Facing Identification Mark
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
(Difference between revisions)
Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=physical |subcat=Bar codes |image=USPSFIMLocation.png |caption=Usage of Facing Identification Mark }} The '''Facing Identification Mark''' is a bar c...") |
Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs) (There's actually a fifth code, still not mentioned in Wikipedia article!) |
||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
The '''Facing Identification Mark''' is a bar code format used by the United States Postal Service. Unlike the [[Intelligent Mail barcode]] or [[POSTNET]] code, it does not encode the specific recipient or sender of the mail. Rather, it is pre-printed near the upper right corner of a reply envelope (as printed and sent by businesses seeking a reply to an ad, invoice, etc.) to help mail-sorting machinery determine the proper orientation of a mail piece for address-scanning and cancellation, as well as to distinguish between several different types of reply envelope which differ in postage-collection and sorting. | The '''Facing Identification Mark''' is a bar code format used by the United States Postal Service. Unlike the [[Intelligent Mail barcode]] or [[POSTNET]] code, it does not encode the specific recipient or sender of the mail. Rather, it is pre-printed near the upper right corner of a reply envelope (as printed and sent by businesses seeking a reply to an ad, invoice, etc.) to help mail-sorting machinery determine the proper orientation of a mail piece for address-scanning and cancellation, as well as to distinguish between several different types of reply envelope which differ in postage-collection and sorting. | ||
| − | The bar code carries a set of bits (1 or 0) encoded by the presence (1) or absence (0) of a bar at a given position. There are nine bits in all in a code. This would allow 512 (2<sup>9</sup>) possible values, but in practice only | + | The bar code carries a set of bits (1 or 0) encoded by the presence (1) or absence (0) of a bar at a given position. There are nine bits in all in a code. This would allow 512 (2<sup>9</sup>) possible values, but in practice only five codes are currently in use: |
| − | * '''FIM A''': 110010011 - Reply mail requiring stamp or meter (Courtesy Reply Mail), with [[POSTNET]] | + | * '''FIM A''': 110010011 - Reply mail requiring stamp or meter (Courtesy Reply Mail), with [[POSTNET]] or [[Intelligent Mail barcode]] |
| − | * '''FIM B''': 101101101 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), without POSTNET | + | * '''FIM B''': 101101101 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), without POSTNET or Intelligent Mail barcode |
* '''FIM C''': 110101011 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), with POSTNET bar code | * '''FIM C''': 110101011 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), with POSTNET bar code | ||
* '''FIM D''': 111010111 - Information-Based Indicia postage (uses [[PDF417]] or [[Data Matrix]] bar code) | * '''FIM D''': 111010111 - Information-Based Indicia postage (uses [[PDF417]] or [[Data Matrix]] bar code) | ||
| + | * '''FIM E''': 101000101 - Customized services (uses [[Intelligent Mail barcode]]) | ||
== Standards documents == | == Standards documents == | ||
Revision as of 21:13, 14 July 2013
The Facing Identification Mark is a bar code format used by the United States Postal Service. Unlike the Intelligent Mail barcode or POSTNET code, it does not encode the specific recipient or sender of the mail. Rather, it is pre-printed near the upper right corner of a reply envelope (as printed and sent by businesses seeking a reply to an ad, invoice, etc.) to help mail-sorting machinery determine the proper orientation of a mail piece for address-scanning and cancellation, as well as to distinguish between several different types of reply envelope which differ in postage-collection and sorting.
The bar code carries a set of bits (1 or 0) encoded by the presence (1) or absence (0) of a bar at a given position. There are nine bits in all in a code. This would allow 512 (29) possible values, but in practice only five codes are currently in use:
- FIM A: 110010011 - Reply mail requiring stamp or meter (Courtesy Reply Mail), with POSTNET or Intelligent Mail barcode
- FIM B: 101101101 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), without POSTNET or Intelligent Mail barcode
- FIM C: 110101011 - Business Reply Mail (postpaid), with POSTNET bar code
- FIM D: 111010111 - Information-Based Indicia postage (uses PDF417 or Data Matrix bar code)
- FIM E: 101000101 - Customized services (uses Intelligent Mail barcode)
Standards documents
Other links
- Wikipedia article
- Obtaining Facing Identification Mark (for Courtesy Reply Mail)
- Info on Facing Identification Marks
