Business Reply Envelope file supply guidelines
Bleed and Quiet Zone
Business reply envelopes have specific templates for you to use. These are pre-designed in C4, C5 and DL sizes and they all have areas that cannot be printed in, these are called the Clear Zones. Please check the relevant template to view the printable areas.
Business reply envelopes cannot have elements bleeding to the page edge.
When you save your PDF ensure that you save it at the same size as the template. Please note that no crop or registration marks are required.
Colour & Ink Coverage
Please set your vector and bitmap artwork in CMYK colour. All files must be supplied in CMYK. RGB, Pantones, Duotones and other colour spaces are not supported and will be converted to CMYK, this could cause a colour shift so we recommend that the conversion to CMYK is done prior to upload.
Ink levels must be set to a maximum of 300% total ink. Exceeding 300% may result in your job being set to status 091 and delayed.
The minimum tint level is 10% per CMYK channel and tints over 90% will tend to look 100% when printed.
Remember to choose the correct single or double sided product code to match your design requirements.
Ink Coverage
The standard envelopes are printed with an expected ink coverage of under 30% of the printable area. If you require more coverage then you will need to add the extra coverage finishing note. This extra coverage has a cost surcharge.
Large Areas Of Solid Colour
We would advise to avoid using large areas of solid colour. Tinted areas of more than 60% tint may cause dot gain.
Fonts
Your PDF file must have all fonts converted to outlines. We recommend keeping all text above 6pt size. Note that the minimum stroke width is 0.5mm so ensure that any text elements aren't thinner than this.
The templates require 2 fonts to be installed to match the Royal Mail guidelines, these are:
- Monaco for the Business Reply Licence Number;
- 4 State Jack1 for the Barcode.
Images
If you are using bitmap based artwork then ensure your files have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. TIF, JPEG and PNG images are supported within your PDF. Images must be CMYK.
Bitmap files should be flattened and not contain any layers.
Reproduction of details
The minimum stroke thickness is 0.5 pt for positive strokes and 1 pt for negative stokes (when a line is punched out of another coloured object).
FileCheck
FileCheck (status 021 in Flyerlink®) does not support the range of Envelope products.
Template Layers
The Illustrator based templates have 3 layers.
The top layer is where you add your logo as a vector or bitmap file.
The middle layer is the fixed position details for your reply paid details, address and barcodes. Do not move, re-position or adjust the typography/colours/ or elements in this layer. The elements must be left in black ink. These elements are positioned and coloured as per the Royal Mail guidelines, moving these elements may result in your envelope being rejected and not posted by the Royal Mail.
The bottom layer contains guidelines on using the template. This layer must be turned off prior to saving your PDF file.
Saving your PDF
When saving your PDF ensure that the guidelines layer is deleted or made invisible. Save your PDF as a press ready PDF using version 1.4 onwards.
Proofing advice
Proofing from the template is easy.
1) Replace the Business Reply Licence number 'RRRR-RRRR-RRRR' with the correct Licence number.
2) Replace the company name and address exactly as per the Royal Mail Licence Agreement (recognised postal address). The address must appear within the inner dotted box area.
3) Use only upper and lower case text with the exception of the town name which can be in upper case if you wish. The 'County' isn't permitted/required.
4) Go to http://www.royalmail.com/response-services-artwork-generator/licence and generate the barcode.
Once online enter the licence number, tick the 'Response Services Barcode only' button and tick and agree to the terms, then go to the 'Next' section. Next choose 1st or 2nd class button, choose the format Letter for DL and C5 or Large Letter for C4. Finally select the PDF format and download it to your machine.
Replace the 'stock' barcode with your new one.
5) Once you have don steps 1 to 4 you can add any extra design elements such as a company logo, then export your PDF proof. We recommend that the proof includes the guidelines layer. Your client MUST send it to Royal Mail Response Services for their approval, this process can take a couple of days.
Extra Finishing Options
Standard prices include up to 30% ink coverage per side. Above 30% is available at a 30% surcharge. Add Finishing Note YEABV30. Jobs above 30% without the surcharge added will be rejected.
Extra C4 envelope notes:
Business Reply PLUS service is not available from Royal Mail on C4 envelopes.
C4's are only available on Premium 120gsm peel & stick stock.
No bleed available on C4 envelopes.
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