Articles by Kurt Ruppel Blog Archive Year-End Postal Update Part 2: Mailing Promotions and Incentive Programs for 2014 info Posted December 6, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates On Wednesday, in Part 1 of our year-end postal update, we examined the latest USPS financial reports, developments in the plan for a two-part postage increase and progress (or lack thereof) surrounding postal reform. Today we’re previewing the 2014 Mailing Promotions and Incentive Programs, which are designed to expand the value of mail. (Click […] + Read More Year-End Postal Update Part 1: USPS Financial Reports, Postage Rate Updates and Postal Reform Legislation info Posted December 4, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Now that everyone has recovered from overdosing on turkey and football, it’s time to catch up on what’s happening in the postal world. Here’s the latest from the USPS as we turn the page on 2013. Postal Finances The good news in the Postal Service’s year-end financial reports for fiscal year 2013 was an $800-million […] + Read More EMA Fall Meeting Comes to Minnesota, Highlights Envelope Industry’s Future info Posted October 23, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends The Envelope Manufacturers Association held its Fall Meeting in the Twin Cities last week. We were pleased to welcome our friends and join them in discovering the many culinary options Minneapolis has to offer, and despite deep concerns about early season snow from our colleagues from the South, we were even able to deliver very […] + Read More News Alert: USPS Announces Postage Increase info Posted September 25, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates You may have seen the news that earlier today the USPS Board of Governors announced the Postal Service will seek an across-the-board price increase, effective January 26, 2014, of 5.9%. The postage increase is made up of two parts: 1.6% is based on the CPI rate cap, with the remaining 4.3% based on an exigent […] + Read More Minnesota’s EVOLVE 2013 Mail Expo Welcomes Postmaster General Donahoe info Posted September 20, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates On Wednesday I attended EVOLVE 2013, a “mail expo” sponsored by the Twin Cities Postal Customer Council (TCPCC) in observance of the U.S. Postal Service’s National PCC Week. PCCs serve as an open channel for USPS-to-business communication, providing information and best practices for cost-effective and profitable mailing, education and training, and solving local challenges. Future […] + Read More Physical Requirements for Self-Mailers info Posted September 12, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Mail Tips, Postal Issues Updates Yesterday Mike Dietz showcased some popular self-mailer formats and key concepts to consider when creating your designs. But there’s another critical component to self-mailers – USPS regulations regarding the placement of tabs or glue to close them. Improperly sealed self-mailers can result in the mailpiece being damaged or destroyed during processing. In addition, self-mailers […] + Read More Postal Update: Reform Legislation, MTAC Meetings & 2014 Promotions info Posted September 6, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates As a confirmed postal geek, last week was an exciting one for me. It started with the opportunity to share our views on postal reform legislation with one of our Congressional representatives and concluded at Postal Service headquarters with the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meetings. Here are a few of the highlights. Postal […] + Read More Postal Reform Bill from Senate Moves Process Forward info Posted August 14, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The postal reform process got another push forward when Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced bipartisan legislation recently. This bill has several similarities as well as some significant differences from the bill passed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a party-line vote in July. The Senate bill was introduced […] + Read More 8 Core Elements That Should Be Part of Upcoming Postal Reform Legislation info Posted July 31, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends It’s late summer and things are getting hot and steamy in Washington, D.C. When we last wrote about postal reform legislation, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had just released a “discussion draft” of proposed legislation. Since then, both Rep. Issa and committee ranking member Elijah Cummings […] + Read More ZIP Code History: Navigating Mail for 50 Years info Posted July 17, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates Did you know the first week in July marked two important dates in our nation’s history? While America celebrated its 237th birthday on July 4th, the ZIP code also celebrated its 50-year anniversary on July 1st. Interestingly, newspapers in Minnesota and Pennsylvania both ran fascinating stories on the history of […] + Read More Pages: 12345678910111213141516Load More Articles
Year-End Postal Update Part 2: Mailing Promotions and Incentive Programs for 2014 info Posted December 6, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates On Wednesday, in Part 1 of our year-end postal update, we examined the latest USPS financial reports, developments in the plan for a two-part postage increase and progress (or lack thereof) surrounding postal reform. Today we’re previewing the 2014 Mailing Promotions and Incentive Programs, which are designed to expand the value of mail. (Click […] + Read More
Year-End Postal Update Part 1: USPS Financial Reports, Postage Rate Updates and Postal Reform Legislation info Posted December 4, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates Now that everyone has recovered from overdosing on turkey and football, it’s time to catch up on what’s happening in the postal world. Here’s the latest from the USPS as we turn the page on 2013. Postal Finances The good news in the Postal Service’s year-end financial reports for fiscal year 2013 was an $800-million […] + Read More
EMA Fall Meeting Comes to Minnesota, Highlights Envelope Industry’s Future info Posted October 23, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends The Envelope Manufacturers Association held its Fall Meeting in the Twin Cities last week. We were pleased to welcome our friends and join them in discovering the many culinary options Minneapolis has to offer, and despite deep concerns about early season snow from our colleagues from the South, we were even able to deliver very […] + Read More
News Alert: USPS Announces Postage Increase info Posted September 25, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Announcements, Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates You may have seen the news that earlier today the USPS Board of Governors announced the Postal Service will seek an across-the-board price increase, effective January 26, 2014, of 5.9%. The postage increase is made up of two parts: 1.6% is based on the CPI rate cap, with the remaining 4.3% based on an exigent […] + Read More
Minnesota’s EVOLVE 2013 Mail Expo Welcomes Postmaster General Donahoe info Posted September 20, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates On Wednesday I attended EVOLVE 2013, a “mail expo” sponsored by the Twin Cities Postal Customer Council (TCPCC) in observance of the U.S. Postal Service’s National PCC Week. PCCs serve as an open channel for USPS-to-business communication, providing information and best practices for cost-effective and profitable mailing, education and training, and solving local challenges. Future […] + Read More
Physical Requirements for Self-Mailers info Posted September 12, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Mail Tips, Postal Issues Updates Yesterday Mike Dietz showcased some popular self-mailer formats and key concepts to consider when creating your designs. But there’s another critical component to self-mailers – USPS regulations regarding the placement of tabs or glue to close them. Improperly sealed self-mailers can result in the mailpiece being damaged or destroyed during processing. In addition, self-mailers […] + Read More
Postal Update: Reform Legislation, MTAC Meetings & 2014 Promotions info Posted September 6, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates As a confirmed postal geek, last week was an exciting one for me. It started with the opportunity to share our views on postal reform legislation with one of our Congressional representatives and concluded at Postal Service headquarters with the quarterly Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meetings. Here are a few of the highlights. Postal […] + Read More
Postal Reform Bill from Senate Moves Process Forward info Posted August 14, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Postal Issues Updates The postal reform process got another push forward when Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced bipartisan legislation recently. This bill has several similarities as well as some significant differences from the bill passed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a party-line vote in July. The Senate bill was introduced […] + Read More
8 Core Elements That Should Be Part of Upcoming Postal Reform Legislation info Posted July 31, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends It’s late summer and things are getting hot and steamy in Washington, D.C. When we last wrote about postal reform legislation, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had just released a “discussion draft” of proposed legislation. Since then, both Rep. Issa and committee ranking member Elijah Cummings […] + Read More
ZIP Code History: Navigating Mail for 50 Years info Posted July 17, 2013 by Kurt Ruppel in Direct Marketing Trends, Postal Issues Updates Did you know the first week in July marked two important dates in our nation’s history? While America celebrated its 237th birthday on July 4th, the ZIP code also celebrated its 50-year anniversary on July 1st. Interestingly, newspapers in Minnesota and Pennsylvania both ran fascinating stories on the history of […] + Read More
