FAQs

Do you do large print or braille mailings?
We understand the importance of ensuring mailings are accessible to everyone and we are always looking for ways to improve this. Currently we do offer large print, however, we do not offer braille.

Is your paper FSC approved/from a sustainable source?
At CMS we offer a wide range of paper types including FSC approved and sustainably sourced paper and materials. More information on our eco-friendly practices and future goals can be found on our Environmental page.

Do you use vegetable inks?
As part of our bid to be more eco-friendly, we are pleased to confirm that we are able to use vegetable inks for our printing and mailings. Although vegetable inks can be used on a variety of paper stock and materials, they cannot be used for some print runs. More information on how CMS works to be sustainable can be found on our Environmental page or Contact us to talk through your printing options.

What is the minimum print run you do?
We pride ourselves on being flexible and are able to do small and large print runs and mailings. Our traditional mailing minimum print run normally runs in the hundreds remit, however, if you want to send one letter or up to 1,000 letters, our Hybrid Mailing solution may be suitable for you.

How long does a mailing take?
As all mailings are different, the time it takes to typeset, print, proof and send a mailing can vary, particularly if you are including multiple pieces of material in one mailing. Our experienced mailing project managers and account directors have managed thousands of mailings for national and international recipients and will be able to advise on timelines. If you need to send up to 1,000 letters within 24 hours, take a look at our Hybrid Mailing service.

How much does a mailing cost?
Good question! All of our costs from printing to postage are all quoted specifically to your requirements. If you would like a quote or to discuss your printing or mailing requirements, Contact us today.

Do you do audio mailings?
We are always looking at ways to provide easily accessible material.

What format should I send images?
We can work with a range of image files, however, we recommend sending any images in JPEG or PNG format in the highest resolution you can provide.

Which envelope should I use?
It can be confusing deciding which envelope to use for each mailing that you do, particularly if you’re not familiar with the names and sizes. For any mailings that consist of one to two pieces of paper, we recommend using a C5 envelope (the same that bills are normally sent in) and C4 for mailings of seven pages or more. We stock a range of envelopes and mailing materials and can provide a recommendation based on your mailing.

Quick guide to envelope sizes:

• DL (letter folded into thirds)
• C5 (letter folded into half)
• C4 (for A4 letters not folded)

Do you do discounts on mailings?
One of our most popular questions! We can provide discounts on mailings on a sliding scale dependent on what you are doing and the number of people you are sending. We partner with a number of postage and courier services including Royal Mail, and use MailMark and MailSort to provide our customers with the most competitive prices for their campaign.

How long will my letters stay on my inbound mail platform?
Letters will stay on your document activity platform for 30 days before they are removed. You can download any of your letters within the 30 days. If you do need any letters stored for longer just let us know.

Can I download my letters?
Yes you can. All letters can be uploaded and downloaded as pdfs.

Do you do banking/payment processing?
Along with managing and uploading your letters we can handle any payments that come through saving you a trip to the bank. Receipts will be uploaded to your account for you to access.

What type of fulfilment do you do?
We have managed fulfilment storage and mailouts for a number of companies across the financial services industry and public sector including tote bags, flyers, pens, brochures and drinking bottles to name a few. All materials are stored onsite at our warehouse and packed by our team as and when you need it or when your clients request an item. Find out more about our fulfilment service on our Mailing page.

Do you outsource your fulfilment storage and mailing?
Every service we provide is managed onsite at our own warehouse and factory. We do not outsource any of our services to third parties including fulfilment. CMS is an independent and fully operational print management, mailing, voting and response management firm with our own factory and storage facility. That means that everything is handled by our own team, we do not outsource any of our services to third parties.

How can I check my stock levels or reorder stock?
Stock level reports are sent on a monthly basis, however, if you would like more regular reporting, that’s not a problem. Just let us know and we can set up reports to be sent to you as and when you need it. To reorder stock, email what you need and how many, to your account director and we will arrange everything for you.

How does online voting/survey work?
Castavote is a completely customisable platform we can include as many questions as you would like along with a range of voting options such as dropdown selections, tick boxes, multiple or single choice and free text boxes. This solution is most suitable for proxy voting. If you are looking to host a live online meeting and to hold a vote or survey simultaneously, Castavote Live would be the most suitable solution for you. Castavote Live is mostly used to host AGM or EGMs. Find out more about Castavote Live.

Do you have a minimum/maximum number of people who can vote online?
For Castavote you can have an unlimited number of people vote online using a unique link and login details. For Castavote Live, our online live meeting and voting solution, we have hosted large numbers of attendees for meetings and AGMs, to find out more, Contact us.

Both Castavote and Castavote Live have been developed in-house by our own development team and is fully customisable. If you have a live meeting which requires voting for a larger audience, contact us to find out how we can assist you. Find out more about our voting services on our dedicated Voting and Surveys page.

How is online or postal (mail) voting information stored?
Online voting is held on the backend of our Castavote and Castavote Live platforms which are held on our own servers and have been developed by our in-house team. The results are automatically collated in real time and downloadable. Postal votes are sent back to our warehouse where our response handlers will sort and review. Results will be included with the online responses and checked for incorrect or duplicate responses. Personal data is not stored by CMS either online, on software or as a hard copy. All data is managed within the UK and according to GDPR and all legal and regulatory guidelines.

Can I do both postal and online voting?
Yes, you can! We recommend that any postal voting and surveys are done alongside online voting using Castavote, to ensure the highest number of responses are collected and in a shorter time frame.

How secure is your online voting platform?
Security is of the utmost importance at CMS. Castavote and Castavote Live are hosted on our own private server and is firewall protected against hackers and data leaks. Built by our own team of in-house developers, not bought from a third-party, our platforms are fully tailored to your requirements and are routinely tested and maintained to the highest cyber security standards. In addition, CMS are ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013 BSI certified and FSQS registered.

Can you provide independent checks for response handling?
Security and ensuring the quality and integrity of your votes is our highest priority at CMS. We can provide an independent Returning Officer to oversee and supervise the entire response handling process for your vote or survey upon request.

Have you managed data for mailings/services outside of the EU/UK?
As well as providing mailings for public and private sector firms across the UK, we have also provided mailings internationally. Our teams are fully GDPR compliant as well as data regulations for a number of countries. We have our own data and compliance officer who is able to assist on matters.

For more information on how we manage data in line with international government regulations, Contact us today.

How do you manage data/GDPR?
All data sent or received by CMS is strictly managed in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and any additional legal and regulatory guidelines. Our compliance team ensure that all data is managed in line with the appropriate legislation should mailings be completed for any country outside the UK and EU. All data is managed in the United Kingdom.

CMS are directly certified by BSI for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013 and FSQS registered so you rest assured that your information is safe and secure.

Have you managed data for mailings/services outside of the EU/UK?
As well as providing mailings for public and private sector firms across the UK, we have also provided mailings internationally. Our teams are fully GDPR compliant as well as data regulations for a number of countries. We have our own data and compliance officer who is able to assist on all matters.

How do I submit data and what format should it be in?
We can accept your data in a range of formats including excel, pdf etc. however, the best format to send us your data is in an excel spreadsheet (.xls, .xlsx or CSV) with each field clearly defined.

What fields should I include in my data?
The type of data sent to us should only consist of data required for your mailing. Additional fields or data that are not required for your mailing or project should be removed before sending to CMS in line with GDPR.

Depending on the mailing you are conducting, the most common fields are:

• Salutation
• First name
• Last name
• First line address
• Second line address
• City/Town
• County
• Postcode/ Zip code
• Country
• Customer ID reference number (may not be required)

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of fields and your mailing may require more or different information.

Will you check my data for me?
Yes, all data sent to us is put through the CMS Health Check and provide a detailed breakdown free of charge checking for duplicate entries, gone-aways and ensuring the correct information appears in the right filed. You only pay for any changes you would like to make.

Do you have a secure method of sharing/storing data and proofs?
All information including data and proofs are shared using a secure, online platform which is hosted on our own server, to ensure that content and data is sent quickly and safely without using email. Clients are provided access to their own account using unique logins and will be able to upload, download and delete files and all accounts are cleaned after a project unless requested otherwise.