The quality of mail items has an immediate effect on the quality of mail handling. The processing speed at Austrian Post's sorting centres is an essential element of our "delivery time quality".

Especially in peak seasons (e.g., Christmas), it makes a big difference if items are machinable or if they have to be processed manually.

How to ensure you get maximum delivery speed

Whether it is private mail or business mail, we all want it delivered as quickly as possible. The sooner invoices are delivered, the sooner they get paid. And new information needs to travel fast.

At Austrian Post, we know that speed is a top priority: we use top-of-the-line technology to meet your needs. Address reader and sorting machines at Austrian Post's sorting centres process up to 36,000 pieces of mail per hour. We have compiled helpful hints for you to ensure that our machines recognize your mail, encode it and process it correctly.

By the way: the main reason for late delivery is still misspelled addresses.

Optical text recognition via scanner and computer

To ensure high processing speed, all mail items are, as a first step, sorted by format and then aligned and postmarked Next, they are processed by the address reader and the sorting machine. A total of 36,000 pieces of mail are processed electronically every hour.

Software used at Austrian Post's mail sorting centres has been created to quickly read and identify addresses. The sooner your mail reaches its recipient, the happier everybody will be.

If all requirements for maximum readability are met, this reading software streamlines and accelerates the process.

The large majority of machine-readable letter mail items is delivered within one business day after posting. Addressed direct mails - our Info.Mail items - also reach their destination faster if they are machine-readable. Taking advantage of this process is easy: all you have to do is keep certain things in mind when designing your mail items. Use the navigation on the left-hand side to find all information about mail design.

If an address is not machine-readable, the postcode is entered manually with video encoding. Up to 3,500 addresses per hour are allocated correctly if processed manually. If the postcode cannot be read even in the video coding stage, it is taken out of the machine processing and has to be processed manually. This might lead to a delay in delivery of up to one day.

If your letter mail items up to a format of C5 are machine-readable and can therefore be processed automatically, you will benefit from Austrian Post's lowest rates: our "preferential rate" for Info.Mail direct mail items and the "standard rate" for domestic letter mail items will be charged!

Design/layout:
Regarding the design of letter and advertising mail, please contact your customer advisor or call our hotline for corporate clients at 0800 212 212.

Verification of machine readability and processability:
To verify if addresses are machine readable, a test run of actual items in one of Austrian Post's six logistics centres is required.

Letter Mail Centre
VIENNA
Halban Kurz Straße 11
1230 Vienna
Post.GKA.1000@post.at
Address:
Briefzentrum Wien
1000 Vienna

 
Logistics Center
UPPER AUSTRIA
Waldeggerstraße 41
4020 Linz
Post.GKA.4000@post.at
Address:
Logistikzentrum Oberösterreich
4000 Linz

 
Logistics Centre
SALZBURG
Dr. Hans Lechner Straße 17
5071 Wals bei Salzburg
Post.GKA.5000@post.at
Address:
Logistikzentrum Salzburg
5000 Salzburg

 
Letter Mail Centre
TYROL
Bruneckerstraße 1 - 3
6020 Innsbruck
Post.GKA.6020@post.at
Address:
Briefzentrum Tirol
6000 Innsbruck

 
 
Logistics Centre
STYRIA
Europaplatz 10
8020 Graz
Post.GKA.8000@post.at
Address:
Logistikzentrum Steiermark
8000 Graz

Logistics Centre
CARINTHIA
Europastraße 1
9500 Villach
Post.GKA.9000@post.at
Address:
Logistikzentrum Kärnten
9000 Villach

Material and specifications

In order for your mail items to be processed automatically, they need to be closed on a minimum of three sides including both short sides.
The background needs be of an even light colour to provide a high contrast to the dark, preferably black, print.
Translucent envelopes make address recognition processes more difficult. The same is true for fluorescent imprints on envelopes and papers.

We are sorry...

We cannot automatically process the items mentioned below. Before mailing items like these, we recommend that you consult us about the correct shipping option and the corresponding postage.
Direct mails in 3D and tube-shaped items

Items with protruding closures, attached items (clips, staples), detachable or movable parts, perforations etc, especially of a format of up to C5.
Key chains, small-format inserts and samples. Choose padded envelopes and cardboard mailers for packaging.

Formats

The basic requirement for automatic processing is that items need to have a rectangular shape.

The perfectly machine-readable address field – domestic mail

Domestic - private mail

Domestic - business mail

The perfectly machine-readable address field – international mail

Schriften
Type of font

• Use the same font and the same characteristics for all information in the address field.
• Please use easy-to-read, sans-sarif fonts. Among many others, the following fonts are sans-serif: Arial, Franklin Gothic, Verdana as well as Helvetica, Univers, Futura and Comic.
• There should be a high contrast between the font and the background - ideally, use a black font on white background.
• Please avoid using special effect fonts
  

Characters

Capital letters of the font you are using should measure between 2.5 and 3 mm in height. For most fonts, a font size of 10 or 12 points meets this requirement. The ideal spacing between letters within one word ranges between 0.35 and 2 mm. The ideal character spacing is between 0.5 and 1 point.

• Letters must never touch each other.

Lines

   

• The space between words must not exceed 10 mm (2-8 characters). Between lines, an even spacing ranging between 1 and 5 mm is required.
• Do not use spaces because they interfere with the automatic reading process.

Handwriting

Handwritten addresses are machine-readable as well. As a general rule, the same requirements for computer fonts apply.

   

• Please print and do not use cursive writing.
• Please align your text to the left.
• Avoid using blank lines and large spaces between words.
• Please make sure that letters do not touch each other.

Please note: If there is no street address for the locality in question, please provide the name of the locality instead of the street address

For general guidelines about layout questions, please see the ÖNORM A 1080 standard.

The face of all mailpieces has four relevant areas:

Address field
This is where the reading device looks for the address text or for an address window.

Postage area
This area is reserved for stamps or postage paid imprints or indicia.

Encoding zone
The encoding zone must remain blank. This is where the machine affixes the address code containing information about the mailpiece's locality of destination.

Return address
This area is not read automatically. The return address is placed on the upper side to the left of the address field or on the back. Imprints and company logos are permitted in this area.

Check List.

Use this check list for correct mail addressing.

Correct:

Wrong: