Self-Mailers & Brochure Mailers
Self-mailers and brochure mailers: more room, no envelope
Tri-fold, bi-fold and booklet self-mailers printed on gloss text or cover, folded, tabbed to USPS rules, addressed and mailed. Menus, catalogs, newsletters and multi-service brochures from $0.16 per piece plus postage.
What it costs
All-in per piece, postage included
Printing and mail processing at our published rate plus USPS postage at cost (Marketing Mail automation 5-digit, $0.395). Every size and quantity is on the pricing page.
A self-mailer is a folded piece that mails without an envelope: a tri-fold menu, a bi-fold newsletter, an 11×17 folded to a letter, an 8-page booklet with a mailing panel. It carries three to six times the content of a postcard for a few cents more per piece, and it still mails at letter rates when it is folded to letter size and tabbed correctly.
We print self-mailers on 100lb gloss text or 80lb cover, fold, apply the wafer seals the USPS requires, address the mailing panel, presort and mail. Every design is checked against the USPS folded self-mailer rules before it prints, because a mailer folded the wrong way pays flat postage instead of letter postage.
Self-mailer vs. postcard: which should you send?
Send a postcard when one offer carries the piece. Send a self-mailer when the reader needs to compare, browse or keep: a restaurant menu, a home services company with eight services and a coupon for each, a school's open house schedule, a nonprofit's annual appeal with a story inside, a dealership's inventory. The self-mailer costs more to print and the same to mail, and it is kept longer because it contains something worth keeping.
USPS self-mailer tabbing requirements, in plain English
A folded self-mailer mailed at letter rates must be sealed shut so it survives automated processing. For most tri-folds on text-weight paper that means two 1-inch wafer seals on the top edge when the final fold is at the bottom; heavier stocks and other fold styles need different placements, and the open edge can never face the leading edge of the piece. The rules live in Domestic Mail Manual section 201, and we apply them for you: pick a fold, and we tab it to spec.
What does a self-mailer cost?
An 8.5×11 tri-fold on 100lb gloss text costs $0.36 per piece printed, folded, tabbed and addressed at 1,000 pieces and $0.24 at 5,000, plus $0.395 Marketing Mail postage. A 5,000-piece menu mailer is therefore about $3,200 all-in, or $0.64 per home. An 11×17 folded to letter size costs roughly a third more to print and the same to mail.
Newsletters, catalogs and booklets
Anything up to 3.5 ounces that folds to letter size mails at the letter rate, which covers an 8-page 8.5×11 newsletter or a 12-page 5.5×8.5 booklet. Heavier or larger pieces mail as flats, still presorted and still far cheaper than a stamp. We print short-run catalogs and newsletters digitally, so a 500-piece quarterly newsletter is as routine as a 50,000-piece catalog.
Run your numbers
Price a self-mailers mailing in ten seconds
Pick a piece, a quantity and a mail class. The estimate shows printing, postage and the all-in figure, next to what the same job typically costs elsewhere.
Answers
Self-Mailers: questions people ask
What is a self-mailer?
A self-mailer is a folded printed piece, such as a tri-fold brochure or a folded newsletter, that mails on its own without an envelope. One outside panel carries the address and postage; the piece is sealed with wafer-seal tabs so it can run through USPS sorting equipment.
How much does it cost to mail a tri-fold brochure?
About $0.76 per piece all-in at 1,000 pieces: $0.36 for printing, folding, tabbing and addressing an 8.5×11 tri-fold on 100lb gloss, plus $0.395 in Marketing Mail postage. At 5,000 pieces it drops to about $0.64 per piece.
Do self-mailers need tabs?
Yes, when mailed at automation letter rates. The USPS requires one or two wafer seals depending on the fold and the paper weight so the piece stays closed in sorting machines. We apply the correct tabs for your fold; a piece tabbed wrongly is charged the higher flat rate.
Can a self-mailer be mailed as EDDM?
Yes, if it meets EDDM flat-size rules: at least 6.125 inches tall or 10.5 inches long once folded. An 8.5×11 sheet folded once to 8.5×5.5 qualifies, and an 11×17 folded to 8.5×11 is one of the most common EDDM menu formats.
Get a quote in minutes
Tell us what you want to mail. We will price it today.
Send the size, the quantity and where it is going. You get a written all-in quote — printing, mail processing and postage — usually within a business hour, with no obligation.