Damn You, Usps!

**Mike Irwin** · January 27, 2002, 01:01 AM

My latest issue of SWAT magazine came the other day looking as if it had been fed through the USPS' newest crinkling machine.

Chewed up on the edges, and more spherical than flat. Cover was completely torn off, and half of the pages were detached from the top fold staple.

After a day of sitting under a heavy box, it's readable.

Good article on Pistols of the Colonial Police.

speed · January 27, 2002, 02:18 AM

Do you mean ups?

HankL · January 27, 2002, 06:58 AM

USPS= U.S. Postal Service. Mike, the cover was pulled off of my March issue as well. Feb. issue never got here at all. I'm calling my postmaster Monday.

**Rich Lucibella** · January 27, 2002, 09:17 AM

This is vexing to me. I've had 1/2 dozen such complaints for March.....all have to do with covers torn off and mag mangled. I'll check into it tomorrow, but I doubt this was created at the shipping side. The magazines couldn't have been delivered unless the final Postal Office received them with the cover/label intact.

Mike:
Any idea how it reached you without cover/label?
Rich

deanf · January 27, 2002, 05:35 PM

On a slightly related note:

The cover fell off my most recent issue about 2 pages into reading it.

**Rich Lucibella** · January 27, 2002, 06:40 PM

Dean-
Explain "fell off"? Staples pulled thru or it tore in half?

I've had some input from one of our Members who works for USPS and he indicates that this may have been aproblem with the originating automated machine. I have Kathy Allard trying to trace with Brown Printing on Monday.

We're also going to price plastic shrink wrap, beginning May.

Fact is, S.W.A.T. printing should be of the highest quality...Lord knows we pay for it! Compare the weight of one of our pages to Brand X...you'll find that, generally, our normal page is on the same bond as their cover.

The 50 copies I received (boxed thru UPS) don't show any sign of defective binding. But we'll continue to look into it.
Rich

Ewok_Guy · January 27, 2002, 09:34 PM

My March issue arrived in perfect condition.
Good readin'...

**Mike Irwin** · January 27, 2002, 10:27 PM

Rich,

My bad. The cover WAS there. The staples had been pulled completely through it; ithe body of the mag was just stuffed inside of the cover, and the whole thing dumped into my mailbox.

deanf · January 28, 2002, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Explain "fell off"? Staples pulled thru or it tore in half?

Staples pulled through. It's no big deal to me, but I thought if you were trying to chase down a problem, you could use the information.

P-99er · January 28, 2002, 11:00 PM

The Postal workers are probably reading it before they deliver it. Working at a Post Office one never knows when they may need some of the info inside.

Ever consider putting them in plastic sleeves like some other pubs?

**Rich Lucibella** · January 29, 2002, 09:12 PM

Here is a preliminary response from our Printer.
Reading between the lines, I have to question whether this is a byproduct of recent events and attempts to increase mail security. Meantime, we are looking at polybag alternatives.

Quote:

========News From the General Publication News Files=================
Heard on the Web" Media Intelligence - The Precision Media Group.

To All PMG Members:

It has come to my attention that there is a serious nation-wide distribution problem with the delivery of some magazines and catalogs traveling through the USPS. I have received multiple reports from across the country that this problem is predominantly manifesting itself as covers being pulled from
saddle-stitched magazines. From the subscriber's perspective, the result is that covers only, without the body pages, are being delivered to homes and offices. There are also reports that paper wrappers and poly-wrapped publications are having a higher frequency of damage and an increase in lost copies and undeliverable mail.

My research indicates that the problem is originating with the Postal Service's AFSM-1000 (automated flat sorter). I can, at this time, confirm that the USPS is aware of this problem and is working to resolve and eliminate the defective deliveries. These are the only items that I can report with any certainty at this time. I will be pursuing this issue and alerting this community as soon as more facts become available. In the meantime, I would request that any readers that have more facts, information, or suggestions on this subject to please forward them to me.

I would also like to suggest that publishers immediately contact their printers and printers contact their publishers in a proactive effort to work with the appropriate USPS authorities to resolve this condition as soon as is possible.

Bob Sacks

George Hill · January 29, 2002, 10:45 PM

All my issues have arrived intact.
However I did notice some warping in the paper as if it had been wet and then dried... but only slightly.

**Mike Irwin** · January 30, 2002, 11:48 AM

George,

Actually there is a lot of water involved in the standard off-set printing process, and the print gets quite wet through the process.

The paper is may be wetted just prior to being printed, the inks are water based, the paper is stored in areas of relatively high humidity, etc.

As part of the final finishing process the paper and ink are dried, either by running over heated rollers or through an oven.

If the paper was more humid than normal, or the press was running wetter than normal, or the oven or rollers weren't up to full heat, it's possible that your magazine came out still wet and dried like it did.

Point Blank · January 30, 2002, 12:07 PM

Mine arrived in excellent condition, both inside and out.

jmlv · February 4, 2002, 12:19 PM

but it appears I am now a subscriber being one of those unfortunelates who had a 2 year sub to "GunGames" I really can't say for sure how many issues I recieved nor how many I have left on my sub they never seemed to arrive on any regular schedule.

Is there any way of finding out how many issues I will recieve?

**Rich Lucibella** · February 5, 2002, 03:04 AM

jmlv-
Email me with the name you subscribed to GunGames under. I can answer the question for you. May take a copule of days as I'm on the road.
Rich

January 27, 2002, 01:01 AM	#1
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,379	Damn You, Usps! My latest issue of SWAT magazine came the other day looking as if it had been fed through the USPS' newest crinkling machine. Chewed up on the edges, and more spherical than flat. Cover was completely torn off, and half of the pages were detached from the top fold staple. After a day of sitting under a heavy box, it's readable. Good article on Pistols of the Colonial Police. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

January 27, 2002, 06:58 AM	#3
HankL Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: The Sunny South Posts: 2,174	USPS= U.S. Postal Service. Mike, the cover was pulled off of my March issue as well. Feb. issue never got here at all. I'm calling my postmaster Monday. __________________ Check 6

January 27, 2002, 09:17 AM	#4
Rich Lucibella Staff Join Date: October 6, 1998 Location: South Florida Posts: 10,229	This is vexing to me. I've had 1/2 dozen such complaints for March.....all have to do with covers torn off and mag mangled. I'll check into it tomorrow, but I doubt this was created at the shipping side. The magazines couldn't have been delivered unless the final Postal Office received them with the cover/label intact. Mike: Any idea how it reached you without cover/label? Rich __________________ S.W.A.T. Magazine Weapons, Training and Tactics for the Real World Join us at TFL or at AR15.com or on Facebook

January 27, 2002, 05:35 PM	#5
deanf Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 1999 Location: N47º 12’ x W122º 10' Posts: 1,599	On a slightly related note: The cover fell off my most recent issue about 2 pages into reading it. __________________ I'm a constitutional fetishist. Airplane Pictures

January 27, 2002, 06:40 PM	#6
Rich Lucibella Staff Join Date: October 6, 1998 Location: South Florida Posts: 10,229	Dean- Explain "fell off"? Staples pulled thru or it tore in half? I've had some input from one of our Members who works for USPS and he indicates that this may have been aproblem with the originating automated machine. I have Kathy Allard trying to trace with Brown Printing on Monday. We're also going to price plastic shrink wrap, beginning May. Fact is, *S.W.A.T.* printing should be of the highest quality...Lord knows we pay for it! Compare the weight of one of our pages to Brand X...you'll find that, generally, our normal page is on the same bond as their cover. The 50 copies I received (boxed thru UPS) don't show any sign of defective binding. But we'll continue to look into it. Rich __________________ S.W.A.T. Magazine Weapons, Training and Tactics for the Real World Join us at TFL or at AR15.com or on Facebook

January 27, 2002, 02:18 AM	#2
speed Senior Member Join Date: September 30, 2001 Posts: 353	Do you mean ups?

January 27, 2002, 09:34 PM	#7
Ewok_Guy Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2001 Location: Endor Posts: 1,664	My March issue arrived in perfect condition. Good readin'... __________________ "Death and honor are thought to be the same, but today I have learned that sometimes they are not." --------------------- " I like big fat men like you. When they fall they make more noise! ...and sometimes they never get up." -Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez

January 27, 2002, 10:27 PM	#8
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,379	Rich, My bad. The cover WAS there. The staples had been pulled completely through it; ithe body of the mag was just stuffed inside of the cover, and the whole thing dumped into my mailbox. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

January 28, 2002, 11:00 PM	#10
P-99er Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2001 Posts: 102	The Postal workers are probably reading it before they deliver it. Working at a Post Office one never knows when they may need some of the info inside. Ever consider putting them in plastic sleeves like some other pubs? __________________ "If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees"- William Jefferson Clinton 8-12-1993

January 29, 2002, 10:45 PM	#12
George Hill Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 14, 1998 Location: North Carolina Posts: 11,546	FWIW: All my issues have arrived intact. However I did notice some warping in the paper as if it had been wet and then dried... but only slightly. __________________ MAD OGRE

January 30, 2002, 11:48 AM	#13
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,379	George, Actually there is a lot of water involved in the standard off-set printing process, and the print gets quite wet through the process. The paper is may be wetted just prior to being printed, the inks are water based, the paper is stored in areas of relatively high humidity, etc. As part of the final finishing process the paper and ink are dried, either by running over heated rollers or through an oven. If the paper was more humid than normal, or the press was running wetter than normal, or the oven or rollers weren't up to full heat, it's possible that your magazine came out still wet and dried like it did. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

January 30, 2002, 12:07 PM	#14
Point Blank Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2000 Location: Armpit of the South...Atlanta Posts: 516	Mine arrived in excellent condition, both inside and out.

February 4, 2002, 12:19 PM	#15
jmlv Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2001 Location: PA AMERICA STARTS HERE! Posts: 739	As did mine - on the newsstand but it appears I am now a subscriber being one of those unfortunelates who had a 2 year sub to "GunGames" I really can't say for sure how many issues I recieved nor how many I have left on my sub they never seemed to arrive on any regular schedule. Is there any way of finding out how many issues I will recieve? __________________ JMLV NEW PA RESIDENT TFL ALUMNUS MOLON LABE!

February 5, 2002, 03:04 AM	#16
Rich Lucibella Staff Join Date: October 6, 1998 Location: South Florida Posts: 10,229	jmlv- Email me with the name you subscribed to GunGames under. I can answer the question for you. May take a copule of days as I'm on the road. Rich __________________ S.W.A.T. Magazine Weapons, Training and Tactics for the Real World Join us at TFL or at AR15.com or on Facebook

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