Types of direct mail services

core job sometimes rarely. Our general picture; individual vendors vary.

Commercial printer

Prints the pieces. Many also fold, trim and address, and some can hand the mail to USPS. Strategy and lists are usually up to you.

Hire one when you already know what you're mailing and to whom.

Mail house (lettershop)

Prepares mail for USPS. That means cleaning addresses, printing them on the pieces, sorting for the lowest postage, inserting into envelopes and delivering it to the Post Office or Business Mail Entry Unit. Many hold their own postage permits.

Hire one when you're mailing addressed pieces in volume and want commercial postage prices without learning presort rules.

List broker or data company

Rents or sells mailing lists, and often cleans and updates your own.

Hire one when you need names you don't have.

Full-service direct mail company or agency

Covers most or all of the jobs, usually through partners for printing and mail preparation. It's accountable for the whole program, including results reporting.

Hire one when you want one point of contact and don't have time to manage the parts.

Online print-and-mail platform

Upload a design, choose a list or area, pay online. Software does the presort and the platform prints and mails. Some connect to your other systems so mail goes out automatically.

Hire one when you want speed and low setup effort, and your piece fits their standard formats.