One of our most frequently asked questions is customers requesting tracking numbers for sent items. Tracked mail is an additional services available from the "extras" menu and is not available with standard mail options.

We offer Recorded and Special Delivery within the UK.
International Signed Delivery, from the UK to overseas destinations
Priority Mail, from the USA.

Of the above options only Special Delivery and Priority Mail are guaranteed services. These two services provide a signature on delivery and and generally very reliable methods of getting your letter to the recipient.

Recorded Delivery and International Signed Delivery, offer a signature when the item is delivered. These services are not guaranteed and mail is treated no differently to normal 1st class mail or Airmail. We do experience a number of items sent via these services being lost in transit but are able to provide you with scanned proof that your item has been passed to the postal service.

PC2Paper enables you to send letters in several ways via our system

• Uploading a PDF of your finished document which you can create directly from applications such as MS Word.
• Using the PC2Paper Printer enables you to write your letter in any application on your computer and print it directly from your machine to us as a letter.
• Write your letter online and if you choose to attach PDF's as part of your letter

The following example will show you how to do this using our online editor and how you can re-use the same letter over and over again after setting up a saved letter as a template.

Step 1 - Write your letter

Log into your PC2Paper account and click on the Write a Letter link and select the insert template link (shown in the link below)

Step 2 - Select a template

In the dialogue that appears select a template, in the image below we are selecting the standard letter with letter head

Step 3 - Upload images of your letter head and signature

Highlight the text "Your company letter head here" then click on the images button (shown in the image below).

In the dialogue that appears upload images of your letter head and signature using the "Upload Image" section shown in the image below (you can read more about inserting images into your document here). Then click on the image of your letter head you uploaded and click on OK.

Clicking OK your letter should look similar to the image below

Step 4 - Insert your signature

Inserting your signature is exactly the same process. Scroll down your letter to where you wish to insert your signature and click the insert image icon and then select an image of your signature to upload.

Step 5 - Preview your document

Preview your document to ensure it looks correct by clicking on the preview button found at the very top or bottom of the page. It should look similar to the preview below.

Step 6 - Save your letter for later

You can now save your letter and create a copy of it each time you wish to send a new letter. To do this close the preview, click save and then select "close & exit". On the page that appears select the "Items Saved" tab (as shown below).  Click on the "copy as a new letter" icon next to your letter each time you wish to send a new letter with your letter head and signature.

One query we often get from our customers, is why can't they send a personalised mailshot. It often surprises us because this functionality has existed on PC2Paper for nearly 10 years. We suddenly realised that maybe we're just not that good at advertising the features available on our service so will be starting a series of blog articles to highlight some of them. The first being how to do a mail merge with our service.

This tutorial will show you how to send the same letter to multiple recipients, personalising each one with the recipients name and address using our mailshot letter writing interface and a spread sheet of your recipients details. You will write your letter online using our letter writing interface and can attach as many PDF's as you wish to the letter.

Before you continue with this tutorial, ensure you are logged into your PC2Paper Account in order for the links below to work.

Step 1 - Create a new Address List/Book

You can create a new Address List from the My Address Book section of the site click here to do so (will open in new window). You can also manually navigate here from the website by clicking on the "My Address book" option from with the PC2Paper Website.

Step 2 - Upload your address list

You can do this from the My Address Book section of the site. To upload your address book click on the "Upload your address book" tab or go to the following link upload my address book (will open in new window) and follow the steps on the page.

Step 3 - Name your mailshot

If you haven't already done so go to the mailshot writing interface, you can go to it directly by clicking here or by clicking on the write letter option from within the PC2Paper website.

Give your mailshot a name.

Step 4 - Choose you address list

Click the "Add Address" button and select the address list/book you uploaded in step 2 above. Select the recipients, you can select multiple by selecting the first item and then holding down the shift key as you select the last item. After selecting your recipients select the "Add recipient" button and then the OK button. You can also add more addresses manually at this stage.

Step 5 - Create your letter

In this example we are using a template to create the letter. You do not need to use a template you can create your own letter from scratch.

Step 5a

Click on the "Write letter" dialogue.

Step 5b - Template

Choose a template by clicking on the template icon (indicated in the image below).

Step 6 - Your Letter

After selecting a template you should see something similar to the image below. The odd looking characters that begin with <& are placeholders for the various details of your recipients. To see what the letter will look like when sent to us press the "Preview" button at the top or bottom of the write letter page. You can insert further mail merge fields using the floating Field dialogue box shown below.

Step 7 - Preview

You should now be able to see previews of your mailshot by clicking on the Preview button located at the top or bottom of the write letter page. Using the arrows shown below you can scroll through a preview of how your letter will look to each recipient. When you are happy with your preview, close the preview click on the Send button (at the top of the page) to see how much it will cost, select postage options and send your letter to us for printing and posting.

Step 8 - Attach PDF's (optional)

Don't forget you can also attach PDFs to your letter by clicking on the "PDF Attachments" tab.

Step 9 - Insert your signature or an image (optional)

To personalise your letter further you can also insert an uploaded image of your signature find out how.

We've just added a new section to the iPhone/iPad version of our site which enables you to send PDF's as letters from these devices (due to popular demand).
In order to make use of this functionality you will need to have the iCabMobile browser installed (available from the app store).
We are keen to hear any feedback you may have about this new functionality. We have also attempted as best we can to test and ensure the functionality works, however as it is a beta there may be a few teething issues which we would be grateful for feedback on.

Quick Tips
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If you have a PDF attachment you have received as an email you wish to send from the iPad. Hold your finger down on the attachment and select "Open In" you should be able to select the iCabMobile browser. Now that the attachment is in iCabMobile you can now send it via PC2Paper by logging into the iPhone/iPad version of the site from iCabMobile and following the onscreen instructions.

For almost a year now PC2Paper have had an iPhone and iPad friendly version of our site. We haven't talked about it much except in our chat forum where we were trying to get people to test out the beta version of this site. The users that have tested it have also discovered that the site works quite well with other mobile devices such as Android and the mobile version of the Opera browser.

The site is limited to a small subsection of functionality and this is primarily writing letters and viewing saved, waiting to be sent and sent letters. We did this primarily as we didn't know how the micro site would be perceived and planned on adding more functionality gradually as it gained in popularity.

Why haven't you developed an iPhone/iPad app yet?

We have been asked this on several occasions, we have had several companies offer to develop us one and we have also had a version of an app sitting on one of our development machines. Developing an iPhone/iPad friendly website is a lot easier than developing an app. A website is also a lot easier to support than an app that sits on the iPhone or iPad. We also know there is a definite benefit to having an iPhone and iPad app, one of these would be the ability to write your letters offline and then sync the iPhone or iPad back with your PC2Paper account when your device was back online. In order to do this we would need to cache a lot of data on the device itself such postage costs, letters and account details and make sure this is all synchronised with your account when you are back online. To do this we would also have to build the infrastructure on our website to support this kind of functionality. When you look at it this way you can see all the bits that would have to make up our application.

In short we wouldn't want to release an app just for the sake of releasing one that gave a pretty poor experience and a very small section of functionality that just didn't provide any more benefit than what a web friendly version of our site for your phone would do.

Going forward

We would welcome any feedback on the mobile version of our site. This should help us to add more functionality which is of benefit to you when constantly on the move.

We have recently received a number of requests from customers who would like to add a default sender address to their letters rather than having to type this in every time. PC2paper customers can now do this from within their account settings. You just need to log in and select the "My Details" tab from within your account. You should now see a default sender address option which you can populate with the address of your choice. This address will now appear as default in the sender address box every time you write a letter.

We are currently experiencing some delays with PayPal's servers contacting our own causing a delay to some PayPal top ups. We are currently working with PayPal to resolve this issue and hope it will be resolved shortly. Any customers who experience this issue in the meantime should contact us at the following link.

We get this question daily from people who want to make sure their photographs print correctly and at PC2Paper we do offer a premium glossy paper option. However, one word of warning, although our printers are capable of producing high quality results, the end result will only be as good as the file that you supply. We recommend that your pictures has a resolution of 300 pixels/inch for the best results. For the best print quality for picture we recommend using one of our colour printing options either the colour laser or the colour inkjet and selecting the photo gloss paper in each case. Both colour printing options offer high quality output for pictures when printing onto photo paper and whilst the colour laser print is a little more expensive than the inkjet, both are capable of producing photo quality images.

A PC2Paper real letterbox is as the name suggests a real postal address here in the UK. When letters arrive we open them and scan them in for you and then send you an email so you can login and read your mail online. There are many reasons why you might need a real mailbox.

• If you travel a lot reading your mail is just a case of logging onto the Internet. No more waiting for your letters to be forwarded to you overseas or reading them when you get back home months later.
• If you live abroad and have relatives in the UK who don't have Internet access and prefer sending you a letter, you can have them send it to your PC2Paper Letterbox and read it the next day from the Internet.
• You usually change accommodation quite frequently and need a permanent address.
• You prefer reading all your mail from the Internet.
• You need a UK address for your business for faster correspondence.
• You are partially sighted and need your letters scanned in for you to read from your screen reader.

How Does the Service Work?
When you sign up for a real letterbox we provide you with an individual address. This is usually your user ID, followed by our PO Box address although in some cases we can give you an address based on your company name. You can then use this as a regular address. Any letters received will be scanned and applied to your account. We can also forward letters depending on your requirements.

What happens to my letters after they are scanned in?
The original letters are destroyed after one month of being received. If you prefer we can forward the original letters onto a postal address of your choosing. The charge for this is the postage price of the items and a 20p service charge per forward. Items will be forwarded on a monthly basis. If you require us to do this please inform us as soon as you set up your letterbox.

How private are my letters?
At PC2Paper we take privacy very seriously. When you read your letters online they are encrypted so no one but you can read them. When we scan your letters in we do have to briefly read some of the contents to make sure the scanning of the letters are clear we usually make this the senders address and the first paragraph. We will never divulge the contents of your letters to anyone or use the contents of your letters in anyway or form not sanctioned by you. The letter is considered your property we only provide a service for you to read its contents.

How much does it cost?
The cost of your letter is worked out on how many pages there are to scan. So a 1 page letter will cost you 50p to read online. Letter larger than 10 pages are subject to additional charges. We also charge a one time only setup fee of £5.

Is there a size limit on what I can receive?

We do not have a size limit on the letters that can be received at your mailbox, however we are currently only able to scan documents up to 50 pages long. If we receive any letters longer than this we will contact to you and you have the option to have the letter forwarded to you.

I am partially sighted or blind can you provide my letters in a format I can read?
We can optically scan your letters provided these are typed or printed letters and provide them as Word documents for you to use in your screen reader.

Where will my mailbox be located?
Your mailbox will be located in Surrey, England, UK.

What will you do with my mail if I decide not to use the service anymore and more mail arrives?
For a short period we will forward this mail onto you. After that period we will return all mail to the sender.

How do I sign up for a Real Letterbox?
To get a real letterbox you need to sign up for a PC2Paper account. If you already have a PC2Paper account all you need to do is login into your account and select the My Letterbox option found in the left hand menu.

What will my address look like?
Your mailbox will be in the following format:
MB #(Your mailbox number)
PO BOX 229
EGHAM
TW20 8WZ
UNITED KINGDOM

If I already have a PC2Paper account how do I get a letterbox?
When you sign up for a PC2Paper account you automatically get a letterbox with us. After you have signed in to your PC2Paper account just click on the My Letter Box option.

We have different paper and printing options available depending upon your requirements. If you are sending a basic letter that does not need to be printed in colour, then we recommend using the standard black and white laser print option. This will produce a good quality mono print on white 80gm paper. In some cases you might want your document printed in colour. For this we have two options, inkjet printing and a colour laser print. The inkjet print is capable of producing a good quality print and is suitable if you want a budget colour print. The colour laser print costs a little more and produces a crisper finish suitable when you require your document to be printed at the highest quality. In addition to this we also offer conqueror high white paper. This option can be used when sending an important document such as a CV and produces a professional looking finish with the highest print quality.

Our standard letters are sent in a DL envelope but you are not restricted to using this size. We do also offer C5 envelopes where your letter is folded in half instead of 3 and A4 envelopes for those documents that you want to send unfolded. You can select the various envelope sizes from the down menu after writing your letter. In addition to this any letters that are too large for the DL envelope are automatically placed into the next size of envelope.

PC2Paper provides two letter sending API's and one Letter Pricing API (please see below)

PC2Papers API Letter Sending Interfaces

PC2Paper has two letter sending API interfaces available. One interface is a simple back end form post interface that only accepts text input (our most popular) and the other is a back end XML RPC interface that only accepts PDF and MS Word documents.

Form Post Interface

The Form Post Interface (FPI) is our most popular because of how simple it is to setup. If you have ever created a backend form interface to integrate with services such as PayPal and World Pay then you already have most of the skills you need to use the FPI. Simply speaking the FPI accepts a form post from either a normal webpage or a back end server to authenticate you, you provide your PC2Paper username and password to it and that is how the site knows who to bill the cost of the letter to. To use the interface and to find out more download the PC2PaperFPI pack.

XML RPC Interface

The PC2Paper XML RPC Interface is a bit more advanced than the form post interface and enables the sending of PDF and Word documents from server to server or desktop application to PC2Paper. Inside the PC2PaperXMLRPC pack we provide you with the sample XML the interface is expecting and a compiled (optional) VB 6 DLL called PC2PaperRemote.DLL which you can call instead of trying to create the XML the interface is expecting yourself. You should be able to use PC2PaperRemote.DLL from most COM aware languages such as VB, ASP, Delphi, .NET etc.

To use the PC2PaperRemote.DLL you will need to install MSXML if it is not already installed on the machine you intend to use it from. However if you prefer to generate the XML yourself and Base64 encode the file you wish to send into the XML, the format of the XML file can be found in the file XMLFormat.txt which can be found in the PC2PaperXMLRPC.

Letter Pricing API

PC2Paper provide an XML based interface that enables you to workout the price of your letter before sending it. This is useful for websites that resell our service and would like to know how much to bill the customers before actually sending the letter. To get started you can download the documentation for our interface here. You can also download the country code file, a csv you will need to lookup country codes.

How do I send Recorded Signed For mail from PC2Paper?
After writing your letter in the normal way you can select the Recorded Delivery option from the extras drop down menu.

How is my Recorded Signed For letter processed after I have sent it?
Your letter will then be printed and posted in the usual way and then passed to Royal Mail for delivery. PC2Paper then receive a tracking number.

When do I receive my tracking number?
Within 24 hours you should then receive an email from PC2Paper with your Royal Mail tracking number.

How do I track the progress of my Recorded Signed For letter
You can use your tracking number at www.royalmail.com to check when your letter has been delivered and to see a copy of any signature that has been obtained on delivery.

What happens if my letter cannot be delivered?
If Royal Mail are unable to deliver your Recorded Signed For item and it remains unclaimed from the local delivery office it will be returned to the return address within 7 days with a reason why it could not be delivered. For this to happen the return address needs to a valid UK based address. Where no return address has been specified the letter is destroyed by Royal Mail.

What happens if my return address is not in the UK?
If you want to send a Recorded Signed For item and add a return address that is outside of the UK then it is not possible for Royal Mail to return the item outside of the UK. In this case the letter is destroyed. If you are outside the UK and want to use this option we recommend signing up for a PC2Paper mailbox which gives you a UK based address and using this as your return address. The letter will then be returned to us and we will notify you by email.

What happens if my letter is lost?
Royal Mail does not consider mail to be lost until 15 working days after it has been posted. If after this time your Recorded Signed For item has not been delivered you should contact PC2Paper giving the letter ID. We will then raise a claim for the lost item and providing that the letter was addressed correctly and the claim is successful we will then reimburse you for the cost of the lost letter.

You can upload images in the rich text editor by clicking the insert image button, browsing to the image on your computer and clicking the upload button, we should then be able to print your document complete with the images. Alternatively you can insert your images into a Word Document or PDF document and upload this instead.

At PC2paper one of the options we offer in our extras menu is Royal Mail Recorded Signed For. We are often asked what this service is. Below we have given an overview of this service.

Is Recorded Signed For Mail Guaranteed?
It is a common misunderstanding that the Recorded Delivery option provides a guaranteed service, It doesn't. Recorded Delivery items are not processed any differently to normal 1st or 2nd class letters.

How is Recorded Signed For Different to Regular mail?
The difference is that with this service you receive a tracking number whereas 1st and 2nd class mail is not tracked.

How Long Does Recorded Signed For Take?
Royal Mail aim to deliver First Class Recorded item the next working day, or Second Class items within three days.

How do I track my Recorded Signed For Item?
You can use your tracking number to check the status of your mail online at www.royalmail.com and when a signature is obtained on delivery this is made available to for you view online. Tracking can take some time to be available online and this is often not available until the item has reached its destination. If a signature cannot be obtained and the item is not collected or redelivery rearranged within seven working days, it is returned to the sender where a return address has been specified.

Can I Send Valuable Items Using this Service?
As Recorded Signed For is not a guaranteed delivery service Royal Mail do not recommend sending valuable items using this service.

Can I claim Compensation if My Item is Lost?
Compensation is available with this service if an item is lost providing that it has been correctly addressed by the recipient. An item is not considered lost until 15 working days have passed. If after this time your Recorded Signed For item has still not be delivered then you can contact Royal Mail to make claim if you have proof of postage. Alternatively if you have sent the item via PC2Paper you can contact us directly and we will raise a claim for lost mail and issue a refund for the lost letter depending on whether the claim is successful.