Co-Mailing Polywrap Specifications

November 2016

PS-346 (201.4.5)

This Customer Support Ruling discusses the polywrap standards for overhang (selvage) when 2 or more magazines with dissimilar width dimensions are polywrapped into the same co-mail pool.

The Domestic Mail Manual provides that for determining polywrap standards for selvage only, the top edge of the mailpiece is one of the two longer edges of the piece (length is horizontal) and when the contents of a mailpiece are totally positioned at the bottom of the polywrap, the selvage must not be more than 0.5 inch at the top of the mailpiece.

It has been brought to our attention that when 2 or more magazines with dissimilar width dimensions are polywrapped into the same co-mail pool, certain polywrapping equipment cannot immediately adjust the poly material width selvage to the parameters set on the machine when the difference in width becomes too great. When a significantly smaller width dimension magazine immediately follows a wider magazine in the mailstream, that individual smaller magazine will have more width selvage than the larger magazine. If that smaller width magazine is followed by a second magazine of that same size, the polywrap equipment will have time to adjust to the smaller dimension and return to the USPS allowable width selvage. The excess selvage only occurs when going from a larger to a smaller width of significant variance. Poly equipment can adjust when going from a smaller width to a larger width.

This support ruling allows mailers who polywrap co-mailed magazines of dissimilar width to exceed the selvage on the top of the mailpiece from the 0.5 inch requirement up to a maximum of 0.875 inch.

The Postal Service reserves the right to rescind this CSR if we discover any operational impacts due to this support ruling.

(Signed)

Lizbeth J. Dobbins

Manager

Product Classification

Headquarters, US Postal Service

Washington, DC  20260-5015