| Writing perfect mailing addresses on mailing labels is | | | | Since today letters are rarely sorted manually, the lines |
| not so easy task as it may seem. The US Postal | | | | of a perfect mailing address must be suited for |
| Service has a whole set of guidelines about how to | | | | machine sorting using the OCR technology. The below |
| properly compose and format addresses, and a | | | | points deal with OCR compatibility issues: |
| perfect delivery address must comply with these | | | | 3). All lines must be aligned to the left, with all images |
| guidelines and standards. | | | | and other non-address elements placed above the |
| A perfect mailing address must be properly spelled out, | | | | address block. |
| abbreviated using the USPS approved abbreviations, | | | | 4). All words must be printed with uniform uppercase |
| and formatted according to the USPS requirements. | | | | letters, leaving enough white space between lines and |
| Here are the main points about how to write a perfect | | | | characters. |
| mailing address: | | | | 5). Any punctuation must be avoided, except for the |
| 1). Address block must contain 3 to 5 lines: | | | | dash (i.e. "-") character. |
| - Attention line (recipient's name), | | | | 6). The lines must be printed using black sans-serif |
| - Recipient line (recipient's company name), | | | | fonts like Arial or Tahoma. |
| - Secondary Address line (apartment, suite, building, | | | | 7). Font size must be no less than 8 points and no |
| etc.), | | | | more than 18 points (10-12 points is the most |
| - Delivery Address line (street, house number), | | | | appropriate font size). |
| - Last line (city, state and zip code). | | | | 8). The address block must be placed inside OCR |
| The most common addresses require only 3 lines | | | | read area and must not be skewed or slanted. |
| (Attention, Delivery Address and Last line), while less | | | | For further instructions about how to print a perfect |
| common ones may require 4 or 5 lines. | | | | mailing address you are greatly encouraged to refer to |
| 2). The words in address block lines must be spelled | | | | the USPS official publications, especially those No. 25, |
| out fully or abbreviated using the USPS approved | | | | 28, 177 and 221. |
| abbreviations, like ST for "street", APT for "apartment", | | | | For more interesting facts about mailing addresses visit |
| or 2-letter state codes. | | | | the Mailing Labels Guide. |