What do I need to consider when preparing my design? : Automated Direct Mail - HelpCenter

What do I need to consider when preparing my design?

TABLE OF CONTENT:

Designing your artwork - layout considerations

You must always consider a 3 mm bleed area around the edges that will be removed while printing.
Blank Spaces: All areas marked as grey in the template must remain white. During the automated process of sorting, these areas are used for tags (e.g. bar codes) by the Postal Service. The dimensions required for the ‘postal area’ vary depending on the format of the mail product you are designing for.

Below: an example of a Maxi-Postcard with the guidelines applied. See how the image spans across the bleed and the text doesn’t go beyond the safe area.

The address box

The address box includes only the sender and recipient address.
It can’t be bordered or underlined, and it should always be left-aligned.
The sender address should be smaller than the recipient’s address.
The whole address block needs to be created using the same font. Italic and decorative fonts, handwritten and serif fonts (e.g. Times New Roman) are not allowed. Reversed text (white text on dark background) is also not allowed. Recommended fonts include Arial, Verdana, or Helvetica.
For the recipient's address, we recommend a font size of 11pt.

Working with images and text

Color mode must be CMYK (other color modes may increase printing costs and do not guarantee color fastness). Please contact us for special colors.
Important text and picture elements must maintain a safety distance of at least 3 mm to the final format.
Images and graphics must have a resolution of at least 250 dpi and a maximum of 450 dpi.
Line drawings must have a minimum of 1.200 dpi.
As a standard font, we use Roboto 11pt. If you would like a different font, please email data@optilyz.com so that we can add it to your account.

Exporting your document

Export your document to PDF/X3.
If your mail product has front and back or multiple pages, save it as a multi-page PDF.
Fonts must be embedded in the document, otherwise quality may be affected during print.
Detailed information here.

Download our design resources for Germany here. Download our international design resources here.

Important:Automation capability

As a requirement for sending Dialogpost, your items must be fully capable of automation. If automation is not provided, a surcharge of 0,05€ per shipment will be applied.

The automation capability of a letter mail consists of:

machine readability of address and franking
the design of the address side
the physical nature of the shipment

Machine readibility

1.) Fonts

Standard fonts like Arial, Roboto, or Helvetica are machine-readable. There are non-machine-readable fonts; see the illustration for examples.

The capital height of letters and numbers must be between 2.3mm and 4.7mm, and the font size should be between 10 pt and 12 pt.

The leading between the lines in the address may be 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

2.) Address field

The address block is always left-justified and closed without any blank lines.
It has a uniform font and leading.
The address must be at least two lines.
The address field only contains the sender and recipient addresses.
It cannot be outlined or underlined.

3.) Sender address / return address

The sender address/return address should be smaller than the recipient's address and will be placed above it.
The sender may only be one line.
Any address may be provided as the sender address, including an international address.
The inscription must be printed in a dark font on a white or monochrome background in pastel shades.

Franking mark

1.) Letters and postcards in an envelope with a window

Optilyz uses the abbreviated franking mark as standard, automatically inserted by our printing partner according to post requirements.

2.) Postcards and Selfmailers

The franking wave, located within the franking zone, is used to frank postcards and self-mailers. You can download the Frankierwelle from Deutsche Post. The wave must not be distorted or mirrored. We would be happy to insert them for you.

In addition to the franking wave, you can create a customized wave resembling a real postage stamp. Important points include dimensions to maintain automation capabilities.

Further specifications can be found in the brochure "Frankiervermerke" (see attachment to this article).

Specials letter / postcard in an envelope with a window

Since the letter has space in the envelope at the edges, it can still move inside. It is crucial to stick to the template provided on our platform when creating the design.

The inscription must always be completely visible in the window and at least 3mm away from all borders.
No parts of the text or graphics must be visible in the window.

Specials postcards

The dividing line must be exactly 1.2 mm wide.
To the left and right of the dividing line, a quiet zone of at least 5 mm must be maintained, in which neither text nor graphics are allowed.
The address must begin between 5 mm and 8 mm from the right edge of the dividing line and must end at least 5 mm from the right edge of the mail item.
The dividing line begins above the coding zone and ends at the latest 40 mm from the upper edge of the item.

Important: Please check the attached brochure by Deutsche Post ("Automationsfähige Briefsendungen") for any further information.

Advertising vs. non advertising mail

Only advertising will be allowed to be sent via DIALOGPOST. Non-advertising mail will be sent with the standard postage rate.

Please check out this article for more information on Advertising vs. Non Advertising Mail.