Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals)
Questions and answers

Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals)

Which news materials may be dispatched as Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals)?

News materials that serve to inform the public through standard journalistic reporting. The share of standard journalistic reporting must make up at least 30% of the publication's volume.

What is standard journalistic reporting?

• Objective editorial reporting in economically independent form (no direct promotion of company business interests)
• Presentation of a variety of opinions

What is not standard journalistic reporting?

In particular,

• Sales jargon (PR contributions)
• Articles obviously published by companies
• Purchase recommendations

Which news materials may not be dispatched as Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals)?

See GT&C Domestic Press Distribution and the Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals) services brochure. News materials with a business publishing purpose, such as customer/in-house magazines.

What are the primary formal criteria that must be met?

Newspapers and magazines must

• have a continuous internal and external form
• consist mainly of pages (minimum of 9 cm x 14 cm) of the same format which are printed on both sides (merged into one unit through folding or book binding-style processing)
• be produced as identical copies in a conventional press printing procedure, be accessible to anyone and appear periodically (at least once a quarter)
• show the title and the number or the descriptor "Special Edition" on the cover page (the day of publication or a descriptor relating to publication frequency can also come from the title page or masthead)
• be published periodically (at least once per quarter)

How are items prepared for dispatch?

• Shipment with or without wrapping
• Addressing (sender, recipient's address), postage paid impression
• Bundle preparation (individual copies must be compiled into bundles, bundle preparation is made based on the "ZEBU manuell" list or the "ZEBU" file)
• Pallet preparation (bundles are compiled according to postal code on pallets)

For more information, see Brochure - Press Distribution Handling

How is billing done?

The voucher copy must be sent as Postvertriebsstück (preferred periodicals) with the main shipment to the responsible Press Distribution office. At the same time, Press Distribution receives a posting list and a distpach list as billing documents. Beginning with a mail volume of more than 100,000 copies, billing is done electronically using a posting data record [Einlieferungsdatensatz] (EDS), cf. EDS manual. The customer receives an invoice. Payment is made via direct debit.