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How to Mail Photos By USPS

As the camera has advanced technologically, people often bypass film for digital. With digital pictures you can email or post photographs on social networks. However, when you decide to print and send those photographs through the United States Postal Service you will need to do more than point and click with your computer's mouse. You can slip the photos into an envelope and mail it, but most mail is mechanically sorted and processed, which means your photographs could easily be damaged. Protect your photographs when you mail them.

Things You'll Need

Plastic bag
Cardboard
Scissors
Tape
Envelopes
Pen

Instructions

- 1
  Place the photographs in a plastic bag to prevent them from getting wet while in transit. Rain and snow could make the envelope damp; wet pictures often stick together and need to be handled carefully to prevent damaging.
- 2
  Put the plastic wrapped photographs between two pieces of cardboard which are the same size as the photographs you are mailing. The cardboard prevents the photographs from being damaged during the mailing process. Tape the sides, top and bottom of the cardboard closed.
- 3
  Address a business-sized envelope for average-sized photos and larger photographs in eight-by-10-inch, 10.5-by-16-inch, 12.5-by-19-inch or 14.5-by-20-inch envelopes. You must be able to easily slide your photographs inside of the envelope and the stuffed envelope cannot be thicker than 3/4 inch. Write your name and address on the top-left corner on the front of the envelope. Write the recipient's name and address on the center of the envelope.
- 4
  Put the rigid mailer in the envelope and seal it closed. Take it to the post office and tell the clerk you want to mail the envelope. The clerk will weigh the envelope, enter the recipient's zip code in a computer and tell you how much it costs to mail the photographs. Pay the clerk, who will put the paid postage on the top right corner of the envelope and give you a receipt.

Photography