Customer Support Ruling

Advertisements Printed on Plastic Wrappers – Periodicals
Updated October 1996

PS-104 (707.3.3)

This Customer Support Ruling discusses advertisements that are printed on wrappers covering individual copies of a Periodicals publication.

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 707.3.3.6 and 707.3.3.7, states that printed material, including advertising matter, is a permissible addition to envelopes or wrappers in which Periodicals publications are mailed.  The appropriate rate for advertising matter is charged for advertising printed on such envelopes or wrappers.

Accordingly, advertising may be printed on a plastic wrapper provided that the area of the wrapper that is advertising (both front and back) is added to the total advertising units of measure when computing the advertising percentage of the issue.  Please note that the area of the wrapper that is not advertising is excluded from the determination of the advertising percentage and is not added to the nonadvertising units of measure.  However, the weight of the entire wrapper is included when determining the per copy weight of the publication for rate computation purposes.

(Signed)
Anita J. Bizzotto
Manager
Mailing Standards
United States Postal Service
Washington DC 20260-3436