Self-Mailers & Brochure Mailers
Self-mailers and brochure mailers: more room, no envelope
Tri-fold, bi-fold and booklet self-mailers printed on gloss text or cover, folded, tabbed to USPS rules, addressed and mailed. Menus, catalogs, newsletters and multi-service brochures, quoted for your city at up to 60% less.
A self-mailer is a folded piece that mails without an envelope: a tri-fold menu, a bi-fold newsletter, an 11×17 folded to a letter, an 8-page booklet with a mailing panel. It carries three to six times the content of a postcard for a little more per piece, and it still mails at letter rates when it is folded to letter size and tabbed correctly.
We print self-mailers on 100lb gloss text or 80lb cover, fold, apply the wafer seals the USPS requires, address the mailing panel, presort and mail. Every design is checked against the USPS folded self-mailer rules before it prints, because a mailer folded the wrong way pays flat postage instead of letter postage.
Self-mailer vs. postcard: which should you send?
Send a postcard when one offer carries the piece. Send a self-mailer when the reader needs to compare, browse or keep: a restaurant menu, a home services company with eight services and a coupon for each, a school's open house schedule, a nonprofit's annual appeal with a story inside, a dealership's inventory. The self-mailer costs more to print and the same to mail, and it is kept longer because it contains something worth keeping.
USPS self-mailer tabbing requirements, in plain English
A folded self-mailer mailed at letter rates must be sealed shut so it survives automated processing. For most tri-folds on text-weight paper that means two 1-inch wafer seals on the top edge when the final fold is at the bottom; heavier stocks and other fold styles need different placements, and the open edge can never face the leading edge of the piece. The rules live in Domestic Mail Manual section 201, and we apply them for you: pick a fold, and we tab it to spec.
What drives the cost of a self-mailer?
Sheet size, stock, the fold and the quantity drive the printing; folding, tabbing, addressing and presort make up the processing; and postage depends on whether the finished piece folds to letter size, which is where most of the saving lives. An 8.5×11 tri-fold on 100lb gloss text is the economical menu and newsletter format; an 11×17 folded to letter costs more to print and the same to mail. We quote the piece for your city and your quantity, with each part stated separately.
Newsletters, catalogs and booklets
Anything up to 3.5 ounces that folds to letter size mails at the letter rate, which covers an 8-page 8.5×11 newsletter or a 12-page 5.5×8.5 booklet. Heavier or larger pieces mail as flats, still presorted and still far cheaper than a stamp. We print short-run catalogs and newsletters digitally, so a 500-piece quarterly newsletter is as routine as a 50,000-piece catalog.
Get a quote in minutes
Quote a self-mailers job for your city
Send the postcard size, the quantity and the city it is going to. Pricing is set for your city and your job, so you get a written quote — printing, mail processing and postage — usually within a business hour, with no obligation.
Answers
Self-Mailers: questions people ask
What is a self-mailer?
A self-mailer is a folded printed piece, such as a tri-fold brochure or a folded newsletter, that mails on its own without an envelope. One outside panel carries the address and postage; the piece is sealed with wafer-seal tabs so it can run through USPS sorting equipment.
How much does it cost to mail a tri-fold brochure?
It depends on the stock, the quantity, the mail class and the city, so we quote it for your city. An 8.5×11 tri-fold on 100lb gloss text mailed as Marketing Mail is the economical format; the quote separates printing, folding and tabbing, mail processing and postage, and comes back usually within a business hour.
Do self-mailers need tabs?
Yes, when mailed at automation letter rates. The USPS requires one or two wafer seals depending on the fold and the paper weight so the piece stays closed in sorting machines. We apply the correct tabs for your fold; a piece tabbed wrongly is charged the higher flat rate.
Can a self-mailer be mailed as EDDM?
Yes, if it meets EDDM flat-size rules: at least 6.125 inches tall or 10.5 inches long once folded. An 8.5×11 sheet folded once to 8.5×5.5 qualifies, and an 11×17 folded to 8.5×11 is one of the most common EDDM menu formats.