News

The USPS Business Customer Gateway (BCG) has been redesigned to simplify the registration process and will become effective June 9.  To learn more about the upcoming changes to the BCG, webinars have been scheduled for the following dates and times, and are open to the public.   

Friday, May 31, 2013 at 11:00 am eastern 
Event Number: 991 654 869
Log on: https://usps.webex.com/usps/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=991654869

Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 11:00 am eastern
Event Number: 995 687 462
Log On: https://usps.webex.com/usps/onstage/g.php?d=995687462&t=a

Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 2:00 pm eastern
Event Number: 997 544 907
Log on: https://usps.webex.com/usps/onstage/g.php?d=997544907&t=a

Q:     What would cause a subscriber not to get a paper?

A:     Any of the following items will prevent a label from being printed for a particular subscriber. To ensure a label will print,    double-check all possibilities:

1.)  Newspaper (or Shopper) status must be Active. This can be found on the Newspaper tab of the subscriber record.

2.)  Delivery type must be Mail. This can be found on the Newspaper tab of the subscriber record.

3.)  Vacation stop must not be checked. If the Stopped check box on the Vacation tab of a subscriber record is checked, no label will be printed.

4.)  Begin date is in the future. No label will be produced for subscriptions set to begin in the future. This, too, can be found on the Newspaper tab of the subscriber record.

If the newspaper status is Active, Delivery type is Mail, Vacation Stopped is not checked, and the Begin Date is blank or in the past, a label will be produced for the subscription.

Read more …

William E. (Bill) Garber

American political scientist and author George Friedman takes us to the navigation school where Vasco da Gama, who made the first voyage from Europe to India, and Ferdinand Magellan, who first circumnavigated the globe, studied nearly a century before Columbus sailed to the New World.

Just 3 miles west of Cabo de Sao Vicente at the base of the Ponta de Sagres lies Sagres, a pleasant little town of small villas and apartments. For the most part, these are summer homes, many owned by Germans and British, judging from the flags flying. It was here in 1410 that Prince Henry the Navigator founded a school for navigators. If Cabo de Sao Vicente is where the Earth ended for the Europeans, Ponta de Sagres became the place where the world began.

Read more …

William E. (Bill) Garber

I was sitting beside Lacey, on the flight between Denver and San Jose earlier this week. I wouldn’t be using my drink coupons, so when he claimed the aisle seat beside me, and by way of introducing myself, I offered the pair to him. He smiled and thanked me.

Later when the flight attendant asked for our drink request, I ordered complimentary tonic water and Lacey ordered a vodka and cranberry juice. When they arrived, mine had the lime in it. Lacey mentioned that he had ordered a Cape Cod, but hadn’t called it that and hadn’t asked for the lime. I had forgotten to skip the lime, so it all worked out just fine when my lime ended up in Lacey’s Cape Cod. He remembered the absent lime an hour later when he ordered his second Cape Cod.
Read more …

Weekly newspaper editors from South Dakota and North Dakota gathered for a round-table discussion of successes and challenges during the first joint South Dakota Newspaper Association and North Dakota Newspaper Association convention held April 25-27 in Rapid City, SD. More than 200 members of the organizations attended. Convention topics included print/online connection, page/ad design, postal issues and public notices. Awards ceremonies for both organizations also were held during the convention. The top awards were presented during a dinner Friday evening at Mt. Rushmore. Interlink photo/Helen Sosniecki

Q:     How do I Cass certify my mailing?

A:     USPS requires CASS Certification at least every 90 Days for updated mailing information (County, Route, Zip+4, eLOT, and WS values).

You may CASS process your list in either of the following ways:

1. Select “Service List…” from the “File” menu. This will send a copy of your list to Interlink for processing.

2. When you close an issue of your publication, there is a box on the close issue screen labeled “Service list before closing”. By default, this box should be checked and if so, your list will be automatically CASS processed immediately before the issue is closed.

After your list has been serviced (which includes CASS processing), we recommend printing a CASS Error Report, correcting any addresses that show up, then servicing your list again.  When the list is returned, an updated copy of the 3553 CASS Report will be added to your file.  To print the one page report, go to Print Reports, choose the 3553 CASS report and click on Print all. Be sure to sign and date the report in the space provided.

Interlink receives regular updates from USPS at least once every 90 days.

*If the Customer’s local Post Office has made updates recently to subscribers’ addresses in the USPS Systems, the Interlink Subscriber’s record may not be updated in the system for up to 90 days from that date.

Conversions will be necessary for automation rates

From National Newspaper Association

WASHINGTON — Newspapers claiming automation mailing rates for their Periodicals newspapers or Standard Mail flats not eligible for Enhanced Carrier Route rates face new hurdles on Jan. 26, 2014, as the U.S. Postal Service’s mandates for Full-Service Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMbs) kick in. But National Newspaper Association President Merle Baranczyk said NNA’s efforts had built in new options for many newspapers to avoid the full impact.

USPS this week announced that the new Full-Service IMbs would be required for all mail seeking automation discounts. The first step toward its program to achieve greater service accountability began in January 2013, when mailers began using the Basic IMbs. The next step requires individual numbering on mailpieces, sack and tray tags and pallet placards so that USPS can see where the mail is throughout mail processing and delivery. Those individual numbers must also be provided to USPS through electronic documentation, with some exceptions.

Baranczyk said NNA had petitioned the Postal Service to make numerous changes to help newspapers adapt to USPS’s digital conversions.

Click Here to view the full article.

The USPS has released a final ruling stating Full-Service IMb will become the requirement for automation-compatible mail effective Jan. 26, 2014.  Full-Service IMb will require a change in format to sack and tray tags, which Interlink will support in advance of USPS requirements.

Although current sacks and trays have two-inch holders, many of Interlink’s clients purchase and use one-inch tags in those holders.  This option has worked in the past because the current design places the barcode in the lower half of the tag where it is not interrupted by the perforation between the two one-inch tags.

USPS Full-Service IMb changes the format of sack and tray tags by placing the barcode closer to the middle of the tag, causing the perforation to run through the middle of the barcode when printing on two one-inch tags.  To avoid compromising the integrity of the barcode to meet USPS Full-Service requirements, Interlink will stop selling one-inch sack/tray tags as of Aug. 31, 2013.

In addition to the current case of two-inch sack tags offered, effective immediately, Interlink will offer a smaller package containing 100 sheets for $30 including shipping.  The mailing supply order form has been updated to include the new package of 100 sheets of two-inch tags, and a disclaimer statement has been added regarding USPS Full-Service requirements and the incompatibility with the one-inch tags.

Interlink Supplies Order Form 4/2013

The USPS has released a final ruling stating Full-Service IMb will become the requirement for automation-compatible mail effective Jan. 26, 2014.  Full-Service IMb will require a change in format to sack and tray tags, which Interlink will support in advance of USPS requirements.

Although current sacks and trays have two-inch holders, many of Interlink’s clients purchase and use one-inch tags in those holders.  This option has worked in the past because the current design places the barcode in the lower half of the tag where it is not interrupted by the perforation between the two one-inch tags.

USPS Full-Service IMb changes the format of sack and tray tags by placing the barcode closer to the middle of the tag, causing the perforation to run through the middle of the barcode when printing on two one-inch tags.  To avoid compromising the integrity of the barcode to meet USPS Full-Service requirements, Interlink will stop selling one-inch sack/tray tags as of Aug. 31, 2013.

In addition to the current case of two-inch sack tags offered, effective immediately, Interlink will offer a smaller package containing 100 sheets for $30 including shipping.  The mailing supply order form has been updated to include the new package of 100 sheets of two-inch tags, and a disclaimer statement has been added regarding USPS Full-Service requirements and the incompatibility with the one-inch tags.

Interlink Supplies Order Form 4/2013

Excerpt from Matt Novak
Smithsonian’s Paleofuture Blog
March 18, 2013

“In the 1920s it was radio that was supposed to kill the newspaper. Then it was TV news. Then it was the Internet. The newspaper has evolved and adapted (remember when TV news killed the evening edition newspaper?) and will continue to evolve for many decades to come.

Visions of what newspapers might look like in the future have been varied throughout the 20th century. Sometimes they’ve taken the form of a piece of paper that you print at home, delivered via satellite or radio waves. Other times it’s a multimedia product that lives on your tablet or TV. Today we’re taking a look at just a few of the newspapers from the futures that never were.”

To view the blog in its entirety, please click the link provided.  By clicking the link, you understand you are leaving the Interlink website and will be accessing Smithsonian.com.  Smithsonian does not endorse, whether expressly or implicitly, any products, services or opinions presented on the Interlink website.  Click Here to view the blog.