"After viewing the uspsdmhub.com website, I have to concur - 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."
In an interview with PrintWeek, Makin said, "We're not in a position to speculate on what the rationale is behind this at USPS. But we just feel that as an organization that is essentially a monopoly, it should not be directing business to a select vendor list."
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.
But, he added, "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 some complaints among local printers because it only recommends a handful of vendors. 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," he said. "We like what the Post Office is doing overall - we just don't like this particular program."
USPS officials said this week they are aware of the PIA’s concern, but at our deadline had not come back with a response—or a reason why these handful of vendors are being highlighted on the Postal Service Direct Mail Hub.
The issue mirrors a similar situation that Adobe found itself in in 2007 when it introduced a Send to 'Fedex Kinko's' button. Outcry at the preferential status that this offered Fedex caused Adobe to remove the feature, to much approval.
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