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Numbers
Glossary "P"
Package Services A class of mail that comprises four subclasses: Bound Printed Matter, Library Mail, Parcel Post, and Media Mail. There is no minimum weight limit for Package Services.
Package A group of addressed pieces assembled and secured together to make up a basic unit of bulk mail for processing purposes.
PAL Phase Alternation Line. The television standard used in several countries Europe (except France) and South America. See NTSC.
Pallet A reusable platform on which mail is stacked to be moved as a single unit. Pallets are made of rigid material designed for four-way forklift entry and capable of handling loads of up to 65 cubic feet and 2,200 pounds. A USPS pallet measures 48 by 40 inches. Also see copalletize and top cap. Parcel airlift (PAL) A service that provides air transportation for parcels on a space-available basis to or from military post offices outside the 48 contiguous states.
Parcel Post A subclass of Package Services with rates based generally on weight and zone.
Parcel Mail that does not meet the mail processing category of letter-size mail or flat-size mail. It is usually enclosed in a mailing container such as a box.
Parental Management Optional feature of DVD-Video that prohibits programs from being viewed or provides substitute scenes within a program, depending on parental level set in player. Only works if program included such material during disc design and production.
PC Postage System A postage system used on personal computers that prints postage onto mailpieces using information-based indicia.
PCM Pulse Code Modulation. A standard method for encoding audio in a digital format. See ADPCM.
PDF Portable Document Format – Adobe product that allows for fairly reliable cross-platform file sharing and pre-press workflow.
Penalty mail Official mail sent without postage prepayment by officers of the executive and judicial branches of the U.S. Government, by departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, and by specifically authorized individuals. Agencies then reimburse the USPS for the penalty mail service they receive. The term comes from the endorsement “Penalty for Private Use” printed on the mail. Compare to franked mail.
Periodicals A class of mail consisting of magazines, newspapers, or other publications formed of printed sheets that are issued at least four times a year at regular, specified intervals (frequency) from a known office of publication. Periodicals usually must have a legitimate list of subscribers and requesters.
Permit imprint Printed indicia, instead of an adhesive postage stamp or meter stamp, that shows postage prepayment by an authorized mailer.
Permit Any authorization required for specific types of preparation or postage payment. Specifically, an authorization to mail without postage affixed by using indicia or an imprint. Payment is made against an advance deposit account that is established with the USPS for postage and services. Permits also are required to participate in certain programs such as business reply mail.
Photo CD A development from Kodak. Photographs and/or 35mm slides, can be scanned, digitized and recorded on the PHOTO CD and then played back through CD ROM X/A, PHOTO CD Player, CD-I players or Photo CD compatible drives and displayed on a TV set or computer monitor. Each disc can contain 100 photos. The photos can also be printed out on regular photographic print paper by a special Kodak machine for high resolution prints. In order to accommodate the different resolutions available for playback or printing, the format contains the picture in 5 different resolutions. It is also used in professional markets to store or archive photographs.
Piece rate For some mail classes, the postage charged for each mailpiece in addition to the pound rate charge.
Piece An individually addressed mailpiece. This definition also applies when the term piece is used in eligibility standards. Quantities indicated for optional or required sortations always refer to pieces unless specifically excepted.
Pit (Pits) Information spots on a CD (or optical disc). Pits are formed in photo sensitive layer on Glass master by exposure to laser light and developing. Exposed material washes away to form a pit. A succession of pits comprises the Track. On CD the track is spiral beginning at the inside of the disc and spiraling outward.
Pixel Short for picture element it means one dot on a display screen. A standard multimedia display would be 640 pixelsacross and 480 pixels down. Other common resolutions are 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768
Plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) A procedure that enables origin verification and postage payment for shipments transported by the mailer from the mailer’s plant to destination post offices for USPS acceptance as mail. PVDS is typically used for mailings for which a destination entry discount is claimed.
PMS/Spot Colors Color chart other than CMYK used in printing and art design. Pantone Matching System (PMS) is an industry standard color chart.
Postage statement Documentation provided by a mailer to the USPS that reports the volume of mail being presented and the postage payable or affixed, and certifies that the mail meets the applicable eligibility standards for the rate claimed.
Postage Payment for delivery service that is affixed or imprinted to a mailpiece, usually in the form of a postage stamp, permit imprint, or meter impression.
Postal Numeric Encoding Technique (POSTNET) The barcode system used on letter-size and flat-size mailpieces for encoding the delivery point information and ZIP+4 code information. Also see delivery point barcode.
Postal Security Device (PSD) A USPS-approved component for managing the registers and accounting for postal funds in postage meters.
Postcard A privately printed mailing card. Compare to stamped card.
PQ Information Information on a disc (or tape) that determines track start points, control bits, timing information, and etc.
Precanceled stamp A postage stamp canceled by marking across the face before it is sold to mailers for use with bulk mailings. Also, a stamp designated by the USPS as a precanceled stamp without cancellation marks. The USPS sells precanceled stamps for Presorted First-Class Mail and regular and nonprofit Standard Mail. Mailpieces with these stamps do not go through a canceling machine at the time of mail processing. Also see precancel.
Precancel To cancel postage stamps or stamped envelopes before mailing. If authorized, bulk mailers may precancel their own postage.
Premastering Preparing the digital data to send manufacturer for mastering and replication. The data is assembled the way they are wanted on the CD-ROM including the file structure (such as ISO 9660), so that it is an image of the CD-ROM. The manufacturer usually has hardware and software to do premastering for its customers, for an additional price over and above mastering and replication. Term is often also used to describe the production processes of encoding audio, video and subpictures, and authoring itself. related: final product of authoring is called a disc image, sometimes referred to as a “premaster”.
Presort Accuracy Validation and Evaluation (PAVE) A voluntary program in which the USPS tests vendors’ presort software and hardware products to determine their accuracy in sorting address information according to USPS standards and producing standardized supporting documentation.
Presorted Standard The postage rate for Standard Mail pieces that are part of a mailing and that meet minimum volume and preparation requirements.
Presort The process by which a mailer groups mail by ZIP Code so that it is sorted to the finest extent required by the standards for the rate claimed. Generally, presort is performed sequentially, from the lowest (finest) level to the highest level, to those destinations specified by standard and is completed at each level before the next level is prepared. Not all presort levels are applicable to all mailings.
Printed matter Paper on which words, letters, characters, figures, or images (or any combination of them) not having the character of a bill or statement of account, or of actual or personal correspondence, have been reproduced by any process other than handwriting or typewriting. In international mail, this is a classification that includes books and sheet music, publishers periodicals, and regular printed matter (all printed matter other than the aforementioned types). Also see Bound Printed Matter.
Priority Mail First-Class Mail that weighs more than 13 ounces and, at the mailer’s option, any other mail matter weighing less than 13 ounces mailed at Priority Mail rates. Priority Mail provides expedited delivery. Any mailable matter may be sent as Priority Mail.
Processing and distribution center/facility (P&DC/F) A central mail facility that processes and dispatches part or all of both incoming mail and outgoing mail for a designated service area. It also provides instructions on the preparation of collection mail, dispatch schedules, and sorting plan requirements to mailers. The facility is usually a sectional center facility or a general mail facility, but it can also be a dedicated mail processing facility without a post office station or branch.
Program Area The are on the disc where the user information (program) is stored.
Prohibited matter Any material that is illegal to mail because it can kill or injure an individual or damage other mail. This includes certain poisons and controlled substances and certain flammable or hazardous matter.
Proof Disc A CD for testing. Usually refers to a One Off disc, but can also refer to one or more discs from a replicated group submitted for testing. Can be used as input for disc manufacturing.
Protective Coating A coating of lacquer or polymer deposited over the metal coating on a CD to protect and seal the metal layer. The most common method is spin-coating of a UV curable polymer over the surface of the metalized disc and then passing it under ultra-violet light to polymerize it.