It is very important to consider many factors when choosing your paper stock. The Post Office has many paper thickness and OCR readability requirements. Your Mail House may have issues with certain paper as well.
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The Post Office requires at least a 9/1000 inch thickness on most of their mailer sizes. Anything thinner and your media would most likely get torn up on their high speed machinery. This issue usually only applies to half-folded or tri-folded single sheets and postcards. When using these formats be sure to use a hardy enough paper to withstand multiple production runs. The Mail House may have to run your mail piece thru a folder, wafer sealer and inkjet machine. Once your mailing is submitted to the Post Office it must again go through machinery before getting to its final destination. So as you can see, subjecting a thin, flimsy mail piece to so many possible scenarios could result in many paper jams and potential loss of deliverability. Spending a small amount more for a better quality paper could save you big time in the end.
The Post Office also has many OCR readability rules to ensure that their OCR readers will be able to properly scan the addresses. Paper that is too dark, too bright and or fluorescent may cause your mail piece to be misread or thrown out altogether during their processing.
Mail House paper requirements could change drastically from one place to another due to their machinery. Some small Mail House operations may have many problems with thin paper and mailers that are too glossy. Some coatings that help to make a better presentation such as Aqueous, UV or Varnish can cause issues when spraying the addresses.
It is important to check with your Mailing Professional when you are in your design stage so as not to lose material due to paper jams, impede deliverability and or incur additional labor costs or Postal penalties.
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