Critical Mail — Just the Ticket for Important Documents

Delivers High-Impact Design and Low, Flat-Rate Pricing for Commercial Mailers

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Important, time-sensitive materials requiring tracking and secure delivery now have a new product from the U.S. Postal Service designed to get attention upon arrival. Introduced Jan. 2, Critical Mail provides commercial mailers with eye-catching envelope designs, tracking services and simple, low flat-rate pricing.

Critical Mail is tailored for customers requiring cost-effective mailing solutions for important documents in many types of businesses, including those in the entertainment, financial services, membership services, and tourism industries. Event tickets, identification documents, stored-value cards, education transcripts and urgent direct mail messages are but a few of the items ideally suited for Critical Mail.

"Critical Mail is an excellent choice for commercial mailers looking for a trackable, cost-effective solution for secure delivery of important documents," said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. "The envelopes are designed to create a high level of visibility with the recipient that complements the importance of the contents."

Available to customers who qualify for Commercial Plus pricing or who have signed a customer commitment agreement, Critical Mail is an automation-compatible product requiring use of an authorized postage payment system. Critical Mail features 1- to 3-day delivery depending on destination, with Track & Confirm service included at no extra cost. Extra services such as signature confirmation and insurance are available.

Critical Mail requires use of USPS-supplied envelopes at a mailing cost of $3.50 for letters (5 3/4" x 9") and $4.25 for larger, flat-size pieces (9" x 12"). Flat rates apply, regardless of domestic destination for Critical Mail letters (up to 3.0 oz. and 1/4" thick) and Critical Mail Flats (up to 13 oz. and 3/4" thick). More details on Critical Mail can be found online at usps.com/shipping/criticalmail.htm. For more information on Commercial Plus pricing, customers can contact their Postal Service account manager or the Office of Commercial Pricing at [email protected].

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service