  {"id":1267,"date":"2015-06-10T11:28:57","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T18:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/mail\/?page_id=1267"},"modified":"2025-08-08T12:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T19:44:20","slug":"addressing-mail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/home\/services\/sending-mail-2\/how-to-prepare-your-shipment\/addressing-mail\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing Mail"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1. US Post Office official requirements for addressing<\/span><\/h1>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to the US Postal Service, domestic addresses should be left justified, in all caps (if typed) and formatted like this:<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">NAME\/TITLE<br \/>(ORGANIZATION)<\/span><\/strong><br \/><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">STREET ADDRESS OR PO BOX<\/span><\/strong><br \/><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Writing should be neat and easy to read, and if typed, the address should be in a simple font such as Arial, Georgia or Times New Roman. However, sometimes the post office doesn&#8217;t account for all contingencies, which is why I have included&#8230;.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000000;\">2. My personal experience<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Color<\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0 Ink color should be only <strong>black<\/strong> or <strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">blue<\/span> <\/strong>ink. Other colors (including pencil) are not recommended.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Never use red ink in an address!<\/span><\/strong><\/span> It is the same color as the postage ink, and can often be overlooked by the machinery.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Color of the envelope-<\/strong>\u00a0Dark printing on light paper is easier to read than light printing on a dark background. Again, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>never use red colored envelopes<\/strong><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000;\">because t<\/span><\/span>he color of the postage mark\u00a0is red and would be obscured. \u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/envelope-exampes1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-294 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/envelope-exampes1.jpg\" alt=\"envelope exampes\" width=\"690\" height=\"59\" \/><\/a><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Font or handwriting<\/strong>&#8211; I agree with the post office&#8217;s suggestion to choose a simple font. Fancy scripts may be fun and look beautiful but they are not the most accurate means of business communication. Similarly, handwritten addresses should be easy to read to ensure quick delivery.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Placement<\/strong>&#8211; This is incredibly important. The picture below is an example of the correct way to address an envelope.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. US Post Office official requirements for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"featured_media":0,"parent":928,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<h1>1. US Post Office official requirements for addressing<\/h1>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">According to the US Postal Service, domestic addresses should be left justified, in all caps (if typed) and formatted like this:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">NAME\/TITLE\r\n(ORGANIZATION)<\/span><\/strong>\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">STREET ADDRESS OR PO BOX<\/span><\/strong>\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\">Writing should be neat and easy to read, and if typed, the address should be in a simple font such as Arial, Georgia or Times New Roman. However, sometimes the post office doesn't account for all contingencies, which is why I have included....<\/span><\/h4>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h1 style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;color: #000000\">2. My personal experience<\/span><\/h1>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Color<\/strong>-\u00a0 Ink color should be only <strong>black<\/strong> or <strong><span style=\"color: #000080\">blue<\/span> <\/strong>ink. Other colors (including pencil) are not recommended.\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">Never use red ink in an address!<\/span><\/strong><\/span> It is the same color as the postage ink, and can often be overlooked by the machinery.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Color of the envelope-<\/strong>\u00a0Dark printing on light paper is easier to read than light printing on a dark background. Again, <span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>never use red colored envelopes<\/strong><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #000000\">because t<\/span><\/span>he color of the postage mark\u00a0is red and would be obscured. \u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/envelope-exampes1.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-294 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/envelope-exampes1.jpg\" alt=\"envelope exampes\" width=\"690\" height=\"59\" \/><\/a><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Font or handwriting<\/strong>- I agree with the post office's suggestion to choose a simple font. Fancy scripts may be fun and look beautiful but they are not the most accurate means of business communication. Similarly, handwritten addresses should be easy to read to ensure quick delivery.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Placement<\/strong>- This is incredibly important. The picture below is an example of the correct\u00a0way to address an envelope. For examples of what NOT to do and explanations of why, please visit my blog page <a href=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/2015\/04\/21\/how-not-to-send-mail\/\">\"How NOT to send mail: An obscure rant\".<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/4.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-296 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/files\/2015\/04\/4.jpg\" alt=\"4\" width=\"969\" height=\"634\" \/><\/a>\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><em>This is an abridged version of my full blog that can be accessed here: <a href=\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/wp\/balesa\/2015\/05\/04\/a-good-address-is-a-happy-address\/\" target=\"_blank\">A good address is a happy address!<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h4>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-1267","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22944,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1267\/revisions\/22944"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}