Beginning this month, mailers will have a new schedule to follow when pre-sorting their mailpieces. Fortunately, The Dingley Press is prepared for these changes.

What is presort data?

Presort data is used in several ways, from calculating postage to listing which facilities qualify for discounts on drop shipping to ensuring that mail goes to the correct mailing center for the most efficient delivery.

Mailers receive presort data from the USPS to use with their mailing software, and this data has been updated every quarter — until now. As of September 2014, the USPS moves to monthly updates.

What this change means for catalogers

Another change is that the USPS will use the “induction date” — the day on which the mailpieces actually arrive at the postal facility — rather than the mail date as the basis for the mail direction file. For customers that do not drop ship; this is not an issue, but for customers that do drop ship, this means a change in planning.

Primarily, the new presort data update system means that it is no longer an option to presort your mailings 90 days in advance. With the new data update schedule, each month’s data set will include updated data that is valid for two months. Mailers will have a shorter window of time in which to presort before the actual mailing date.

What do mailers need to do?

Mostly, catalogers should be mindful that presort data updates are now a monthly event, not quarterly. So if you tend to presort your mailings “just in time” before getting them out, you might want to wait until it’s time to install the update so you can be sure you have the most current data.

Fortunately, this is a change that Dingley has anticipated for some time, so we have the correct data in place and will keep current with data updates. However, catalogers should consult their Dingley representative to find out whether they will need to adjust production or printing schedules to deal with the new presort scheduling system.