Reply Paid Guidelines Details

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The following section provides an overview of the printing guidelines for Reply Paid articles. For detailed information please refer to the Reply Paid Service Guide (adobe PDF format). Effective 15 September 2008.

Postage Zone & Printing Contrast Bars

The contrast bars are a critical component of the correct addressing and formatting requirements. Printing Specifications for the contrast bars are:

Bar Positioning

The top of the contrast bars must be printed 13 +/- 3 mm from the top edge and the right bar 13 +/- 3 mm from the right edge.

Bar Specifications

The three contrast bars are each 20 +/- 2 mm high, 2.5 +/- 0.5 mm thick and 7 +/- 1 mm apart. All bars must display the same characteristics.

"No stamp required if posted in Australia"
text must appear above the bars, and must not be printed within 3 mm of the top of the contrast bars. The maximum font style for the text is Helvetica 8 point.

Reply Paid Barcode

Australia Post will provide customers with artwork for the letter sizes selected in the Reply Paid application form. The artwork will include the Reply Paid barcode.

The barcode for Reply Paid mail is different to the barcode used for normal mail. Customers should not use barcode which has not been specifically designed for Reply Paid articles. If in doubt, customers should contact Australia Post to obtain the Reply Paid barcode or confirm that the barcode is correct.

If a customer changes address a new barcode must be obtained.

Customers that receive more than one Reply Paid Response type at the same delivery address, need to obtain a different Reply Paid barcode from Australia Post. The barcode must be printed above the Reply Paid text address and must comply with the barcode specifications. The minimum space between the barcode and first line of the printed Reply Paid address is 2 mm.

Reply Paid Address

The Reply Paid address must be left justified and include the address details described in the table below:

Reply Paid example

Address Details	Position in address	Comments
Barcode	Barcode printed at least 2mm above the First line of address.	Mandatory for pre-printed Reply Paid Responses
Name of addressee (See Note 1)	First line of address	Mandatory. For letters addressed to a person at a company or organisation, this is the company or organisation name.
The text "Reply Paid" followed by the address number	Second-last line of address	Mandatory. The address number is allocated by Australia Post.
Locality name or the name of the Post Office of delivery	The first component of the last address line	Mandatory. The locality name or post office name must be in UPPER CASE letters. (See Note 2)
The State or Territory abbreviation	The second component of the last address line	Mandatory. The State or Territory abbreviation must be in UPPER CASE letters. (See Note 2)
The postcode	The last component of the last address line	Mandatory.

Note 1: The customer can add a second and, if necessary, a third line for addressee details. i.e., "Attention of:" or other reference details.
Note 2: The last address line should not include any punctuation or underlining of any sort. This includes full stops and commas.

Delivery Address Zone

The delivery address is used by Postal Delivery Officers to sequence and deliver mail to customers. The address must appear below the "Delivery Address:" title, must be left justified and include the components described in the table below:

Example	Address Details (see table below)
Delivery Address	Fixed Text "Delivery Address:" printed in bold font style
PO Box 1234	Street address, box number, locked bag number or other address
BLACKBURN VIC 3130	locality name, state abbreviation and postcode

Address Details	Position in address	Comments
The text "Delivery Address:"	First line.	Mandatory. The text is printed in bold font style.
Street address, Box number, Locked Bag number or other address (See Note 1)	Second last line of address	Mandatory.
Locality name or the name of the Post Office of delivery	The first component of the last address line	Mandatory. The locality name or post office name must be in UPPER CASE letters. (See Note 2)
The State or Territory abbreviation	The second component of the last address line	Mandatory. The State or Territory abbreviation must be in UPPER CASE letters. (See Note 2)
The postcode	The last component of the last address line	Mandatory.

Note 1: the customer can add between one to three additional delivery address lines. These must be printed above the second-last line i.e., above street address, box number etc. These lines can be used to capture information such as suite number, level etc.

Note 2: The last address line should not include any punctuation or underlining of any sort. This includes full stops and commas.

The font style for the "Delivery Address:" text is Helvetica Bold 8 point. The recommended font style for the Delivery address is Helvetica 8 point.

Indexing Zone

The Indexing Zone is required for Australia Post barcode printing. Customers cannot print any material in this zone.

Service Zone

The printing specifications for a logo or other print content are:

The logo or other print content should be printed as close to the top left corner of the letter, but must not extend more than 10 mm from the top and left edges.
The right edge of the logo or other print content can only be printed out to the 145 mm Delivery Address and Postage zones.