FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      
Contact: Media Relations
202-268-2155
www.usps.com
December 18, 2003
Release No. 102	                                                                      

BARCODE ACCURACY IN LARGE MAILINGS TO BE TESTED

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Postal Service will begin 
checking the accuracy of barcodes on high volume mailings 
beginning January 1. By verifying that such mailings are 
eligible for automation rates, the organization can make 
certain that the high quality of mail accepted at discount 
postage rates is maintained.

MERLIN (Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup INstrument) is the 
equipment used to verify bulk mailings at Postal Service mail 
acceptance units. The equipment performs a variety of checks 
on samples of large mailings to make certain they meet 
required preparation standards. First deployed in 2001, the 
equipment had only been used to verify that barcodes were 
readable by automated sorting equipment. With the start of 
the new year and the final installation of more than 1,200 
units, it will also check for blatant ZIP Code errors as 
represented in the barcode.

MERLIN will begin to detect such errors as ZIP Codes with 
0000 or 9999 in the ZIP+4 portion of the mailing address. It 
will also identify sequential strings of numbers in the last 
six digits of the ZIP Code which would indicate an address 
programming error. Mailings with an error rate of more than 
one percent will not be eligible for automation discounts. 

The analysis of barcode digit strings is the first of a 
phased-in strategy to improve address accuracy. MERLIN will 
sample all mailings of letters or oversized envelopes that 
total more than 10,000 pieces and about one in every six 
mailings less than 10,000 pieces.  

"Using MERLIN to verify address accuracy will 
benefit both the Postal Service and our customers by helping 
to eliminate incorrect addresses that are both costly and 
inefficient," said John  Sadler, the Postal Service's manager 
of business mail acceptance.

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