Technology progresses continually, increasing the pace of business. Our access area uses a variety of technologies to help streamline your printing and mailing processes. For example:
- Submit your request for quote using our online template, starting the process at a time convenient for you.
- Once you're ready for your job to start, our file submission form ensures we have all the necessary information.
- Save time by submitting your files to us via FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
- E-mail your mailing list to us, avoiding the time and hassle required to send it through the mail.
- Want to know where your order is once it has been shipped? Just enter your tracking number on our UPS tracking site.
FTP Information:
Setting up a new FTP account:The security of your files is as important to us as it is to you. Therefore, we do not accept anonymous FTP uploads. Get started by contacting our customer service department. You will be asked to include a preferred username and password, your name, telephone number and your company name in an e-mail to request a login to any of Forum Communications Printing's FTP servers. Upon receipt of that information, our staff will create your login and notify you once it's ready for use. When uploading files, we've found certain criteria to be crucial for successful file transfers.
- First, we request that you compress your files with a standard utility such as Winzip for the PC, or Stuff-It for the Mac.
- If your job is greater than 100MB, we recommend that you compress the job in multiple smaller files rather than one large file. Then, if a problem occurs during the file transfer, it will be easier and faster for you to re-send just the file in question, rather than starting over with the entire job.
- Upon completion of the successful file transfer, please send an e-mail or call your customer service representative to let them know the files have been transferred.
Mailing Lists:
Recommended programs for mailing lists:- ASCII Delimited
- Excel, Access
- ASCII Fixed Width
- Word Perfect
- Lists should be kept up-to-date by running the names and addresses through the U.S. Postal Service National Change Of Address (NCOA) file. Of all the various list-hygiene methods, this is the most crucial, because it will eliminate most of the undeliverable mail from the list.
- Deliberately keep seeded names on the database to make sure that your list is not used for unauthorized purposes and to see live samples of your own mailpiece.
- Make sure creative personnel are aware of the need to meet postal regulations when they design your mailpiece.
- Define your target audience. Who are the most likely responders to the offer? When marketing to consumers, try to pinpoint certain lifestyle characteristics that seem to fit your likely customer. Lists can be purchased for almost any lifestyle characteristic or demographic.
- Fields within the list should all contain the same information. (For example, one field would contain only states, another field - only ZIP codes.)
