[with PIA Members] – it encourages potential mailers to use Directmail2go.com, an online printer/mailer in Pompano Beach, Fl., or DirectMailQuotes.com, a bid site that distributes print/mail specifications to selected printers,” the letter continued. “Also, in the main website, the database that appears when one clicks ‘find a local printer’ is very narrow.”

Makin, as with many in the industry, are concerned that this service is excluding many local print providers and only utilizing a unique few companies that truly are not print providers.  Given that half of what is produced by the US printing industry goes through the postal service, Makin stressed the PIA wants the USPS to succeed in its efforts to cut waste and emerge as an effective and efficient service.  

In an interview with “PrintWeek” Makin state, “When you just choose a select few and you exclude literally tens of thousands of other printer companies in the United States there’s something peculiar about it. This is not an adversarial thing – this is just letting the Post Master General know we would like an open process. ”  Makin said the USPS Direct Mail Hub began as a pilot program in Austin, TX last year and triggered concern from industry leaders and local firms. Once the program went national the volume of complaints increased. 

“We feel we should be a logical partner to consult with for initiatives like this because we’re the largest graphics arts association in the world,” Makin said. “We like what the Post Office is doing overall – we just don’t like this particular program.”