If you’re a commercial mailer of flats and periodicals, brace yourself. Customers are facing an unexpected and steep increase in USPS mailing rates sometime this summer — even while service standards remain miserably low. The first indication that something was seriously wrong with operations at the USPS came last July, when newly appointed PG Louis DeJoy changed trucking regulations. On-time mail deliveries plummeted. It was so bad that a Washington DC District Court judge ruled they must reverse the changes in October and file daily paperwork with their progress. Then came the election, and ..read more

Another interesting article for postal customers, mail service providers and casual industry observers. Let’s be clear to recognize the combination of sound stewardship and politics which fuel the calls for Congressional legislation to re-examine the Postal Regulatory Commission’s model which defines the scope of future postal rate making. The Ten-Year USPS’ Delivering For America Plan was revolutionary in its scope and truly disruptive since it re-shaped both delivery times and mail processing / delivery systems. Future mail and package demand changes were anticipated and prior failed busines ..read more

As eCommerce firms and shippers prepare for the Holiday Package Shipping Season, three major package delivery companies have announced their temporary package rate adjustments for the 2022 – 2023 Peak Holiday Season. The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on August 10 to surcharge prices on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail First Class Packages, Parcel Select and USPS Retail Ground. International packages will be unaffected. Pending an expected approval by the PRC, the surcharges would be effective on October 2, 2022, and stop on January 22 ..read more

Freeport Press Inc. is proud to announce it has been awarded three Best of Category Awards from Graphic Media Alliance’s 2022 Print Excellence Awards.  Each year, Graphic Media Alliance association holds its Print Excellence Awards Competition to reward Ohio, Michigan and Northern Kentucky printers who demonstrate excellence in 34 categories. This year’s entries were judged by two out-of-state expert judges who ranked them in the competition. This year’s judges were long-time judges: Ken Eberhart, retired from Merrick Printing, Louisville, KY and Jeff Ekstein, Willow Printing Group, On ..read more

Frank Lynn, Director of Postal Affairs, provides comments and insights into the latest article by Forbes covering the US Postal Reform Bill of 2022: I believe that this is an objective article that notes the legislation’s highlights. Corrects the horrendous financial effects of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) legislation. The Recession of 2008, the COVID Pandemic and the erosion of First Class mail volumes were not anticipated during its drafting. No other Federal Agency is burdened with the prepayment requirements of future medical coverage and retirement costs.&nbs ..read more

Freeport Press, Inc. is proud to announce it was recently awarded seven 2022 Print Excellence Awards from Graphic Media Alliance. Each year, Graphic Media Alliance holds its Print Excellence Awards competition to recognize Ohio, Michigan and northern Kentucky printers who have demonstrated excellence in 36 categories and two out–of–region expert judges rank them in a regional competition. This year’s judges were longtime Premier Print Award judges ..read more

Heat-set web paper changes during the printing process due to moisture content. Typically used for text pages, web paper may expand outside its sheetfed cover after final trim in the bindery. Why it happens: Paper is hygroscopic — meaning it absorbs or loses moisture depending upon its environment. When paper is exposed to changing moisture conditions, the fibers will contract or expand more in diameter than in length. This means when paper loses moisture, it contracts and decreases in size; when it absorbs moisture, it expands and grows larger. Since the fibers expand more in diameter than in ..read more

In our continued commitment to color management, Freeport Press is proud to announce that John Stewart, Prepress Technical Service Advisor, has completed his certification with Idealliance® as a G7 Expert. Having a G7 Expert on staff at Freeport Press shows the strong commitment from ownership to ensuring our customer’s brand color requirements are met. Freeport Press Inc will no longer need to rely on outside G7 Experts to oversee the G7 qualification process. Freeport Press Inc is committed to the G7 process all year long. Congratulations John! For over a decade, Freeport Pre ..read more

“An online catalog is a powerful package, so why is print making a comeback?”  Jim Preen writing in Brand United asks and answers this question with some key facts about consumer behavior during the UK lockdowns. “With another national lockdown upon us, people are being forced to spend a huge proportion of their time at home and home is where print catalogs score,” Preen writes. “Recent research by Royal Mail revealed that 88% of people surveyed said they paid as much or more attention to mail during lockdown. This means leaflets and catalogs are far less likely to be dumped straight in t ..read more

Rand Fishkin is a familiar name to anyone who follows SEO and the power of original content. Fishkin rose to prominence in content circles as the head of SEO firm Moz;  he’s now a co-founder at audience intelligence firm SparkToro. And he’s got something to say about the state of digital advertising.  “Where to even begin…,” Fishkin writes in What’s New In Publishing. “Should we start with the upcoming loss of third-party cookies? The bizarre Google & Facebook duopoly team up against anti-trust action? The rise of online ads as a money laundering & terrorist-fu ..read more