Political Direct Mail Printing in Chicago
Postcards, walk cards and letter packages, printed and mailed from one plant near Chicago since 1927.
Rates effective July 12, 2026 · USPS Notice 123 · Illinois dates verified September 2026
Campaign mailers, printed and mailed from one plant.
Tell us the piece, the count, and the day the mail has to land. Your quote comes back in writing, with printing, postage and list work each priced.
01 · Examples
What does a campaign mailer look like?
Political mail is any piece a candidate, party committee, PAC or issue group mails to voters. Six formats cover it: postcards, a letter in an envelope, a folded self-mailer, a 9×12 flat, and walk cards for the door. United GMG prints, addresses, sorts and mails them at our plant near Chicago, with the red Tag 57 on every tray.
Real pieces from our plant. Each one opens its product page.
02 · Parts
What goes on a political mailer?
Six things every piece carries, all set before you approve the proof.
- Paid-for-by boxNames the committee that paid. Boxed and easy to read.
- Permit imprint or stampsEither one presorts. The imprint prints where the stamp would go.
- BarcodeUSPS’s sorting and tracking code.
- Address blockFrom your voter list, checked before printing.
- Return addressWhere undeliverable pieces come back.
- Election datePrinted front and back, as USPS advises.
03 · Costs
How much do political mailers cost?
Political mailers cost printing plus postage. On a 5,000-piece run, printing starts as low as 30¢ per 4×6 postcard and 68¢ per #10 letter package. Larger postcards, self-mailers and flats are quoted per job. Postage adds $0.467 per piece at Marketing Mail or $0.707 at First-Class presort, at the USPS rates effective July 12, 2026.
| Format | Printing per piece | Marketing Mail postage per piece | First-Class presort postage per piece |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4×6 postcard | as low as 30¢ | $0.467 | $0.495 |
| 6×9 postcard | Quoted per job | $0.467 | $0.707 |
| 6×11 postcard | Quoted per job | $0.467 | $0.707 |
| #10 letter package | as low as 68¢ | $0.467 | $0.707 |
| Folded self-mailer | Quoted per job | $0.467 | $0.707 |
| 9×12 flat | Quoted per job | $1.260 | $1.585 |
Rates effective July 12, 2026 · USPS Notice 123 · Mixed tier; deeper sorts price lower
Postage is its own line at the exact USPS rate, never hidden in the printing price.
On 10,000 pieces, postage alone is $4,670 at Marketing Mail or $7,070 at First-Class presort. Every format and quantity, with a cost tool, is in our direct mail pricing guide.
04 · Dates
How far ahead should a campaign lock its direct mail?
For the November 3, 2026 election, Illinois mails the first vote-by-mail ballots on September 24, and Chicago’s early voting opens in all 50 wards on October 19. Your mail should land before those dates, not before Election Day. Count back from the ballot date: USPS delivery time, then our dock day, then the day your files must be final.
- Sept 24First mail ballots go out
- Oct 19Chicago early voting opens in all 50 wards
- Oct 29Last day to apply for a mail ballot
- Oct 19–26, 2026Candidates file petitions
- Jan 9Mail ballots are ready to go out
- Jan 14Early voting may begin
- Feb 25Runoff early voting opens
- Apr 1Last day to apply for a mail ballot
- Six weeksFrom Feb 23 to the runoff: the shortest window of the cycle
Dates: the Chicago Board of Elections calendars for 2026 and 2027, and the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Five steps from your files to the mailbox
- Send us your voter list and your artwork.
- Approve the proof.Nothing prints before you do.
- We print the pieces, address them from your list, and sort them for USPS.
- We put the red Tag 57 on every tray and hand the trays to USPS at our dock.
- USPS delivers.First-Class Mail arrives in 1–5 days. Marketing Mail takes longer; USPS sets that time by where the mail starts and where it is going.
The quote fixes the day your mail goes out. Capacity tightens through fall, so book the run in late summer.
Pick your election and see your dates.
A plan, not a promise. Your quote fixes the dates in writing.
Your datesNot a promise
Bring your date to the quote.
How the sorting and the drop work, step by step: our mailing services page.
05 · Rules
What are the rules for political mail?
Three questions campaigns ask before the first proof.
What does the red Tag 57 actually do?
Tag 57 is the red tag that goes on trays of political mail so USPS can plan for the mail and keep an eye on it. It does not change the mail class or the delivery time. A tagged tray moves at the speed its postage bought. We tag every political tray and check the Political Campaign Mailing box on the postage statement.
What must the paid-for-by line say?
Federal candidates follow the FEC rule, which the FEC calls the disclaimer, once they mail more than 500 substantially similar pieces in 30 days: a printed “Paid for by” box, set apart and easy to read. Illinois requires any piece that names a candidate to identify the paying committee clearly as the payor.
Do candidates get the nonprofit postage rate?
No. The nonprofit rate, $0.257 per letter instead of $0.467, is only for national and state party committees and the four congressional campaign committees. Candidate committees, PACs, local parties and ballot-issue committees pay the commercial rate.
Sources: the USPS Election and Political Mail Guide and Tag 57 sheet, the FEC rule at 11 CFR 110.11, Illinois law at 10 ILCS 5/9-9.5, and the nonprofit list at DMM 703.1.3. This page is production guidance from a printer, not legal advice.
06 · Our plant
Why print political mail near Chicago in the final weeks?
Proof, press, addressing and USPS entry at one address. A file fix never waits on a shipping window.
Political, union and PAC mailings run through this plant every cycle — printed, addressed and entered into the mail here.
This page is the political side of our direct mail printing and mailing service. Everything the plant does is available to a campaign.
07 · Questions
Political mail questions, answered
How much does political mail cost to reach 10,000 voters?
Postage alone is $4,670 at Marketing Mail or $7,070 at First-Class presort for letter-size pieces. Printing is quoted per piece, starting from the table above.
What does the red tag on political mail do?
It tells USPS the tray is political mail so USPS can plan for it. It does not make the mail faster and does not change its class.
Can you mail every door instead of a list?
We print EDDM formats, but we do not offer EDDM mailing. Every mailing here goes to a list, usually the county’s registered-voter list narrowed by precinct, party and vote history.
What sizes do political mailers come in?
Postcards at 4×6, 6×9 and 6×11. Letters in #10 envelopes. Folded self-mailers. 9×12 flats. Walk cards at 4¼×11. Presorted cards up to 6×9 keep the card rate; over that mails as a letter; over 6⅛×11½ mails as a flat.
When should a campaign lock its mail for a November election?
Before the first ballots go out. In Illinois that is September 24 for 2026, not Election Day. Book the run in late summer.
Request a quote for your campaign mailing
Tell us the piece, the count, the list, and the day the mail has to land. Your quote comes back in writing with printing, postage and list work priced.
