Returns Barcode and Label Specification

June 12, 2024

Introduction

This document covers services offered by Pitney Bowes, from a division formerly known as Newgistics. Newgistics ® SmartLabel is now known as Pitney Bowes Return services.

This document goes into detail describing the elements of a Returns label, previously known as SmartLabel. These labels contain elements required by Pitney Bowes and the USPS.

Returns and Label Overview

PB Returns Advantage

• The PB Returns label boosts customer loyalty and increases retailer profitability.
• The PB Returns label is an intelligent pre-paid, pre-addressed return-shipping label integrated onto the order summary and shipped with the consumer’s merchandise.
• The PB Returns dynamic bar code links the package to the customer’s original order and provides returns information links vital to both the customer and the retailer. As result, the consumer returns process is smooth and efficient.

PB Returns Options

Returns begin with a Returns Label. Client’s customers obtain a Returns labels in two ways.

• Integrated Labels:  The client includes the return label with every delivery bound parcel
• Online or using Customer Service Representative: The customer either calls the client for or goes to an online location to request a replacement label that can either be printed on-demand or receive from the client.

Correct formatting of the Returns simplifies and expedited the return or exchange process.

Returns Label Formatting

Label layout

Label Elements

For detailed descriptions of each label format, see below.

Fonts

• Except for the Returns logo, type on each Return labels must be sans serif font.
• Except where noted, the minimum font size for any element is 6 points.
• Line spacing should be equal to or greater than the font size specified for a given label element.

Dimensions

• Preferred label dimensions are 4 inches by 6 inches (4” x 6”).
• If a client wants to extend a label to 4” x 8”, for example, they can use additional space.

Label Elements

• Customer return address
• Client logo
• Service legend
• Destination address
• Postage guarantee
• Returns barcode
• Mailer Sort Code
• USPS barcode (IMpb)

Custom Client logo

• The logo should be placed in the upper half of the label.
• Preferred implementation is the graphic representation (graphic file provided during implementation).
• Alternative implementation is a type representation of the client logo using Garamond font.
• The preferred font size for is 18 point; minimum is 14 point.

Customer Return Address

• The return address must be placed in the upper left corner of the Returns label.
• The return address must include customer’s first and last name on the first line, street address on the second line, and city, state and ZIP Code on the third line.

Destination Address

• For a PRS solution, the destination address of a Returns label includes three address lines based on the available space.
  • ABC Returns
  • Parcel RTN SVC
  • 56901 (must be at least 1/6” tall)

Mailer Sort Codes

A reverse-video (white letters on a black background) Mailer Sort Code must be included in the lower right corner of the Returns label.

• Each Mailer Sort Code is comprised of between 2 and 5-characters. Pitney Bowes provides a client-specific 2 to 5-character set for the code.
  • PRS has 3 to 5 alphanumeric characters.
• The minimum size for the Mailer Sort Code letter and numbers is 0.1875 (3/16) inch.
• The reverse-video box around the Mailer Sort Code extends 0.0625 (1/16) inches beyond the top, bottom, and sides of the Mailer Sort Code.
• An alternative to a reverse video implementation is a black box surrounding the Mailer Sort Code. The edge of the box must be at least 0.0625 (1/16) inch beyond the top, bottom, and sides of the Mailer Sort Code.

Postage Guarantee and Horizontal Bars

• The endorsement NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES must be printed in all capital letters on the upper right corner on the face of the label. A 1-inch wide box must surround it.
• The left edge of the endorsement must not extend more than 1.75 (1 3/4) inches from the right edge of the label.
• Three equal width horizontal bars must be placed directly below the endorsement box. Each bar must be 0.0625 (1/16) inch high and match the width of the endorsement box (1 inch). Bars should be spaced 0.0625 (1/16) inch apart.

Service Legend

The legend must be placed directly above the address and must include:

• Line 1: In capital letters at least 3/16” high, “PARCEL SELECT RTN SVC”.
• Line 2: In all capital letters, the permit holder’s name, left justified, followed by “PERMIT NO.,” followed by the actual permit number.

USPS Barcode

• A USPS (IMpb) barcode is required on all Returns labels.

Pitney Bowes Returns Label Barcode

• A Returns label barcode is required on all Returns labels.
• Each Returns label barcode can contain up to 48 digits.
• The length of the Returns label barcode is based on a combination of Newgistics required information and data that can be configured on a per client basis.

Suggested Consumer Instructions

The following are suggested return instructions for the consumer that could accompany the label or be included in a separate communication such as email:

If a name and address are not already printed in the return address area, they must be neatly printed in that area, or a return address label must be attached there.

Attach the label provided by the merchant squarely onto the largest side of the mail piece, unless you need to use another side to make the parcel more stable. Place the label at least 1 inch from the edge of the parcel, so that it does not fold over to another side. If you are using tape to attach the new label, do not put tape over any barcodes on the label, even if the tape is clear.

If you are reusing the original container to return the merchandise, use the label to cover your original delivery address, barcodes, and any other postal information on the container. If it is not possible to cover all that information with the label, remove the old labels, mark them out completely with a permanent marker, or cover them completely with blank labels or paper that cannot be seen through. If that cannot be done, or if the original container is no longer sound, please use a new box to return the merchandise and attach the return label to the new box.

Once repackaged and labeled, mail the parcel at a Post Office, deposit it in a collection box, or leave it with your letter carrier.

Element Descriptions for USPS 1D IMpb and 2D IMmb Barcodes

The following content is based on section 4.1 of the USPS Publication 199 Intelligent Mail® Package Barcode (IMpb) Implementation Guide for: Confirmation Services and Electronic Verification System (eVS) Mailers document.

The IMpb contains the following elements:

IMpb Barcode Elements

Calculating MOD 10-Check Digits

1. Set up a two-row matrix, labeled 1 through 22 (or up to 26); with position 1 being the most significant position in the matrix (for example., the right-most position). Starting from the least significant position of the matrix (position 22 up to 26), copy each digit of the PIC all the way to position 2 (excluding the position of the check digit shown in the example below by a “?”). For the example PIC, you would set up the following matrix.

2. Starting from position 2 of the matrix, add the values (shaded) in the even-numbered boxes.

For example: 9+1+9+7+5+3+1+7+5+3+1+3+1 = 55 

3. Multiply the result of step 2 by 3. For example: 55 x 3 = 165
4. Starting from position 3 of the matrix, add the values in the odd-numbered boxes (shaded):

For example: 0+8+6+4+2+8+6+4+2+9+2+2 = 53

1. Add the results of steps 3 and 4. For example: 165 + 53 = 218
2. The check digit is the smallest number which, when added to the result obtained through step 5, gives a number that is a multiple of 10. For example: 218 + X = 220; X = 2

USPS PRS 1D Barcode Specifications

Standard – Concatenated Barcode

• A PRS barcode must be printed directly on the label.
• The barcode may appear in any location on the label except the upper left, upper right, or lower right corners.
• The barcode must meet the standards for barcodes in Publication 91, Confirmation Services Technical Guide, with the following exceptions:
  • The barcode must be produced using the GS1-128 barcode symbology.
  • The service type code (STC) contained in the barcode on PRS labels must contain the value “023.” 
  • Text above the barcode must read “USPS PARCEL RETURN SERVICE” (or “USPS PARCEL RTN SVC”). In the text below the barcode, the ZIP Code information, and subsequent numbers must be parsed per IMpb specifications.
  • The clear zone between the barcode, the human-readable text, and the horizontal bar above and below the barcode

Barcode Specifications

Human Readable Text – ZIP plus the five-digit ZIP Code must be printed 0.125 to 0.5 inches below the Postal Routing Barcode.  The AI of 420 must not be included in the human-readable text.  The text must be printed in a Helvetica or Arial 10-point bold font.

Barcode Location – The Postal Routing barcode may appear in any location on the label, except the upper left, upper right and lower right corners. It must be at least 1 inch from the edge of the package.

USPS Barcode Element Information

Human-Readable Text Information

ANSI guidelines X3.182-1990 may be obtained from:

ANSI – BARCODE PRINT QUALITY GUIDELINE
AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE
11 W 42ND ST
NEW YORK NY 10036-8002
Telephone: 212-642-4900
Web site: http://www.ansi.org/

2D IMpb GS1-Data Matrix Barcode Specifications

Some package labels may have barcodes that that cannot be scanned while being processed through automated equipment. This inability to scan is due to distortion, label placement, movement of items within soft packaging, and so on. To overcome these challenges and improve the readability of barcodes, the US Postal Service®, along with Pitney Bowes, recommends using 2D IMpb GS1 Data Matrix barcodes in addition to the traditional IMpb barcode.

The GS1-Data Matrix barcodes contain the same information as the IMpb barcode and are strategically placed on the label to augment the Intelligent Mail® Package Barcode (IMpb ™). Placing the 2D IMpb on opposing sides reduces label print errors and increases the ability for that label to be scanned, resulting in increased in-transit visibility for that package.

https://postalpro.usps.com/shipping/impb/2d-impb-guide

PB API clients can now overcome scanning challenges on Return or Delivery labels with these new 2D Barcode labels. These new labels provide two copies of the new barcodes to improve successful scanning at a PB or USPS network facility. These barcodes are added seamlessly to Delivery and Return labels created by common APIs.

Sample ZPL2 Code to Create a 2D IMpb Barcode

^FO30,690
^BXN,4,200,,,,@
^FD@142041048@192748901006014000000312575^FS

Datamatrix Barcode Specifications

For information on how to use the APIs to create labels, see  Ecommerce APIs Overview.

Pitney Bowes Returns Label Barcode Description

Returns Label Barcode Descriptions

Transporter Codes

Service Codes

Pitney Bowes Returns Barcode Check Digit Calculations

Returns Label Barcode Check Digit Calculation

Every Returns label has either a MOD 10 or MOD 36 check digit. The methods used is based on the Merchant ID set up during account implementation.

MOD 10 Check Digit usually applies to numeric barcodes.  (See MOD 10 Check Digit Calculations)

MOD 36 Check Digit usually applies to alphanumeric barcodes.  (See MOD 36 Check Digit Calculations)

MOD 36 Check Digit Calculations

• This check digit catches 100 percent of the substitution and transposition errors in a string of length n composed of a 36-character alphabet.
• The alphabet Q has 36 characters c ordered as 0-9 followed by A-Z.
• Each symbol in the alphabet is mapped to a pair, (c′, c″), from the alphabets Q′ and Q″ respectively where Q′ has 9 characters 0-8, and c″ has four characters as 0-3. 

Calculation Table

Then the check digit C included in a string of length n composed of characters from Q is the character mapped by the pair (C′, C″) from Q′ and Q″ where C′ and C″ are calculated as follows:

1. For a given string S of length n, map the first n-l characters c in S to their corresponding pair (c′, c″).
2. Create the two strings S′ and S″ composed of the corresponding characters c′ and c″ from each of the pairs including a place holder for the check digit C′ or C″.
3. Calculate the check digit C′ for the string S′ = c′0c′1…c′n-1 where c′n-1 = C′ using the formula:

             n-2      
 c′ n-1 ≡ 0 – ∑ aic′ i  mod(9)  where ai = { 1 if n – i is odd, 2 if n – i is even
             i=0

The characters, 0-8, in the alphabet C′ are from the normal set of integers, so the normal additive and multiplicative properties of integers apply.

4. Next, calculate the check digit C″ for the string S″ = c″0c″1…c″n-1 where c″n-1 = C″ using the formula:

           n-2
c″ n-1 + ∑ aic″i  = 0           where ai = { 1 if n – i is odd, 2 if n – i is even
          i=0

The characters, 0-3, in the alphabet C″ are from the finite field GF(4) which has the addition and multiplication tables as follows: 

Multiplication Tables

The normal axioms for addition and multiplication for fields apply.

Addition and Multiplication

MOD 36 Check Digit Example

Given the string S from q: 781250AEHx where x is the check digit C:

n = 10
S ≈ (1,3)(2,0)(0,1)(0,2)(1,1)(0,0)(2,2)(3,2)(4,1)
S′ = 120010234C′
C′ + (1*2) + (2*1) + (0*2) + (0*1) + (1*2) + (0*1) + (2*2) + (3*1) + (4*2) ≡ 0 Mod 9
C′ + 2 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 3 + 8 ≡ 0 Mod 9
C′ + 21 ≡ 0 Mod 9
C′ = (9 – 21 Mod 9) Mod 9 = 6
S″ = 301210221C″
C″ + (3*2) + (0*1) + (1*2) + (2*1) + (1*2) + (0*1) + (2*2) + (2*1) + (1*2) = 0
C″ + (1 + 0) + (2 + 2) + (2 + 0) + (3 + 2) + 2 = 0
C″ + 1 + 0 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 0
C″ + 1 + 3 + 2 = 0
C″ + 2 + 2 = 0
C″ + 0 = 0C″ = 0
So, C = (6, 0) = O and the complete string S is 781250AEHO

* Pseudo code is also available for reference.

Reference:

Detecting Substitutions and Transpositions of Characters; KHALED A. S. ABDEL-GHAFFAR; May 11, 1998 

Pitney Bowes Returns Barcode Specifications

Returns Label Barcode Element Information

Label Layout Specifications

Labels 4×4 Inches

Labels 4×6 Inches

Labels 6×4 Inches

How to Update Offline Labels for Hazardous Materials

USPS requires the use of proper service type codes and messaging to identify Hazardous Material items in the tracking barcode, and on shipping labels.

Requirements for USPS when sending Hazardous Materials:

• Include the appropriate STC codes in the Postal Barcode
• Update labels or packaging with the required Hazmat text
• After January 2024 the label will require a 2D barcode. Pitney Bowes will be publishing an updated specification well before the required date.

Restrictions

Hazmat STC Codes in the Barcode

The following shows the construction of a sample barcode:

The following image is referenced from Exhibit 8 in the USPS Publication 199 Intelligent Mail® Package Barcode (IMpb) Implementation Guide for: Confirmation Services and Electronic Verification System (eVS) Mailers document.

USPS requirement includes an STC code in the barcode that identifies the package as containing one type of hazardous material.
You can find the appropriate STC by service and hazardous type in the chart below.

Messaging on Labels

When shipping any Hazardous Material type the word “HAZMAT” should appear to the right of the banner above the Postal barcode.

Certain hazardous material types must only be transported by Ground. When this hazardous type is contained in a shipment the language “HAZMAT-SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ONLY” must appear on the label below the return address or on a separate label on the box. Material types along with the messaging can be found in the chart below.

Certain hazardous material types are classified as Restricted Electronics. When this hazardous type is contained in a shipment the language “RESTRICTED ELECTRONIC DEVICE” along with “HAZMAT-SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ONLY” must appear on the label below the return address or on a separate label on the box. Material types along with the messaging can be found in the chart below.

Sample Label with Hazmat Messaging

Chart for Hazardous Materials Containing STC and Messaging Information

Copyright Acknowledgements

Copyright © 2024 Pitney Bowes Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright herein may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise – including photocopying, recording, taping, or storage in an information retrieval system, without prior written permission of Pitney Bowes Inc.

Trademarks

Pitney Bowes, and the “pb” within concentric circles logo, are trademarks of Pitney Bowes Inc. or its affiliate. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The statements contained in this document are good faith descriptions and estimations and are not intended as representation, guarantee or warranties of any kind. Unless otherwise stated in a written agreement between you and Pitney Bowes, Pitney Bowes does not guarantee any of the functionality, standards or other descriptions herein at this time or in the future. This document does not create a contract or other binding agreement between you and Pitney Bowes, nor does it amend, update or otherwise revise any agreement between you and Pitney Bowes.