[accesscomp] Fw: Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Remote Postage Services: USPS.com, the Stamps.com Desktop Application, and Endicia
- From: "Bob Acosta" <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tektalk discussion" <tektalkdiscussion@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "access comp" <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 08:13:28 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: dan Thompson
To: dan Thompson
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 6:25 AM
Subject: Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Remote Postage Services:
USPS.com, the Stamps.com Desktop Application, and Endicia
Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Remote Postage Services: USPS.com, the
Stamps.com Desktop Application, and Endicia
Bill Holton
From Access World August 2013
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw140804
Do you work from a home office or run a small business that requires you to
send out a lot of mailers and packages? Or maybe you enjoy sending out a lot of
gifts, or still prefer to pay your bills the old fashioned way by dropping a
check in the mail. If so, you're going to need a lot of postage, which means a
lot of trips to the US Post Office or your local mailbox store to buy stamps,
weigh packages, and pick up mailing supplies.
Happily, the Internet offers a number of ways to accomplish these chores from
the comfort of your own home office. All you need is a Mac or PC computer and a
connected laser or inkjet printer with at least 300 DPI resolution. In this
article we'll take a look at three remote postage services, each with only
minor accessibility issues: the United States Postal Service (USPS) website,
Stamps.com, and a slate of services from Dymo Endicia, available for both Mac
and PC.
The US Postal Service
The US Postal Service website allows you to purchase stamps for home delivery,
print package labels, arrange for package pickup, and order free mailing
supplies.
First, you'll need to create an account. The site goes out of its way to be
accessible. The forms are properly tagged, and every graphic is described in
detail. Nevertheless, it took me nearly a half hour to set up an account
because the form contained a great deal of dynamic content that kept refreshing
the screen and changing my cursor position. I was using Window-Eyes 8.2 with
Internet Explorer version 10. The page behaved slightly better when I tried the
latest Firefox, and better still using Safari on a Mac running VoiceOver. One
particularly tricky spot was entering two security questions and their answers.
The form only offers fields to select and answer one question. You have to
press the "Confirm Answer" button, which was difficult to locate, and then move
your cursor back up to move to the second question/answer.
Once I was logged into the site, navigation became significantly easier.
Buying Stamps and Ordering Free Supplies
Whichever stamps you need, you can find them on the USPS site. You can purchase
a single Express Mail stamp all the way up to a roll of 10,000 Forever stamps
that would probably more than live up to their name. You can also pick up
pre-stamped cards and envelopes. Shipping is $1.25 for orders $50 and under and
$1.75 for orders over $50.
The site also allows you to order free envelopes, padded envelopes, and boxes
for Express and Priority Flat Rate letters and packages.
Printing Labels with Postage
You can enter an address and have the site create a shipping label with the
postage included. Enter the recipient's address manually or select it from an
address book, which you create by adding entries as you go. Other options
include adding a reference number and requesting alerts for both yourself and
for the recipient.
Unlike the other services we will describe, USPS.com does not interface with a
digital scale and add the weight automatically. Instead, you must enter it
manually or select a Flat Rate option.
Fields, buttons, and combo boxes are tagged well and easy to complete. You can
print a generic sample label before you check-out, which does not include your
"To" and "From" addresses, and print your completed label, but Acrobat Reader
is required both on PCs and Macs. The PDF view of the labels is not accessible
to screenreaders, so you will need sighted help or an OCR program to check your
post-paid label.
Scheduling a Pickup
These days the US Postal Service will come to your home and pick up your
Priority, Flat Rate, and Express packages. You can arrange for a pickup date
and location on the website or via the USPS Mobile app for iOS and Android.
(You can also order free supplies using the app, but on my iOS version, at
least, I was unable to find a way to order stamps or to create and print a
label.)
Conclusions
For those who only occasionally send out mail and packages, USPS.com can
definitely eliminate a lot of travel time and waiting in lines. Consider
ordering their Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes Variety Pack, so you'll have a
variety of sizes on hand. For home office workers and business owners with more
extensive shipping needs, read on.
Stamps.com Desktop Application
Stamps.com is by far the largest provider of online postage services. If you're
a podcast listener, you've probably heard several ads for this company with
promotions that increase the amount of free postage and supplies you receive
when you sign up for a 30-day trial membership. You also receive a free digital
scale, which you can keep even if you cancel your account. The service costs
$15.95 per month plus the cost of postage, which you can pay for directly via
the Stamps.com software.
The Stamps.com desktop application, must be downloaded from the site after
creating an account. The application runs on Windows only (Mac users can use
certain services through Stamps.com Online, or try Endicia, reviewed below).
The download and installation went smoothly with one exception. During setup
the app offers you the opportunity to import your address book from a number of
different e-mail and contacts applications. Unfortunately, the list of choices
appears in a scroll window with no cursor controls, so I was unable to get to
the Outlook 2010 option, which was not on the first page. I did discover a sort
of workaround, however, which I will describe later.
The Stamps.com software uses a standard Windows interface, so you can use the
"Alt" key to call up the Menu bar and the arrow keys to navigate the menus. The
work area is not totally accessible right out of the box, however. I had to
rely on my Window-Eyes mouse cursor to review the screen and orient myself, but
I was pleased to discover that many of the features can be enabled by hot keys,
such as Alt + Z to call up the "Zip Code" field and Alt + C for the "Mail
Class" selector.
Printing NetStamps
The easiest task to perform with the Stamps.com software is to print a sheet of
NetStamps. To get started, open the View menu and select the "Stamps" option
under the "Postage Wizard" heading. You'll need the serial number of the
NetStamps Label sheet that was included in your Welcome Kit. (Without sighted
help you can get this number by scanning the label sheet with your OCR
application.) Make sure you know which way your printer feeds, so you print on
the correct side. If you have doubts, consider punching a small hole in the top
right corner of a sheet of paper, printing a sample page, and, then, orienting
yourself by comparing the hole to the direction your printer usually discharges
printed pages.
Each NetStamp Label sheet contains 25 labels, and you can choose to print the
entire sheet or as few as a single stamp. That's why you need to enter your
sheet's serial number, so the app can keep track of where to pick up printing
the next time you want to print postage.
I started by printing an entire sheet of First Class stamps. After entering the
sheet's serial number, I pressed the Alt + C "Mail Class" hot key and selected
"First Class." Then I pressed Alt + M for "Mail Piece" and selected the
"Letters" option. The default weight listed was one ounce, but I could have
changed this manually or installed the free digital scale via the Tools menu to
add the weight automatically.
Next, I pressed Alt + Q and entered the quantity of stamps I wished to print. I
entered "25," which is the number of stamp labels on a single sheet. You can
choose to enter a cost code to help organize your expenses. Then, at the bottom
of the screen, you'll find three print options: "Print Postage," "Print
Sample," and "Reprint."
The first few times you print NetStamps it's a good idea to use a sheet of
plain paper to print a sample with voided postage and either verify the job
with sighted help or use your OCR software to ensure it printed correctly. If
your printer jams or you have some other problem, you are allowed one free
reprint.
You can also easily print one stamp at a time using a label printer and
NetStamps labels. You can purchase an appropriate label printer from
Stamps.com, but for this review I only tested with my HP LaserJet 1200.
Printing Envelopes and Package Labels
You can print envelopes and package labels with the postage already affixed.
Start out by opening the View menu and selecting "Envelope," "Package," or
"International." Your return address will populate the "Return" field, and you
can either enter the destination address manually and save it to your address
book or select an address that you have already saved or imported. As mentioned
previously, the import options are mostly inaccessible, but the Import Wizard
does include the option to import a comma or tab delimited text file, and most
address books offer the option to export your data in one of these formats.
Unfortunately, I found that the application's Contacts list was impossible to
scroll using hot keys. I was able to use the search box to narrow my results,
place the address I wanted near the top of the list, and use my mouse click hot
key. Additionally, on the data screen after I pressed Alt + D to activate the
"Destination" address field, I discovered that, if I typed in part of the name
(either first or last) and pressed the "Down Arrow" key, the correct address
would pop up along with the contact's e-mail address, so I could choose to send
an optional shipping notification. I could also attach a small graphic, such as
a company logo, alongside the return address and change the font, its size, and
the color of both the return and destination addresses.
Another easy way to print postage is via plugins for both Microsoft Word and
Outlook. Highlight an address in an open Word file or select one or more
contacts in Outlook's Contacts list, then access the Add-Ins menu where you'll
find the option "Print Postage with Stamps.com." This add-in will take you
directly to the Stamps.com software with your return address and the
recipient's address pre-entered.
From here you have many of the same options as before. You can choose a mail
class (First Class, Priority, etc.) and the mail piece (Large Envelope, Flat
Rate Box, Large Package, and so on). You can have the weight up to five pounds
entered automatically via your digital scale and add a signature request, an
instructions page for Customs information, and optional insurance. There are 25
label choices, including plain paper, generic labels, and labels from Avery and
from Stamps.com.
There is a preview option, but this creates a graphic image of your label,
which is completely inaccessible. However, a "Print Sample" option is also
available, and you can use your OCR if you need to confirm that the label will
print correctly.
Additional Features
You can request package pickups directly from the app and order free USPS Flat
Rate containers and other supplies from the Stamps.com online store.
One last feature that will be of particular interest to individuals who engage
in e-commerce is the ability to import shipping information directly from
Access, Excel, or delimited text files. The application will also interface
directly with a number of popular e-commerce platforms, including eBay, PayPal,
Etsy, Amazon, Yahoo, Bing Commerce, Google Checkout, Buy.com, and others. Since
I do not sell online, I was not able to put this feature through a real stress
test, but there are accessible wizards to walk you through the setup process.
Conclusions
I had to do a lot of mousing around to become comfortable with the Stamps.com
software. At first you may need sighted help to confirm your print samples,
especially if you do not have a scanner and OCR software. Also, if you print on
plain paper, you will need help folding or cutting away the blank part of the
page so you can tape the label to your package. However, as to the software
interface itself, I didn't find any accessibility deal breakers.
Dymo Endicia
Dymo Endicia, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, offers a number of postage
printing options, including plans with no monthly subscription fees. As is the
case with Stamps.com, you'll need to install software to use any of Endicia's
services, but unlike Stamps.com the software is available for both PC and Mac.
Unfortunately, you cannot use both platforms on a single account. The PC and
Mac software each require that they be associated with separate accounts, so
the only way to switch between PC and Mac is to set up two different accounts.
This might make sense if you're using Endicia's free services described later
in this review, but you will still have to purchase postage for each account
separately. The paid accounts offer 30 days free with sign up, but there is no
welcome kit with sample labels. Also, if you want to weigh your packages,
you'll have to purchase a scale.
Endicia for Mac
Endicia for Mac costs $15.95 per month plus postage, and it offers most of the
same features as Stamps.com. Like most software for the Mac, installation was a
breeze. All I had to do was download the disk image, open it, and copy the .APP
file into my app folder.
Select the toolbar's "New Label" option to create and print postcards,
envelopes, and shipping labels. There are also buttons to purchase additional
postage for your account and print stamps by the sheet or individually,
depending on your printer.
Integration with my Mac's address book was automatic, and the very first pop-up
button offered me the choice to use my Mac address card, my Endicia account
address, or a different address as my default return address.
When I clicked the "Addresses" toolbar icon, an element simply labeled "Drawer"
appeared in my label-creating window. The element was not clickable, however,
and it took me a while to discover that, if I interacted with the element using
VoiceOver's Shift + Ctrl + Option + Down Arrow hot key, I was shown two tables,
the first being a subset of all of the contacts for which I had addresses and
the second containing every contact in my Mountain Lion Contacts list.
Interacting with this table and double tapping a contact name added the
information in the "To" field perfectly.
Endicia for Mac includes most of the same mailing and stamp printing options as
Stamps.com. You can select your envelope or package type, choose the postage
class, purchase insurance, validate addresses, add a reference number, and
request delivery or signature confirmation. You can also print postage-paid
customer return labels with the "To" and "From" addresses reversed.
The "Web Stores" option on the app's toolbar allows you to import sales and
shipping information directly from your e-commerce platform. Oddly, to date
eBay is the only supported platform, but the fact that they use the plural "Web
Stores" suggests they will be adding more in the future.
None of the Endicia plans include a free scale. You can purchase one from
Endicia or install one of several third-party scales. Unfortunately (but for
obvious reasons), the Stamps.com scale is not installable. However, if you're
like me and do most of your shipping using USPS Flat Rate shipping boxes and
padded envelopes, the only reason you might need a scale would be to tell if
that envelope you just stuffed is less or more than one ounce, and this is
hardly worth the $50 or so a scale would cost.
All of the Endicia plans allow you to print a preview of your work, but unlike
with Stamps.com, you do not get a do-over if your printer jams or you encounter
another problem while printing. Refunds are available under certain
circumstances, but you will have to complete a form and submit your request via
mail. Endicia does not accept electronic refund filings.
You can print stamps one by one but only if you have a DYMO LabelWriter and a
roll of stamp labels. To use a laser or inkjet printer, you'll need to purchase
stamp label sheets from the Endicia store. Unfortunately, Endicia does not keep
track of your label use, so it can't resume printing right where you left off.
The only way to limit the number of stamps you print is to tick off the ones
you don't want to print by clicking your mouse on an image of the stamp label
sheet, which is completely inaccessible. If you plan to use any of the Endicia
programs to print stamps, you'll either need a label printer or simply plan to
only print stamps entire sheets at a time.
Conclusions
If you are a home worker or small business owner who relies on a Mac, Endicia
for Mac may be just what you are looking for. The only accessibility issue I
discovered was the inability to print single stamps on a label sheet, so if you
are considering signing up, you should definitely also consider purchasing a
label printer and perhaps a scale.
Endicia for Windows
Endicia offers several service plans for Windows users, including Endicia
Standard ($9.95 per month), Endicia Premium ($15.95 per month), Endicia
Professional (34.95 per month), and Endicia Platinum Shipper (99.95 per month).
For this review I tested the Endicia Standard plan since it is the lowest cost
option and also because it is designed to appeal to home users.
When you start the Endicia Standard software, you are placed in "Quick Print"
mode with your cursor on the "To" address field. You can type in an address or
paste in an address from your clipboard, but when I went looking for an address
book option, I was stymied at first. I was unable to find a menu option or hot
key. A screen read revealed an "Address Book" icon near the top, but when I
used my mouse cursor to try to locate it, everything went silent. A "Find"
command landed me on the icon, however, and when I performed a mouse click, the
application called up my Outlook address book. However, I had to give
permission every time I wanted to retrieve a new address. My screen reader's
speech often stuttered at this point, and several times I was forced to reboot.
I fared no better using System Access to Go, and even Microsoft Narrator acted
unpredictably.
You can print DYMO Printable Postage (either full sheets or individual stamps)
with a Dymo LabelWriter, but when I tried using the "Menu" command to switch
between these modes, the option refused to toggle. After an hour speaking with
tech support, including a LogMeIn session during which the tech took control of
my PC, we discovered that the option worked fine with no screen reader, but
with my screen reader running the toggle, it consistently failed to work. When
I suggested this was something he might want to report as a bug, he responded,
"I don't think this is something they would want to spend any time on."
Conclusions
Endicia Standard offers some interesting features. For example, you can create
mailing templates with the destination address and package type saved for later
use, and you can add graphics and digital rubber stamps, such as "Fragile" and
"Do Not Open Till Christmas." You can also link your eBay account to download
and process your sales. If you are a high volume eBay seller and cannot afford
an extra $6 per month for a Stamps.com account, you can probably slog your way
through the accessibility issues. Otherwise, I don't recommend the use of
Endicia Standard.
DYMO Stamps for Mac and PC
One last home postage option we'll discuss here is Endicia's DYMO Stamps for
Mac and PC. These options are both free, and the software is accessible except
for the "Sheets/Rolls" toggle in the PC version.
Basically, DYMO Stamps lets you pick a mail class (First Class, Priority Mail,
etc.) and print a single stamp using a DYMO LabelWriter or a laser or inkjet
printer using their proprietary labels. The labels add approximately $0.20 to
the cost of each stamp, however, so I would advise readers to consider this
platform only if they already own a DYMO LabelWriter and enjoy the convenience
of printing single stamps of various denominations.
The Bottom Line
If you are a small business owner or home office worker and you send out
frequent mailings and packages, you may want to give serious consideration to
opening an account with Stamps.com or Endicia for the Mac. Each offers a 30-day
trial, though you will have to enter payment information to take advantage of
either offer. Both services offer discounts for certain Express and Priority
Mail services, so if your mail volume is high enough, both services could wind
up paying for themselves.
For the rest of us, USPS.com will likely meet all of our postage needs.
Consider placing an order for a collection of stamps of various denominations
and adding a free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes Variety Pack, so you don't have
to worry about calculating size and weight.
Postage Services Information
United States Postal Service, 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777)
Stamps.com, 888-434-0055
DYMO Endicia, 800-576-3279
This Week's Verse and Inspiring Thought
Walk In Love
Ephesians 5:2: And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for
us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (ESV)
Thought: Walk in Love
The love described here is agape love. Christ demonstrated how to walk in love
by his supreme example. When he washed the disciples' feet, when he fed the
hungry, when he healed the hurting, when he offered himself up on the cross, he
taught us how to walk in love.
We love one another with gifts of sacrifice. As we love like Jesus, we become a
fragrant offering, pleasing to God.
Prayer: Father Mother Head of all that exist, let me be wheat sown in the
earth, to be harvested for you. I want to follow wherever you lead me. Give me
fresh hope and joy in serving you all the days of my life and walk in love for
others. In the name of Jesus, Amen..
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send an email to dthompson5@xxxxxxxxx with "subscribe Dan's Tips" or "subscribe
Hotspot Devotional" in the subjectline.
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- » [accesscomp] Fw: Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Remote Postage Services: USPS.com, the Stamps.com Desktop Application, and Endicia - Bob Acosta
