P&P Industry Standards and FAQs

What does Paul&Partners base its quotes on?
Quotations are based on the cost of services, labor and materials on the date of the quote. If changes occur in cost of materials, labor, or other costs prior to your acceptance, or if you require changes in the mailing schedule subsequent to acceptance, P&P reserves the right to change the price quoted. Subsequent orders may be subject to price revision if required. Quotations do not include applicable taxes, shipping costs, postage or deliveries unless specifically stated. Quotations are only valid when in writing and signed by both parties.

How long does Paul&Partners honor my quote?
Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date of issue. Quotes older than 30 days may be subject to a re-bid at the discretion of Paul&Partners.

Do the quotes show sales tax?
No. Taxes are added to your invoice and are your responsibility to pay unless you have provided P&P documentation showing you are tax exempt or reselling. P&P can grant no tax exemption unless official proof of your exemption is on file or such documentation accompanies your order.

Why not?
Taxes depend in part on the distribution of your mailing. If we don't know the distribution of your mailing list, it is impossible to anticipate appropriate taxes during the estimating process. If, after you have paid your invoice, it is determined that you owe more tax, you must promptly remit the required taxes to the taxing authority or immediately reimburse P&P for any additional taxes paid by P&P on your behalf.

How do I cancel a job if I have to?
You may cancel a job at any time. Just give P&P notice in writing or via email.

What is my liability if I cancel a job that is in process?
P&P must be compensated in full for any work or services performed prior to cancellation, plus the cost of any goods or services purchased for the order. In addition, because mailing requires advance scheduling of equipment and labor which often cannot be replaced by other jobs, P&P reserves the right to assess a cancellation fee to reflect the opportunity cost associated with a job being canceled.

What if my job changes from the original quote?
Quotes are based upon P&P's understanding of your specifications submitted to P&P estimating. If you make a change in specifications or instructions to the original quotation and these changes result in additional costs, the work performed will be billed accordingly, and the mailing date may be delayed.

Can I give P&P verbal orders and instructions?
P&P strongly recommends written or email orders and instructions. P&P does accept verbal orders with the understanding that the final specifications will be those faxed or mailed and understood by P&P at the time your work was started.

Does my quote include postage?
Quotations do not include postage. P&P will notify you in writing or by email of the required postage as soon as P&P knows the amount. P&P will also notify you of the date when the postage is needed in order to complete the mailing prior to the agreed upon mailing date. While P&P will make every effort to provide you with an accurate estimate of required postage, P&P is not responsible for additional postage charges if the rate of postage changes due to the design of your mail piece.

Can P&P bill me for postage after the mail drops?
No. Postage payment is required before all mail drops. Getting postage to P&P is your responsibility. P&P reserves the right to hold mailings for which sufficient postage has not been paid or until postage payment has been verified. You must provide the postage payment in adequate time for P&P to complete the mailing prior to the previously agreed upon mail date.

Can P&P refuse to do my mailing?
Yes. P&P may refuse at any time to mail copy, photographs or illustrations of any kind that in P&P's sole judgment is an invasion of privacy, is degrading, libelous, unlawful, profane, obscene, pornographic, tends to ridicule or embarrass, or is in bad taste, or which in P&P's sole judgment is an infringement on a trademark, or trade name, or service mark, or copyright belonging to others.

The customer will defend and hold P&P harmless in any suit or court action brought against P&P by others for alleged damages, costs, expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees), liabilities or losses resulting from circumstances where P&P, acting as the customer's agent, uses copy, photographs, or illustrations that are believed by others to be degrading, libelous or harmful to their reputations, images, or standing in the community or which in P&P's sole judgment is an infringement on a trademark, trade name, service mark, or copyright belonging to others, or in a suit or court action brought against P&P for actions of the customer's employees which may occur as a result of any mailing.

Is P&P going to protect my own mailing list?
Absolutely. Mailing lists you provide to P&P, for storage or otherwise, are your exclusive property and shall be used only pursuant to your written instructions. P&P shall provide reasonable and prudent protection against the loss of your list, including adequate backup procedures for all files and programs. P&P shall pay for the cost of replacing such lists in the event of systems failure, loss by fire, vandalism, theft, or other such causes (excluding destruction of the list due to your negligence or willful misconduct), provided that you have a duplicate list or the source material from which the list was compiled, and then only to the extent of the costs involved in replacing the lost list.

Do I own the mailing list P&P rented for me?
No. Unless otherwise specified in writing in advance, all rented mailing lists are provided on a one-time use basis.

How are mailing lists created?
Mailing lists can be subscriptions to publications, attendees at events, donors to non-profits, holders of credit cards, mortgages, etc, specific demographic or psychographic consumer data, or businesses in specific SIC or NAIC categories. The owners of these lists spend thousands of dollars to pull the information together and ensure that the data is accurate and correct P&P is not liable for compiling lists or for an intangible or special value attached thereto. P&P is not responsible for the accuracy or integrity of lists or other data supplied by the customer or list broker.

What if there are issues with the materials that I am providing?
P&P assumes in all quotations that all material you provide permit efficient handling on automated equipment and meets equipment manufacturer's published specifications. If you have specific questions, contact P&P for clarification. If you furnish materials that are within manufacturer's specifications, but are not up to acceptable operational standards due to poor folding, facing, trimming, packing, sticking together of material, insufficient leeway between enclosures and envelopes, square envelope flaps or other causes, or is not Merlin-compatible, your job may be subject to higher pricing as special handling may be required. P&P will notify you if we discover a deficiency in the materials you have provided. P&P will also ask for your written approval of the special rates before proceeding with your work. If necessary, P&P will provide you with a new delivery schedule if deficient materials cause production delays.

Is P&P responsible for proofing the art that I provide?
No. P&P is not responsible for identifying errors in preprinted copy on your furnished art or materials. P&P assumes no liability for damages resulting from the mailing of materials that contain erroneous information. When performing mailings for not-for-profit organizations, P&P is not responsible for content in mailed materials that causes that organization to lose their Nonprofit Status.

How much "overage" do you need?
All direct mail handling and processing involves spoilage. Please make allowances for spoilage when ordering your materials by providing us with three (3) percent more than your job count. P&P makes every effort to handle your materials carefully and to prevent undue spoilage. Nevertheless, P&P cannot accept responsibility for shortages of material as a result of normal spoilage in processing.

Will you store my excess materials?
All stock and materials belonging to a customer will be held and stored only at the customer's risk, and the customer shall be responsible for insurance on their material.

How do you need my materials delivered?
Printer delivery tickets must accompany materials delivered. Each delivery ticket should show the number of skids or cartons, the quantity of each item per skid or carton and the total delivery quantity. Each incoming carton or skid must bear an identity, item code if applicable, quantity and a sample taped to the outside. Each skid should have only one type of material and only one version of that material, unless clearly marked and separated. Multiple items should not be included within a single carton, skid or container unless noted thereon and on accompanying paperwork. P&P will apply a surcharge for any rework necessary for materials received not meeting these specifications.

What about delivery counts?
P&P accepts printers' count until mail processing and assumes no responsibility for shortages not discovered until that time. P&P may assess additional charges if you require P&P to verify printer's counts prior to processing. P&P expects you to provide P&P with sufficient inventory to meet your need. Cost for backorders, delay notices, canceled orders, materials shortages or changes resulting in second setups and increased customer service resulting from out-of-stock conditions will be billed to you as applicable.

Do you accept collect shipments?
P&P will accept your collect shipment only we have been notified of and obtained your written approval to do so in advance. P&P may add a service charge to your actual freight charges for this service.

Will you return my overage?
Yes. P&P is not responsible for the condition of shipped overs, unless you have been billed for packing and/or shipping. P&P asks that you advise us, in advance of the job, about the disposition of your overs. P&P will return overage to you, store it or recycle it. If your items are stored or returned, applicable storage and delivery charges will be added to your bill. Additionally, at P&P's option and without liability to P&P, material may be automatically recycled after 60 days if you have failed to respond to a disposition request or failed to pay for storage starting 30 days after the mail date. Premium storage rates may be applied to old materials or materials for which we have no disposition.

What if I provide labels instead of data?
You will pay more for your job and your postage as you will probably lose automation discounts.

What if my inserting sequence order is quirky?
P&P makes every effort to insert your material in the sequence and facing the direction you request. Quoted prices assume the most advantageous production speeds. Hence if you specify a sequence that works against top production speed, P&P may have to levy additional charges. You will be notified of any impending cost changes before P&P starts your job in mailshop.

Will you send me samples of my job?
Yes. P&P asks that you advise us, in advance of the job, if you want (or do not want) samples. Unless you specify otherwise, we will send you "live" samples—or samples that have been run twice—once for the mail and once for you. Quotes do not include the cost of shipping samples, and that expense will be invoiced appropriately. 20 samples are automatically included in the cost of the job. If you want more, you must notify us in advance of running the job. If you fail to notify us before running the job, we must charge you new set-up fees.

Can you make my delivery schedule?
P&P makes every reasonable effort to meet your scheduled mail date(s), but because of factors outside our control such as fire, accident, acts of God, mechanical breakdown or other similar, P&P can accept no liability for failure to meet your scheduled mail date should one of those events occur.

Can you guarantee when the Post Office will deliver my job?
P&P has no control over U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service or common carriers' delivery schedules and cannot guarantee when mail or shipments deposited with or released to these carriers will be delivered. The date we turn mail over to these carriers is your date of delivery. The date we turn the job over to these delivery services ends our responsibility for your project.

How do I know if my job has mailed?
P&P customer service will send you via fax or email a proof-of-performance document from the Post Office.

Can you track my mail inside the postal service?
If you opt to use intelligent barcodes, we can assist you in tracking your mail. There is a cost for this additional service.

What if my job gets delayed or accelerated?
Prices are quoted based upon a specific set of time schedules for completion. Any deviation from the schedules agreed upon by both parties at the start of your order may alter your quoted price. For instance, if material you provide arrives late, it may affect the delivery date of your order by a greater degree than the actual elapsed time the material is late.

How can you be sure that what I want is what you will mail?
P&P staff is trained in a strenuous quality control system designed to stop errors before your mailing leaves our plant. We ask that you participate in this process by reading reports we send to you, approving them or correcting them as appropriate, and signing off only when a step in job process meets your approval to proceed.

What if I discover an error in my job after it has mailed?
P&P shall be liable only to the extent of remailing a correction or corrected job as soon as possible to rectify the mistake. Damages shall be limited to the value of the work performed. In no case is P&P liable for loss of business; incidental or consequential damages; or costs in excess of billing for services related to the specific job or for postage and material unless agreed to in writing before the remailing.

How do you take payment?
P&P accepts payment by cash, check or credit card. First-time customers are always expected to pay for the job and postage before the mail date. Postage is always due before mail drop.

What if I am late in my payments?
If you owe money to P&P for past jobs, P&P may, at its option, withhold future mailings and/or hold your list, printing or other property against payment of delinquent invoices. "Delinquent" is defined as "past the agreed or specified payment date." After suitable credit has been established, unless otherwise specified in writing by P&P, terms are net with interest as allowed by law applied to delinquent invoices. Customers are responsible for any related collection costs, legal fees and interest.

Broker/Ad Agency/Reseller:
When contracting with an intermediary such as a broker, ad agency or reseller for work on behalf of their clients, P&P will hold the intermediary fully responsible for timely payment of invoices and for related collection costs, legal fees and interest. This will be done without regard to whether the intermediary has been paid by their client for services rendered.

Can you update my mailing list?
Yes, our data processing team can use a variety of programs (including CASS certification, merge/purge and NCOA) to update and cleanse your mailing list. We can also provide you with an updated file after your mailing.

How long will my job take to print?
Depending on the size of your print run it will take 1-3 days for your items to be printed after final approval. A larger product such as a multi-page catalog or jobs requiring specialty papers or custom-made envelopes can take longer. Please ask us.

How long will my job take to mail?
Paul&Partners makes every effort to get your jobs produced as fast as possible. Depending on the type of mailing you have we can usually turn a job over job in 2-5 business days.

What file types of data files do you accept?
We accept data files in the following formats: DBF, Excel, Access, Comma Delimited, Fixed Length Format, Tab Delimited and Label format.

What is a data dump?
A data dump is a sample of the records in your data file. We send all clients a data dump for approval as a quality control measure for their mailings. The data dump will uncover bad addresses, confirm counts on the file and give you the ability to confirm any variable data.

What file types of art do you accept?
Our preferred file types are Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator CS3, Quark ExPress 6.5, and high-resolution PDF. We also accept Microsoft Word and Publisher, high-resolution jpegs and tifs.

We suggest that our clients use one of the preferred file types for the highest quality printing.

What are bleeds and how do they affect my job?
A bleed is a printing term that is used when the printing on a piece goes all the way to the edge. If your artwork has bleeds, it will need to be printed on an oversized sheet of paper and then cut down to the proper size.

Can you help with design of our mail piece?
Yes, we have a graphic designer in house that can design your piece or make changes to existing art.

Why do I need to sign off on inkjet and laser setups?
In order to provide you with the highest level of quality control we require sign offs at every stage of your job. This gives you the opportunity to make any changes and ensure that everything has been set up to your specifications.

What is the difference between First Class and Standard Mail?
First class postage will enable your recipients to start receiving mail pieces 1-3 days after the drop date. Standard Mail will take anywhere from 7-21 days to deliver in mail boxes depending on what area of the country they are being delivered to.

What is an Indicia and do I need one?
An Indicia is a marking on a mail piece that is used instead of a stamp or meter strip to indicate that postage is paid. If you do not have a permit with the Post Office, you can use our indicia to send your mail pieces.

How do I register as a non-profit with the Post Office?
You will need to complete a form for the Post Office and gather supporting documentation for your application. It will take about 6-8 weeks for the Post Office to rule on your application. We will walk you through the process—just give us a call.

Can I mail at non-profit rates if my application is still pending?
You cannot mail at the non-profit rate while your application is pending, but you can mail at the standard rate. Once the Post Office has approved your application you can request a refund of the difference between the standard and non-profit rate. Your application must be pending at the Post Office when you mail in order to receive the refund.

How can I get the best postal rates possible?
Paul&Partners will assist you in getting the best rates possible. Ask us what your options are and we will determine the most cost-effective way to send your mail.

43670 Trade Center Place • Suite 150 • Dulles, VA 20166
p: 703.996.0800 • f: 703.996.0888