There is a higher cost if the letter exceeds a certain size in the USA or if the address placement make it non machineable 1.1 Dimensional Standards for Letters Letter-size mail is: a. Not less than 5 inches long, 3-1/2 inches high, and 0.007-inch thick. b. Not more than 11-1/2 inches long, or more than 6-1/8 inches high, or more than 1/4-inch thick. c. Not more than 3.5 ounces. d. Rectangular, with four square corners and parallel opposite sides. Letter-size, card-type mailpieces made of cardstock may have finished corners that do not exceed a radius of 0.125 inch (1/8 inch). See Exhibit 1.1d. 2.1 Address Placement Causing Mail to be Nonmailable and Nonmachinable The location of the delivery address on a letter-size mailpiece determines which dimensions are the length and height of the piece. The length is the dimension parallel to the address as read; the height is the dimension perpendicular to the length. Consequently, the placement of the address may render a piece nonmailable or nonmachinable. On a letter-size piece, the recommended address placement is within the optical character reader (OCR) read area, which is a space on the address side of the mailpiece defined by these boundaries (see Exhibit 2.1, OCR Read Area): a. Left: 1/2 inch from the left edge of the piece. b. Right: 1/2 inch from the right edge of the piece. c. Top: 2-3/4 inches from the bottom edge of the piece. d. Bottom: 5/8 inch from the bottom edge of the piece. Exhibit 2.1 OCR Read Area ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
