There is exciting news afoot for print and mailers in the U.S., news we will all welcome in the industry. While it has taken a bit to get back on track, the USPS is starting to roll out their tentative postal promotions program plans. It has currently been sent to MTAC members for review and we will bet you will start to see more blog posts and articles on the topic in the coming months. Especially with some of the programs requiring registration—if they are approved—as early as December 2018 for the 2019 U.S. mailing season.
We have discussed the power of these discounts before in our Save Money! Increase Customer Engagement! The USPS Makes it Easy blog; but that discussion may seem like a distant memory as it was way back in the Summer of 2017. As your partners in stand out print, our team wants to make sure you have all the tools at your disposal to create Scodified print that also saves you and your customers money. The program that is most pertinent to printers with or looking to install a Scodix Digital Enhancement Press is the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion. Though we have made cases in the past for mobile shopping.
To review, the USPS Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion if approved will offer this to mailers from the USPS perspective:
[It] Leverages some of the latest technological advances within the print industry, providing marketers with exciting new ways to enhance and encourage sensory engagement with a mailpiece. The print industry has been actively innovative not only in print production equipment, but the fundamental elements of the mail itself through new developments in papers/stocks, substrates, finishing techniques and inks. These elements can be incorporated to engage a multi-sensory experience through special visual effects, sound, scent, texture/tactile treatments and even taste.
Of course, the benefit to the print and mailer is the 2% discount for qualified and registered mailpieces. And truly consider what a 2% postal savings could mean for your operations when it comes to projects that qualify for this promotional program. It might even open doors to bidding on projects you have not considered in the past. In one example presented by Keypoint Intelligence, a large telecom provider was able to save over a Million dollars in postage costs by participating in one of the postal promotion programs with the 2% savings. The best part is with a Scodix you have the tools already to qualify once promotions for 2019 are approve.
Here is what qualifies in brief when it comes to visual and textural tactical and sensory enhancements of a printed project:
Projects and papers that incorporates special effects (ex: filters, holographic, lenticular) or that incorporates textural treatments that can be sensed by touch alone. Paper surfaces may be coated, or made of unique materials or incorporate techniques such as embossing or other surface treatments. To qualify the enhancement must be visible and distinguishable by the physical characteristics of the paper and/or the techniques used to qualify for the promotion.
How does a Scodix help? With our technology, we give printers the power to add 9 different applications of digital print embellishments to their projects while selecting from a variety of substrates. These applications include dimensional textures utilizing Scodix SENSE, Scodix Foil for inline foiling, as well as, Scodix Crystals and Holographs leveraging our Scodix Cast&Cure for a stand out example of the best print can offer. All of these examples qualify for the USPS mailing program and are a core part of what Scodix and the Scodix digital enhancement family of presses has to offer.
We invite you to look through our blog at the many different ideas on how you can leverage Scodified print. You can even request a sample and reach out to us via our website for more information. For our current customers, we welcome a conversation on how to best leverage options you might not be using on you Scodix digital printing presses today. With a Scodix you can open doors to new opportunities—and with the help of the USPS—postal savings. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
