What Is a Pressure Seal Form and How Does It Work?

When it comes to mailings, are you looking to reduce costs for materials, labor and postage? Of course you are! What if we told you that you could also increase productivity by reducing processing time? Sounds ideal! Pressure seal technology makes it not only possible, but easy! With pressure seal, you can create, process and deliver mailed pieces without an envelope. In fact, by eliminating the printed envelope (and the related folding, stuffing and gluing) from the process, pressure seal is a more cost-effective, green alternative for office mailings.

What is a pressure seal mailer exactly?

You've definitely seen pressure seal mailers before! They are sealed on the sides and have perforations that allow you to open the mailer. Like this:

How is a pressure seal form created?

Pressure seal requires a one-page, self-sealing document—such as a form or a check—and a folder/sealer machine to fold and seal the document. The pressure seal form can first be printed on an office laser printer and then fed through the folder/sealer machine. Unlike other types of mailers that require heat or liquid for sealing, a pressure seal document is sealed through pressure. Folding aligns patterns of cohesive, which is applied to edges of the form during manufacturing. When the folded form passes through a series of sealing rollers that apply pressure, the cohesive is activated, creating a seal.

Wait, what is a cohesive?

Unlike standard adhesives, a cohesive requires that two patterns be placed on top of each other to create the bond. Cohesives adhere only to each other and only when very high pressure is applied. This technology alleviates the risk of damaging a printer with a more traditional heat or water-based glue on the form. Pressure seal forms emerge from the folder/sealer securely sealed and ready to mail. In fact, this security is one of the reasons that pressure seal forms have significantly higher open rates than a traditional direct mail piece.

Examples of documents you can send using pressure seal:

• Checks
• Utility bills
• PIN information
• Test results
• Invoices
• Medical bills
• Transcripts
• Tax forms
• Past due notices
• Marketing pieces
• Statements
• Recall notices

Regardless of what you’re sending, ULTRASEAL self-mailers offer a more cost-effective and time-saving solution to traditional envelopes or other types of mailers. For additional information on pressure seal forms and equipment, watch this video and contact us with questions. Shop our selection of ULTRASEAL forms and ULTRASEAL checks for your business's needs.

*This blog post was originally published on November 8, 2010, it was updated and republished on April 19, 2019.