Process
How a handwritten campaign works
Four steps, and only two of them need anything from you. Tell us what you are sending and who it is going to, and the rest is our job.
The four steps
Tell us about your campaign
What you are sending, roughly who it is going to, about how many, the message you want written and when you need it to land. A couple of paragraphs is enough. You do not need finished copy or a tidy list to start.
We confirm the approach and price
An exact price rather than a range, the stationery and envelope treatment, and a production window we can hold. If we think the campaign will not do what you want, we say so here rather than after you have paid.
Send your message and recipient list
Your final wording, your recipient data however it comes out of your system, and any artwork or inserts. We will confirm the final production details with you before we begin.
We produce and dispatch
Every piece is written individually with a real pen, then checked, folded, inserted and sealed. It either comes to you in one delivery to lodge yourself, or we lodge it with Australia Post on your behalf.
What you send, what we handle
From you
- The message. A draft is fine. If you would rather we wrote it, that is a quoted extra.
- Your recipient list, in whatever format your system exports.
- Quantity and timing, even approximately.
From us
- The handwriting. We select a premium handwritten style suited to the job, so it is not a decision you have to make.
- Your data, formatted for production. Addresses checked against Australia Post standards and merge fields tested before anything is written.
- Layout, stationery and envelopes, matched to what the campaign is trying to do.
- Writing, finishing and lodgement. Anything below standard is rewritten and you are not charged for it.
Every piece is written with a real ballpoint under real pressure rather than printed, which is why it does not look like a font. There is a longer explanation of how the machines work and whether the result counts as handwriting.
Process questions
What do you actually need from me?
The message you want written, your recipient list, and a rough idea of quantity and timing. That is the whole brief. You do not need to prepare a file in any particular way, choose a handwriting style, or have your copy finished before you get in touch.
What format does my recipient list need to be in?
Whatever your system exports. Send it as it comes and we will make sure it is formatted correctly for production. If something in the file needs a decision from you, we will ask; otherwise it is our job, not yours.
What is the minimum order?
100 pieces. Setup is $165.00 once per campaign and is waived entirely from 5,000 pieces. Everything else is priced per piece, and the calculator will give you a number without an email address.
How long does a campaign take?
It depends on volume and what else is in the schedule, so we quote a specific production window with your price rather than publishing a general promise. Tell us the date you need it to land and we will confirm in writing whether we can meet it before you commit.
Will I see anything before the full run?
We confirm the final production details with you before we begin, and where it makes sense for the job we will show you the piece first. If seeing the handwriting matters to you before you commit to anything at all, ask for a sample and we will post one.
Can we supply our own stationery, inserts or a custom handwriting style?
Yes to all three, as a quoted extra rather than part of the standard run. Printed letterhead or cards, a flyer or reply-paid card collated into each envelope, your own envelope stock, or a handwriting style built from a sample of your own hand. Tell us what you have in mind and we will price it.
Who handles postage?
Either way works. We can deliver the finished campaign to one address for you to lodge yourself, or lodge it with Australia Post on your behalf, in which case postage and lodgement handling are confirmed with your quote at the prevailing rate. For large campaigns we will usually suggest releasing in waves rather than all at once.
Keep reading
Examples
Formats, layouts and message structures for handwritten letters, cards and envelopes - with w…
Pricing
Work out an indicative per-piece and total cost for a handwritten campaign. Change quantity, …
How the machines work
Plotters, pen pressure, letterform variation and why a good machine-written page looks nothin…
Is it really handwritten
A straight answer to the question buyers actually ask: what a writing machine does, what it d…
FAQ
73 answers on handwritten letters in Australia: what they cost, how the writing machine works…
Request a sample
Ask for a written sample posted to you. Real pen on real paper, in the hand your campaign wou…
Automated mail
Handwritten letters and cards as a recurring monthly batch rather than a campaign. How trigge…
Handwriting technology
A real pen writes every piece, the letterforms vary rather than repeat, and controlled variat…
Tell us about your campaign
A couple of paragraphs about what you are sending and who it is going to is enough. We will come back with an exact price and a production window.