US : Stick On Barcode Strips.

Apologies if I have asked this before.
On the latest goodies sent from SCF member Ray,
I have an orange vertical barcode spray-on I presume,
and a lightly tacky, barcode strip affixed over the stamps.
Easily removable and doesn't appear to damage the stamps.

Whic barcode is Australian? which US?
presuming the sticky label is US
how is it created and applied? anyone?

These barcodes, in 50 years or so, will they still be
able to be read and deciphered, or become heiroglyphics?
Thanks for any commentary you would like to offer.

That's a US barcode, I get em all the time. Have considered saving few. I think I have a couple on cover.

Yes. Definitely US barcode sticker. Applied typically to oversized parcels or if the cover might be of a color or paper quality that a "spray on" barcode won't typically adhere to, the barcode sticker is used. I've always thought of them as being used to encode a Zip Code (Postal Code) or delivery (carrier route) direction to streamline the mail. I can't say for sure, but it may be a bit unusual to see on international mail. Also, it's usually applied at the bottom of the envelope; not the top.

I don't think the barcodes were ever meant to be saved for long periods of time, so you maybe right that they may not last over the long haul in terms of collectibility. I have US Postal Service metered mail labels from the early 1990's and already they are fading to become nearly illegible after only 20 years time, even when stored in a stockbook, out of direct light. Unfortunately, I suspect these barcode labels will do likewise.

In the US, the stick on barcode appears when the spray-on barcode is incorrect or invalid (e.g., some mail going out of country) or mail that cannot go through the normal sorting machinery. It is supposed to cover any erroneous barcode, but many times it doesn't.

I can't see it very clearly, but the orange spray -on may also be of US origin. Normally, it is black and at the bottom. However, since the label is at top, I can assume everything is off-kilter. I have seen orange barcodes instead of the black barcodes, although I don't recall ever seeing one perpendicular to everything else. I don't know under what conditions the orange barcode appears instead of the black barcodes.

BTW, the orange barcodes luminesce! So if you have a UV lamp...

The US also uses a large yellow label (~1 inch tall) for forwarding/returning mail. Those labels are also peelable.

This is a US domestic cover with the spray-on orange luminescent barcode applied to the back (I intentionally color adjusted this example in order to show up in a scan).

These covers also typically contains a bar code in black on the bottom front of the envelope. Yet another way for the post office to track the mail and get it to the intended destination.

I was told by My buddy who works at the PO that the bar code can (and is) in many instances used to sort the mail right down to the house # and street address. It can also be used to see when the mail was received by the post office. Bottom line more automation & less jobs!

Not at many of my local post offices. More automation only means the humans move even slower. The same amount of work gets done, the only difference is who is doing the work.

All of which makes this Washington Post story about the USPS rather timely (slow down the mail!):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...J_story.html

Thanks everyone, for your replies.

Hi


revstampman may be right. Ever since I complained about my "Linn's Stamp News" delivery being late, from 2 to 4 weeks, I have been getting the stick on bar code on the newspaper. This has been going on for about 3 years. You would think that the post office would have stopped the investigation by now.

Jerry B

I believe the barcode takes the place of the +4 part of the zip code.

Rod,

Good to see that you received the stuff I sent to you. It also got there pretty quickly. Ray

Rod222: You may appreciate this publication discussing the US Postal Service mail sorting techniques and use of bar codes, etc. Takes a minute or two to download, and pages 22-25 contain the article I mention:

http://www.nystampclubs.org/1101.pdf

As usual, thanks Ray,
Anything under 15 days is a bonus with mail from the US.

Thanks wt1, downloading now.