A7  105x74mm A6  148x105mm
A5  210x148mm
A4  297x210mm
A3  420x297mm
A2  594x420mm
A1  841x594mm A0  1189x841mm

420x297mm or under
Up to 750g

Less than 25mm thick

The agreement produced by Royal Mail which allows access to its network for part of its journey at a fixed price per item

The agreement produced by Royal Mail which allows access to its network for part of its journey at a fixed price per item

C8  81x57mm
C7  114x81mm
C6  162x114mm
C5  229x162mm

C4  324x229mm

When your mail is addressed using a barcode containing the address of each item

Unsorted mail – letter size
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or CBC (Customer Bar Code)

1,000+ per mailing

Unsorted mail – letter size
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or CBC (Customer Bar Code)
1,000+ per mailing

95%+ address accuracy

Access to Royal Mail’s network at a Royal Mail centre

Process of inserting one or more items into an envelope.  Can be done by machine or by hand (depending on contents)

A service whereby mail is collected from a producer and is distributed and delivered by a single postal operator

A term used to describe the delivery of the mail from the last mail centre

Royal Mail’s inward main delivery offices around the UK

353x250mm maximum size
25mm maximum thickness

750g maximum weight

240x165mm maximum size
5mm maximum thickness

100g maximum weight

The opening of the mail market to competition

The area in which postal operators must have a licence - defined as letters weighing less than 350g and costing less than £1 to post

Service dependent on type of item, volume, delivery timings and level of preparation
Mailsort 1 = next day delivery

Mailsort 2 = delivery within 3 working days

Mailsort 3 = delivery within 7 working days

Letter format
Minimum quantity 4,000
OCR or CBC

Sorted to approx 120 delivery selections

Letter format
Minimum quantity 10,000
CBC

Sorted to approx 700 delivery selections.

Letters, Large letters, A3 items and packets
Up to 2kg
Minimum quantity 4,000 letters (2,000 if entire mailing is within same postcode area), 1000 large letters or A3 packets

Sorted to approx 1400 delivery selections

The process of combining two or more mailing lists in order to build one larger one

The process of combining two or more mailing lists in order to build a larger one, but including the removal of duplicates

The interpretation of characters by a computer which scans the text and stores, reads or translates data.

More than 353mm long or 250mm wide
Maximum 610x460x460mm
More than 25mm thick

Maximum weight 2kg

Large letter or packet
Daily Rate: minimum 5,000 large letters or packets per class, per year

Flat Rate: minimum 10,000 large letters or packets per class, per year

A complete collection of over 27 million Royal Mail postal addresses and UK postcodes – used to maintain and improve mailing-lists and databases, including better targeting and sorting for lower postage costs.

A printed indicator visible on the envelope which shows the carrier / service by which that mail item is carried.

A licence issued by Postcomm that allows an operator to carry mail in the Licensed area.

Government department that is the independent regulator for the postal market and is responsible for issuing licenses to operators in the Licensed Area

Specialist distribution service for frequent publishers of magazines (including newsletters, journals and periodicals)
Pressstream 1:  delivery next day

Press stream 2:  delivery within 3 working days

How Royal Mail must set prices and quality of service

Royal Mail’s pricing from 21st August 2006 based on size and weight

Delivery by 3rd day after posting

Mail sorted down to the postal walk of Royal Mail staff.
Items up to 750g

4,000 letters (2,000 if entire mailing is within same postcode area), 1000 large letters or A3 packets

Varying rates according to the delivery
Zone A   Commercial Centre
Zone B  Urban
Zone C Suburban
Zone D Rural

Zone E  Deep Rural