Quick answer
A mailing house turns your data and artwork into sorted, posted mail. It cleans and formats your mailing list, prints and personalises each item, folds and encloses the packs, sorts and barcodes them for discounted postage such as Royal Mail Mailmark, and hands the mail to the postal network on its own account. A good mailing house also keeps your data secure, checks every pack is correct and reports what was posted. Using one means you do not need your own postal account, sortation software or enclosing machines, and you usually pay less postage than you would posting the items yourself.
Key takeaways
- A mailing house handles the whole journey from data file to postal handover: data processing, print, personalisation, enclosing, sortation and postage.
- Most of the postage saving comes from sorting and barcoding mail so it qualifies for business tariffs. Royal Mail's Advertising Mail Mailmark letter prices start from 4,000 items.
- Your mailing list is personal data. Under UK GDPR the mailing house acts as your data processor, so you need a written contract (a data processing agreement) in place.
- A fulfilment house stores stock and sends orders on demand. A mailing house produces and posts planned campaigns. Some firms do both.
- Before choosing one, ask about accreditations, data security, pack-matching checks, in-house print and how postage is paid.
What does a mailing house do?
A mailing house (also called a mailing bureau or direct mail fulfilment house) takes care of everything between your campaign idea and the postman. The exact services vary, but a full-service mailing house usually covers these stages:
- 1
Data processing
Your mailing list is checked against the Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF), duplicates are removed, and gone-away and Mailing Preference Service (MPS) suppressions are applied. Addresses are formatted to fit the window or label and to postal standards. See data processing.
- 2
Print and personalisation
Letters, outer envelopes, inserts and response forms are printed. Variable data printing adds each recipient's name, address, reference numbers or a tailored message.
- 3
Folding and enclosing
Items are folded and inserted into envelopes on enclosing machines. On personalised packs, cameras read codes on each item so the right letter goes with the right insert in the right envelope.
- 4
Wrapping (where needed)
Magazines, catalogues and bulky packs can be wrapped in film (polywrapping) or paper instead of an envelope. Not every mailing house offers this, so check if your format needs it.
- 5
Sortation and barcoding
Mail is sorted into the order the postal network needs and printed with barcodes such as Royal Mail Mailmark, which is what unlocks business postage prices. See our guide to Royal Mail Mailmark.
- 6
Postage and handover
The mailing house submits the mailing on its own postal account, with an electronic manifest, and delivers the sorted mail to Royal Mail or a downstream access operator. In Ireland, mail is handed to An Post.
- 7
Reporting and data destruction
You receive confirmation of quantities posted and the handover date. Your data is then securely deleted in line with your contract.
Why use a mailing house instead of posting it yourself?
- Lower postage. Business tariffs such as Royal Mail Advertising Mail need sorted, barcoded mail and minimum volumes (from 4,000 items for Economy Low Sort Mailmark letters). A mailing house can also combine your mail with other clients' mail through downstream access to reach better rates.
- No postal account or software. The mailing house uses its own Royal Mail account, sortation software and Mailmark accreditation, so you do not need any of these.
- Speed and accuracy. Enclosing machines with camera matching and checkweighers pack thousands of items an hour and catch mismatched or incomplete packs. Doing this by hand is slow and error-prone.
- Data protection. A specialist works under audited information security controls, which helps you meet your own obligations as the data controller.
- One supplier. If the mailing house prints in-house too, there is no handover between printer and mailer, and one team is responsible for the whole job.
For a breakdown of where the money goes on a campaign, read how much direct mail costs in the UK.
Mailing house vs fulfilment house
| Mailing house | Fulfilment house | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Producing and posting planned mailings | Storing stock and sending orders as they come in |
| Typical work | Direct mail campaigns, charity appeals, statements, member mailings, catalogues | E-commerce orders, sample requests, brochure requests, merchandise |
| Volumes | Thousands to millions of items in one mailing | Many small orders, every day |
| Key skills | Data processing, personalisation, enclosing, postal sortation | Warehousing, pick and pack, stock control, courier booking |
| Postage | Business mail tariffs and downstream access | Parcel and courier services, sometimes letter post |
How to choose a mailing house: questions to ask
- Are you a Royal Mail approved mailing house, and are you Mailmark accredited?
- Do you hold ISO 27001 for information security, and will you sign a data processing agreement?
- How is data transferred to you (for example SFTP), where is it stored, and when is it deleted?
- Which data services do you run in-house: PAF, deduplication, gone-away and MPS suppression?
- Do your enclosing lines use camera matching and checkweighing on personalised packs?
- Do you print in-house, or is print subcontracted?
- How is postage paid, and when? Is it passed through at cost or marked up?
- Can you mail to Ireland and overseas as well as the UK?
- What are your lead times from approved artwork and data to postal handover?
- What do you report after the mailing goes out?
Brief the mailing house early
Format choices such as envelope size, weight and the number of inserts change both the postage band and how the pack can be enclosed by machine. Talk to your mailing house before artwork is final. Our campaign planning guide and direct mail checklist cover what to agree up front.
How Fretwell works as a mailing house
Fretwell has printed and mailed from Keighley, West Yorkshire, since 1980. Data processing, print, finishing, enclosing and postal sortation all happen under one roof, so there is no handover between suppliers.
- Royal Mail Approved Mailing House and Mailmark accredited supplier. We apply Mailmark barcodes and submit mail on our own account, so you do not need a Royal Mail account.
- ISO 27001 information security and ICO registration as a data processor. Data arrives by secure SFTP, is processed in encrypted environments and is destroyed after the campaign.
- Three Buhrs enclosing lines with 4-way Taurus camera matching and Driver Southall checkweighers on every machine.
- In-house print and personalisation on Heidelberg litho presses, digital presses and a Kyocera continuous-feed inkjet press for very large personalised runs. See our plant list.
- UK and Ireland. We sort and hand over to Royal Mail and downstream access providers in the UK, and deliver Irish mail direct to An Post in Dublin on our own An Post account. See direct mail to Ireland.
Direct mail, from data to doormat
Data processing, personalised print, camera-matched enclosing and Mailmark sortation, all in-house in Keighley.
Explore the serviceCharities, financial services firms and retailers use us for appeals, statements and customer mailings. See how we work with charities, or read the complete guide to direct mail marketing.
