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Deliver signed zip code

Ever wonder how mail is sorted? Well, back in the old days, it was pretty much a manual process. But that all changed in the 60s when 5-digit ZIP codes were introduced. They’re still the cornerstone of automated sortation today. There are 42,000 zip codes… represented by just 5 digits… Sound Complicated? Sound Complicated? It’s not. The first number represents 1 of 10 National Areas. The next two, combined with the first represent a section within that National Area. And the last two? Adding them designates a specific post office. To make sortation faster, in the 80s, ZIP+4 was introduced – now mail could be sorted down to a very specific geographical location. Narrowing it down to a street in a neighborhood. Shortly after, two more numbers were introduced to identify a particular residence or business in a neighborhood, this would be called the delivery point. To make the sortation process even faster, these 11 numbers were transitioned into a bar code The ‘PostNet’ code allowed the mail to be quickly and automatically sorted in the actual order that a mail carrier delivers his or her route. In order to track mail within the system another line of code was added, the PLANET code. This also held additional information like the class of mail and the sender’s ID. Recently, both these codes have been replaced by the Intelligent Mail barcode, combining the delivery point information of the PostNet code, with the tracking ability in PLANET code. And that’s how postal codes get millions of pieces of mail processed all over the country every day. Want to learn more about mail sortation and pricing? Watch our next video or send us an email.