- EDDM pieces must qualify as USPS “flats”: bigger than a letter in at least one dimension, no larger than 12×15, and 3.3 oz or less.
- You mail by carrier route, not by address list: pick routes on the USPS map and every mailbox on them gets your piece.
- The indicia (permit box) replaces a stamp and must print in the top right of the address side, exactly per spec.
The pizza shop’s three-route launch
A new pizza shop used eddm flyer printing for its grand opening: an 8.5×11 menu flyer to three carrier routes surrounding the store, roughly 1,600 households, no mailing list required. The piece hit every kitchen within delivery range in the same week, and opening weekend sold out the ovens twice.
EDDM-compliant templates
Eddm flyer printing has federal specs baked in: download guideline templates with the indicia zone and flat-size trims preset.
Mail-safe prepress , free checks, or use complimentary design setup.
EDDM flyer printing is the rare marketing channel with a federal spec sheet. Every Door Direct Mail lets you blanket entire carrier routes without buying a single address, but in exchange USPS dictates the piece’s size, weight, markings, and bundling, and the counter clerk enforces all of it.
The rules sound bureaucratic and are actually simple once translated. This guide is that translation, plus the handoff sequence from art file to mailbox.
To qualify for EDDM Retail: exceed letter size in one dimension (taller than 6.125" or longer than 10.5"), stay within 12×15 and 3.3 oz, print the EDDM Retail indicia top-right on the address side, and select routes on the USPS EDDM map. Popular compliant sizes: 6.5×9, 8.5×11, and 6×12.
The federal envelope your design must fit inside.
How EDDM actually works
Instead of a mailing list, you choose geography: the USPS online map shows every carrier route around your business with household counts and demographic sketches. Pick routes, and the carrier delivers your piece to every mailbox on them. Eddm flyer printing exists for exactly the businesses whose customers are defined by distance: restaurants, dentists, gyms, contractors, and every grand opening within driving range. Retail postage runs well under standard mail rates because carriers deliver route-by-route with no sortation.
The pipeline: design to flat spec → print with indicia → bundle in 50s/100s with facing slips → submit at the routes’ post office (or ship pre-bundled) → carriers deliver with the day’s mail.
EDDM flyer printing rules: size, weight, and indicia
The piece must be a “flat”: at least one dimension must exceed letter limits, meaning taller than 6.125" or longer than 10.5", while staying at or under 12×15 inches and 3.3 ounces. That is why classic EDDM trims are 6.5×9, 8.5×11, 6×12, and 4×12: each breaks a letter limit on purpose. The indicia box reading “PRSRT STD / ECRWSS / U.S. POSTAGE PAID / EDDM RETAIL” prints top-right on the address side with clear space around it, and cardstock weights like 14pt sail under the weight cap comfortably.
The indicia is your postage: printed, not stamped. Templates position it exactly; art that crowds or overlaps it is the fastest route to a counter rejection.
From artwork to mailbox, step by step
One: design on an EDDM template at a compliant trim, leaving the indicia zone and address area clear. Two: print on card-weight stock so the piece survives mail handling. Three: map your routes on the USPS EDDM tool, watching household counts against your budget. Four: bundle per spec, stacks of 50 or 100 with a facing slip on each. Five: submit at the post office serving those routes with the payment and form, or use full-service options that handle bundling and drop-off for you.
Bundling is the last mile of compliance: uniform stacks, facing slips filled in, counts matching the paperwork. Clerks check exactly this.
Rejection triggers to avoid
A 6×11 piece designed “close enough” at 6×10.5 that no longer breaks the length limit. Letter-size 8.5×5.5 pieces that are simply not flats. Indicia printed on the wrong side, in the wrong corner, or swallowed by background art. Overweight pieces from lamination on oversized trims. Bundles of uneven counts without facing slips. And the strategic mistake: mailing one wave and judging the channel, when route mail builds response across repeated monthly touches.
Print pricing baselines
| Job | Spec | Cart total | Per piece |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-page menu flyer | 250 × 8.5×11, front only | $91.64 | 36.7¢ |
| Handout comparison | 1,000 × 4×6, both sides | $67.04 | 6.7¢ |
| Saturation comparison | 5,000 × 4×6, both sides | $129.37 | 2.6¢ |
EDDM-size pieces price by their larger trims in the mail flyers cart; postage is paid separately to USPS at the current EDDM Retail rate per piece, listed on usps.com.
EDDM checklist
Compliance, compressed.
- Trim breaks a letter limit: taller than 6.125" or longer than 10.5".
- Within 12×15 and 3.3 oz on the chosen stock.
- EDDM Retail indicia top-right on the address side, unobstructed.
- Routes selected on the USPS map; counts match the print order.
- Bundles of 50/100 with completed facing slips.
- Offer includes a trackable code or QR per campaign wave.
“Our first EDDM attempt got turned away over the indicia, which we had shrunk to fit the design. Reprinted from the proper template, the same clerk took all twelve bundles in five minutes. The routes around the clinic now get a card every month.”
Dental office manager, Mesa
Mail pieces still follow press color rules; the CMYK color model reference explains why the menu photos on your mailer need the same CMYK care as any flyer.
Frequently asked questions
What sizes qualify for eddm flyer printing?
Anything that exceeds letter dimensions in at least one direction while staying within 12×15 inches: the piece must be taller than 6.125" or longer than 10.5". The workhorse trims are 6.5×9, 8.5×11, 6×12, and 4×12. A standard 4×6 or 5×7 flyer does not qualify; it is letter-sized, not a flat.
Do I need a mailing permit for EDDM Retail?
No, that is the channel’s superpower: EDDM Retail requires no permit, no mailing list, and no address printing. You print the standardized EDDM Retail indicia on the piece, select routes online, and pay postage at drop-off. The permit-based cousin, EDDM BMEU, exists for high-volume mailers with existing permits.
How much is EDDM postage?
EDDM Retail postage is a flat per-piece rate set by USPS, historically in the twenty-cent range and updated periodically, always listed on usps.com. Postage is paid to USPS at drop-off, separate from printing. Print plus postage for a full route usually still lands under most addressed-mail programs per household.
How do I choose which routes to mail?
The USPS EDDM online map draws every carrier route with household counts, business counts, and rough demographics. Start with routes ringing your location, prioritize pure-residential routes for consumer offers, and match total households to your print quantity. Route IDs go on your paperwork and facing slips.
What stock should an EDDM piece use?
Card weight, 14pt as the sweet spot: sturdy enough for mail handling and doorstep presence, comfortably under the 3.3 oz cap even at 8.5×11. Coating protects against handling scuffs. Flimsy text-weight mailers arrive creased and read as junk before the offer gets a chance.
Can I mail up to any quantity with EDDM Retail?
The Retail program caps at 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day. Bigger footprints split across multiple days or ZIPs, or move to the BMEU permit path. For most local businesses, a few routes totaling 1,500–3,000 households per wave is both compliant and budget-sane.
Where does the indicia go, exactly?
Top-right corner of the address side, the standardized box reading PRSRT STD / ECRWSS / U.S. POSTAGE PAID / EDDM RETAIL, with clear space around it and no art intrusion. Templates place it precisely. Shrinking, restyling, or relocating the indicia is the single most common counter rejection.
How should EDDM pieces be bundled for drop-off?
Uniform stacks of 50 or 100 pieces, each topped with a completed facing slip stating the route, piece count, and your information, delivered to the post office that serves the selected routes with the processing form and postage payment. Full-service printing options can arrive pre-bundled, turning drop-off into a hand-over.