The postal service uses machinery to handle all mail thinner than 1/4 inch.  You
must pay an extra 11 cents for mail that is thicker than 1/4 inch.

Flat mail processing involves sending it through a high-speed scanner (the
squisher) and around multiple bends (the bender & squisher part II) of no less
than 9" in diameter.

Make sure you package is blatantly over 1/4", whether it's in an envelope or
box, and it won't be processed this way.  It will be handled by hand through the
entire postal system.

All of this information is available on the usps.gov web site in PDF format, or
you can go to your local post office and request any of their hundreds of
manuals and documents (for free) which tells you what happens to your mail in
terms of bending radius and pressure exerted externally on the mail should your
letter be processed automatically.

-Adam

Ed Edmondson wrote:
>
> If you use anything but a hard plastic container in a padded envelope marked
> "Delicate Instruments" it will always arrive completely compressed.  The US
> Postal service has been hired by the IC manufacturers to convert all DIL
> packages to SMT packaging. ;-))
>
> I have a whole wall of parts the US Postal service has transformed.  It is
> aptly named the US Postal "Wall of Fame!"  There are even a few UPS (Brown
> Shirt Nazis) packages there too.
>
> Ed
>
> --
> http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us!
> use mailto:listserv@mitvma.mit.edu?body=SET%20PICList%20DIGEST

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList
mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu