Hybrid mail is mail that is delivered using a combination of electronic and physical delivery. Usually, it involves digital data being transformed into physical letter items at distributed print centres located as close as possible to the final delivery addresses. An e-mail letter (also L-mail and letter mail) is a letter which sent as an

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

using a computer then printed out and delivered as a traditional (physical) letter. It is a communication means between the cyber and the material world. The printer or

mail transfer agent The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

prints the

electronic mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

on paper, the

mail transport agent Within the Internet email system, a message transfer agent (MTA), or mail transfer agent, or mail relay is software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using SMTP. The terms mail server, mail exchanger, and MX host ...

packs it into an

envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a ...

and the mail delivery agent or

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

delivers it to the receiver's mailbox. Generally there is a fee for this service; however very small amounts and single email letters may be free of charge depending on the

service provider A service provider (SP) is an organization that provides services, such as consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage, and processing services, to other organizations. Although a service provider can be a sub-unit of the organization t ...

and generally fees are much lower than directly sending mail or using a franking machine. Research shows that in the UK, for a simple enclosed letter, posted 2nd class, the saving could be as much as much as 40% per letter. There are also reverse systems, where handwritten letters can be delivered as email. This mail scanning service, sometimes called letter email, is increasingly popular with businesses and individuals who wish to access their mail from another country. However, special care must be taken to inspect local laws and the service provider's scanning practices to ensure that they are not reading the mail or acting on behalf of the client from a legal standpoint.

Notes

{{Reflist Email Webmail Letters (message) Postal services Communication

See also

Notes