Bulk mail broadly refers to
mailMail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal...
that is mailed and processed in bulk at reduced rates. The term does not
denoteThis word has distinct meanings in other fields: see denotation . For the opposite of Denotation see Connotation.*In logic, linguistics and semiotics, the denotation of a word or phrase is a part of its meaning; however, the part referred to varies by context:** In grammar and literary theory, the...
any particular purpose for the mail; in particular, it is not synonymous with "junk mail."
As an example, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly...
(USPS) defines bulk mail broadly as "quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage rates." The preparation includes presorting and placing into containers by
ZIP codeThe ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service . The letters ZIP, a backronym for Zone Improvement Plan, are properly written in capital letters and were chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Bulk mail' Start a new discussion about 'Bulk mail' Answer questions from other users |
Bulk mail broadly refers to
mailMail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal...
that is mailed and processed in bulk at reduced rates. The term does not
denoteThis word has distinct meanings in other fields: see denotation . For the opposite of Denotation see Connotation.*In logic, linguistics and semiotics, the denotation of a word or phrase is a part of its meaning; however, the part referred to varies by context:** In grammar and literary theory, the...
any particular purpose for the mail; in particular, it is not synonymous with "junk mail."
As an example, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly...
(USPS) defines bulk mail broadly as "quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage rates." The preparation includes presorting and placing into containers by
ZIP codeThe ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service . The letters ZIP, a backronym for Zone Improvement Plan, are properly written in capital letters and were chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
. The containers, along with a manifest, are taken to an area in a
post officeA post office is a facility authorised by a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail. Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
called a bulk mail entry unit. The presorting and the use of containers allow highly automated processing of the mail, both in bulk and piecewise, in processing facilities called
bulk mail centers (BMCs).
In 2009, the USPS announced plans to streamline sorting and delivery, which would recast the BMCs as "Network Distribution Centers".
Junk mail
Although bulk mail, junk mail and admail are, strictly speaking, not synonymous, the terms are used in common parlance to refer to unsolicited invitations delivered by mail (typically, but not invariably, at bulk rates) to homes and businesses.
External links