GLOSSARY
Print-and-mail API
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
An API that accepts a document and a recipient address and returns a mailed physical letter — printing, envelope, postage, and USPS handoff included.
A print-and-mail API removes the physical steps from software. The caller posts content plus an address; the vendor prints, stuffs, applies postage, and hands the piece to USPS, then reports status back by tracking number or webhook.
It is the mechanism behind automated compliance notices, invoices, and any workflow where a system needs to put paper in front of someone who will not read an email.
See also
- Mail merge — Generating one personalised letter per row of a data file by filling named fields in a single template.
- Variable data printing — Digital printing where content changes from piece to piece — names, amounts, images — without stopping the press.
- Address standardization — Rewriting an address into the exact form USPS uses — canonical abbreviations, directionals, unit designators, and ZIP+4.
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