Using Tape to Minimize USPS Returns - No More Smudged Addresses

The Tape Trick - Eliminating Address Smudges

A guide with pictures, by Alex Hedge

The chance of this letter reaching it's destination is slim to none.

Usefulness

You are walking home after dropping off a letter at the post office. You have an umbrella to keep dry, but your letter doesn't. Little do you know, your letter is getting wet - it is on the top of the stack of the pile of letters as it is transported from the post office to a mail truck. You wrote the address in ink and due to the rain, the ink is completely illegible. 

Postal officers do not take precautions to make sure letters do not get wet, but this problem is easily solvable!

Process

Place a piece of tape over the mailing address, so even if it gets wet, the tape protects the ink and the ink will not smudge. Make sure to put a big enough piece of tape. If the tape is too small, the water can still get in and smudge the ink on the outside.

In the picture to the right, a piece of scotch tape was applied to the letter. However, the tape was too small, and water seeped in. To eliminate this problem, use packaging tape or apply multiple pieces of scotch tape.

Water seeped in, but with a bigger piece of tape, the ink remained clear and legible.

It should be noted that this is not effective in cases of flooding. It will only work if the letter gets water from one side, not both. 

On the right is an envelope drenched in water on both sides. The address did not hold up as well as the envelope with water applied only on one side. However, the risk of an envelope being surrounded by water during the shipping process is minimal.

Protection for Shipping Labels

For shipping labels, the address and all other components of the label are printed using printer ink. However, this does not reduce the risk of water-based complications. 

Tracking Number 

This is an A+ package, the tracking number is covered,
and 1/8" of the code was covered.

The tracking number is an important part of the label to tape over because a package can be identified by the tracking number. This is necessary in case of problems with smudged tracking codes, which is not allowed to be covered.

Tracking Code

Ok, lied, but only a little bit. While post offices do not want the tracking code covered, it is acceptable to cover only a small portion. The part covered must be big enough so it can be scanned if the rest is destroyed, but small enough as to not inhibit scanning otherwise. I find 1/8th an inch to suffice.

Note:
Thank you to the postal workers at my local post office for the information and the advice.