USPS To Exhibit New Mail Sorting, Tracking Technology To Benefit Advertisers, Mailers

March 27, 2006, Washington - Postal officials said today that the next generation of the organization’s barcode technology used to sort and track mail will be featured at the mailing industry’s leading trade show, National Postal Forum, in Orlando, Fla., April 2-5.

Generically known as a four-state barcode (as shown above headline), this development in technology will enable business mailers to track up to a billion pieces of mail at a time as well as to more easily request special services, such as address correction and confirmation of delivery. The new technology will also enable the Postal Service to process and deliver mail more efficiently.

“Right now, a piece of mail can have several barcodes on the envelope,” said Charlie Bravo, the Postal Service’s senior vice president of intelligent mail and address quality. “But because the four-state barcode can hold up to three times more information than other kinds of postal barcodes, only one barcode will be needed on a mail piece,” added Bravo. “This will make it easier for our customers to do business with us as well as make the mail a more valuable business tool by freeing up space on the envelope for marketing messages.”

Postal Service representatives will highlight the features of the four-state barcode prominently at the National Postal Forum - to be held at Orlando’s Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center - through exhibits, consultation, and business sessions. These sessions include “Using Intelligent Mail Services to Drive Business Results” and “Confirm Service: Using Barcode Technology to Maximize Effectiveness and Minimize Cost.” Dates, times, and room numbers of these and other National Postal Forum business sessions can be found at www.npf.org.


About The National Postal Forum The National Postal Forum, a not-for-profit educational corporation, was established in 1968 by a group of major postal customers/mailers who were committed to an ongoing partnership with the United States Postal Service. The Forum’s goal, then as now, is to provide education to business mailers and communication/feedback between the USPS and its business customers for a more responsive and efficient mail communications system.

Since 1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits more than 144 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume-some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves seven million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.

Contact Information

Media Contact

U.S. Postal Service

Contact via E-mail