From the course: Print Production: Direct Mail

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Understanding ZIP codes

Understanding ZIP codes

From the course: Print Production: Direct Mail

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Understanding ZIP codes

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- The USPS zoning improvement plan code, more commonly known as the ZIP code, is a code that identifies specific geographic mailing areas. The USPS differentiates ZIP Codes into two categories, standard and unique. Standard ZIP codes are the most common and are defined by geography and mailing routes, whereas unique ZIP codes designate delivery to a large organization or entity like a college or a medical center. But what is the ZIP code all about anyway? If you mail in quantity, you've probably seen pricing broken into three digit and five digit pricing, and you've probably seen ZIP codes with a hyphen and an extra four digits at the end. Those are called ZIP plus-four codes. So let's decode the ZIP code. The first digit of the ZIP code is a number from zero to nine, and it indicates the area of the country going from east to west. The next two digits indicate the sectional center facility, the SCF, which is the processing and distribution facility for that mail piece. To complete…

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