image of your choice.

  Step 2:
  Choose a mail category that best suits your design. For example, envelopes fall into two size categories: Standard or Short and Long and Oversize. Your envelope may have a single window, multiple windows, or no windows at all. If you're not sure what you need, browse our carousel of popular envelopes, located at the top of the screen.

  Step 3:
  Once you've chosen a mail category, explore our gallery of design templates. Images of all available envelopes and cards are on display here, along with information about their dimensions.

  Click on your selection.

  Step 4:
  Preview a design template of the item you've selected. You can also view different layout options of the same piece on its thumbnail. Notice that each template has built-in guidelines. For each image, you can select front and back views and views that outline Address Zones or Quiet Zones. Here you can also view the piece with sample artwork.

  Now that you have the foundation for a print-friendly machineable mail item complete with built-in guidelines, it's time to download your template. Choose between PDF, EPS or Adobe Illustrator formats. Then open it with your own design software and upload your artwork. It's that simple.

  To learn more about machineable mail, watch the educational videos available on each page of the tool, or browse through the information in the four resources tabs.

  Machineable Mail Advisor has the information you need to create great-looking and fully machineable mail. Welcome to the Modern Post.

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  What are Canada Post's machineable mail product standards?

  Machineable Mail 101

  What's the deal with machineable mail? Our automated processing machines are, in a way, the engines of our company. We rely on them to keep mail flowing through our postal network at high speeds. And in a country as big as Canada, where mail travels substantial distances, speed is central to delivery efficiency. When you design mailings that can be processed by our machines, we can enhance your postal experience through efficient service and better price points. So you could say it's a bit of a trade-off. And as we modernize our company through streamlining and major infrastructure upgrades, we'll give you even more reasons to 'go machineable.'

  Although our requirements for machineable mail are very detailed, they're not hard to follow. Here's a brief overview, in four steps:

  1. First things first-Make your mail 'machineable.' This means that your mail item must be the right size, constructed from a suitable material, and prepared in such a way that it can pass through our high-speed sorting equipment.
     • For example, an item that is too big, too small, too heavy or too light won't hold up to machine processing. For this reason, we've set out minimum and maximum size and weight restrictions. These fall into two categories: Standard or Short and Long and Oversize.
     • If an item opens, tears or gets stuck as it passes through the machine, it will jam. In such a case, all the mail would stop moving as a technician identifies and solves the problem. So, mail is not machineable unless it is constructed well enough to withstand such processing. For example, Standard or Short and Long pieces should be strong enough to stay in tact, but flexible enough to bend easily around a 140 mm circular surface. Our mail specifications also explain how items should be sealed, and what type of envelope enclosures are acceptable.
  2. Second-make your mail items machine 'readable.' Our sorting machines do more than just move mail. They also 'read' the addresses on mail items, verifying them against our national address database and sorting them accordingly, all at a high speed.

     In our specifications, we've set out a selection of font, type-sizing and spacing recommendations to ensure address readability. We also specify where to place addressing information (an area we call the Address Zone), and which areas should be left clear so that our automated equipment can find the addressing information and apply a barcode (we call these Quiet Zones). The Machineable Mail Advisor design templates will show you exactly where these zones are located.

  3. mail preparation goes beyond mail piece design; it's also about how mail is introduced to a postal facility. To allow optimal processing, we ask customers to put their machineable mail in containers (like Lettertainers and flats tubs) and to use shipping units (such as monotainers and pallets) for transporting containers. When placing mail in containers, ensure that each item's address and postal indicia face the same direction. Some service options also require you to sort and group your mailing prior to putting it in containers.
  4. Before you bring your machineable mail to us, you must prepare an Order (otherwise known as a Statement of Mailing) using Canada Post's Electronic Shipping Tools. With this Order, your machineable mail will be accepted at any of our approved facilities across the country. These sites are equipped to transfer your mailing from your vehicle into our machines without delay, so we can keep your mail moving.

  And that's what machineable mail is really all about.

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  How can I ensure that my mail is machineable?

  Understanding 'Machineability'

  When there's a need for speed, the details matter. Canada Post's mail processing machines move up to 40,000 items per hour, and a small problem can very quickly become a big one. Just imagine trying to feed an envelope with a lumpy enclosure around a narrow circumference. Not only is the mail damaged, but it jams the equipment, and mailing after mailing draws to a halt until a technician identifies the culprit.

  Mail is "machineable" if it can easily move through our automated processing machines. Here are some of the key features that make this possible:

  Let's start with size and weight. Machineable mail falls into two size categories: Standard or Short-and-long and Oversize. The categories are distinguished by their size and weight ranges. But all machineable items must be rectangular.

  How mail is constructed is just as important.

  • Items must be strong enough to withstand processing without damaging themselves or our sorting machines. We recommend using paper with a weight of at least 75 (seventy five) grams per square meter for Short and Long envelopes and 90 ( ninety) grams per square meter for self-mailers and Oversize envelopes.
  • Standard or Short and Long mail items must be firm, but also flexible. You can test an envelope's firmness by holding it at both ends-it should not sag more that 22 mm in the middle. To test its flexibility, try bending it around a circular surface of 140mm -it should bend easily.

  Proper sealing is also important. Items that are not fully sealed may get jammed or torn during processing. Standard or Short and Long envelopes must be closed and bound by continuous adhesive sealing. When preparing fold-over self-mailers, ensure that the fold is always at the bottom edge and that the right and left edges are completely sealed, while the top edge is at least spot-sealed.

  What you put in an envelope matters too. Coins, glass, and seeds are a few examples of unacceptable enclosures for machineable Standard or Short and Long envelopes. On the other hand, CDs, plastic cards and flexible magnets are perfectly fine.

  Just make sure that all your enclosures are uniform in thickness, and closely fit the size of their envelopes.

  To learn more about what makes mail machineable, check out our Machineable Postal Standards, which is posted on the canadapost.ca website.

  Remember-when it comes to machineability, the little details can make a big difference. When our machines keep running, your mail keeps moving.

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  How can I ensure that my mail is readable?

  Understanding 'Readability'

  It's true that machines can't actually read. But thanks to the optical character recognition technology used by Canada Post's automated processing equipment, they can come awfully close.

  When a mail item is machine-readable, our sorting machines can find and read its address, sorting it accordingly. To ensure optimal processing, machineable mailings must pass a read rate assessment test of 95% for Standard or Short and Long and 85% for Oversize mail. This means that our machines should be able to read at least 95% of the addresses in a Standard or Short and Long mailing and at least 85% of the addresses in an Oversize mailing. When you prepare mail that meets our minimum read-rate, we pass the savings on to you through our most attractive price points.

  So what makes mail readable? Here are some of the key determinants:

  • Start with proper address placement. Our machines are designed to look for a destination address in a specific area (we call this the Address Zone). And placing the return address in the upper left hand corner or in the middle of the flap on the back of the envelope helps prevent our machines from mistaking the return address for the destination address.

  If you're using a window envelope, make sure the address window is made of a transparent material, and that it is located in the Address Zone.

  • Choosing the right font for your address is also important. Certain fonts-like Courier, Courier New and Letter Gothic-are easier for our machines to read because they're clear and well-defined. We require that you print addresses in dark ink and upper case type. For more information about acceptable fonts, check out the "Font and Colours" tab in the Machineable Mail Advisor.
  • On each mail item, certain areas are to be kept clear of text, graphics and dark colours in order to avoid confusing our equipment. We call these areas Quiet Zones. Since our machines search and read the address information from the right edge, do not place graphics or text to the right and below the address on Standard or Short and Long envelopes.

  Quiet Zones are also reserved for machine barcoding on the front and back of Standard or Short and Long mail and the front of Oversize mail. In order to prevent barcodes from smearing, we ask that you avoid using glossy coatings in these areas when preparing Standard or Short and Long items.

  Although Quiet Zones must remain clear of graphics and text, light colours are acceptable. Outside these reserved areas, the sky's the limit-there's lots of room for you to develop bright, colourful, creative designs.

  Last but not least, do not forget about paper quality. Features like brightness, opacity, and the amount of light reflected are important, since they can strongly influence readability.

  The Machineable Mail Advisor covers our readability standards in much greater detail. It even features design templates that show you exactly where reserved areas like Address and Quiet Zones are located. You'll also find links to the Machineable Postal Standards guide where our specifications appear in detail.

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  How do I prepare my mailing for deposit?

  Ready for mailing

  Now that you've designed your creative, machine-friendly mail items, you're ready for the final step: induction.

  Here's a quick glance at what's involved:

  First, use a proper container. At Canada Post, we offer customers two types of hard-sided containers with lids: Lettertainers, which are used for Standard or Short-and-Long mail, and flats tubs, which are used for Oversize mail.

  Next, place your mail in the containers with all items facing the same direction. Mail facing different directions can't be read by our sorting machines, because the address is not in the expected position.

  Follow by labelling the containers. Templates for labels can be downloaded from the canadapost.ca website.

  If you're preparing a large-volume mailing, place your containers into shipping units. These may be either Canada Post-supplied steel-framed monotainers or pallets made of wood or plastic. Make sure to label each unit. Please note that labelling individual containers is not required for Machineable Lettermail and Machineable Addressed Admail if all containers are placed in monotainers or on pallets.

  Before you bring your mailing to us, you must prepare an Order (otherwise known as a Statement of Mailing) using our Electronic Shipping Tools (EST). A printed copy of this Order must accompany your shipment.

  All set? Deposit your Machineable Mail at any of our 21 facilities equipped to receive it. Here it will move directly to our processing machines.

  Please note that mail preparation requirements may vary depending on the product option you're using. To learn more about these requirements please see our Mail Preparation and Presortation guides found on canadapost.ca/postalservices.

  Well, that's it. Machineable mail - easier than ever before! And the Machineable Mail Advisor is just one of the ways we're working to improve your postal experience. Stay tuned as we roll out the enhanced offerings and service efficiencies that have been made available by the Modern Post.