How to snail mail a document from a web form?

January 3, 2006 7:33 AM

MailADocumentFilter: I want to auto-snailmail a document.

I'm in the process of building a website that will assist a user in filling out a document, but giving 'plain English' questions, and plugging the answers in where appropriate in the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' document. I will have it set up with an option to forward the document via email (which is the obvious and easy part), but I am also interested in having it sent to a third party who would process and snailmail the document to the intended reciepient. I'm trying to keep as low-cost as possible, as the intended audience is not a spendy group.

Any suggestions?

posted by chrisfromthelc to computers & internet (9 comments total)

What's the expected volume of these mailings?
posted by odinsdream at 7:41 AM on January 3, 2006

That's the thing. I'm not sure yet. Obviously, it will increase as the subscriberbase does. I'd say 30-50 a week initially, increasing (hopefully) aggressively from there. It's not something I have time to do by hand. I would like it to be as automated as possible.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 7:59 AM on January 3, 2006

You don't mention what country you are in, but if you are in the U.S. you can use the U.S. Postal Service's NetPost Service. USPS will print documents from an electronic version you provide and then mail the printed copies. The range of file formats supported includes PDF. The service is set up to send multiple copies of the same document to many people, but it works just fine for sending a single letter to a single individual. They charge standard postage rates plus a production cost (minimum of $2.00, check out their cost calculator).
posted by RichardP at 8:09 AM on January 3, 2006

Until you get volume, I'd consider generating PDFs for both the document itself, and the envelope.

Once you get volume, then it would make sense to integrate with a print shop.
posted by I Love Tacos at 8:12 AM on January 3, 2006

I am planning on generating the result as PDF (for the sake of sameness across platforms), but the USPS site seems to only support the manual upload and clickthrough of the form (no APIs or anything availible).
posted by chrisfromthelc at 8:29 AM on January 3, 2006

This kind of service can be easily provided by a direct mail shop. (You send them an electronic file, they print everything and mail it.) They could even help you save money on postage by combining your mail with some other's and getting bulk rates for the whole lot.

Unfortunately, mail shops are designed to be cost effective in direct proportion to the size of the mailing. So, your initially small quantities will have a pretty high, per piece, cost. Of course you can always negotiate for better deals as best you can (the promise of greater volumes can do wonders for your bargaining position).

Contact a few direct mail companies in your area and see what kind of deal you can swing. Play them off of each other.
posted by oddman at 8:32 AM on January 3, 2006

Second for NetPost Mailing Online.
posted by If I Had An Anus at 8:41 AM on January 3, 2006

I'd do a google search on "document fulfillment" as a starting point. This is not a type of service I have used, but I believe the companies that advertise themselves as offering document fulfillment are set up to do what you need.
posted by adamrice at 8:42 AM on January 3, 2006

chrisfromthelc wrote:
the USPS site seems to only support the manual upload and clickthrough of the form (no APIs or anything availible).

According to the NetPost FAQ on the USPS site they provide free remote API access using their XML-based Mail Management Language (MML), allowing you to bypass their web interface. Packages exist that make use of MML, including the open source TclMML project.
posted by RichardP at 9:47 AM on January 3, 2006