Hello,
I'm wondering if someone knows where I can buy envelopes that
are exactly 8 1/2 x 11" wide. I've looked and it seems all you can 
find is standard 9 x 12 envelope size.  

8 1/2" x 11" envelopes would be helpful for me because I'm 
mailing something about 8" x 10 1/2", and with envelopes that
are letter size, i could send them through my laserprinter.  Any
leads would be appreciated, thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 31 Oct 2003 07:53 PST

HI alfajor,

Standard envelopes conform to one of 3 main sizing systems - North
American, ISO (official metric), and Japanese. This facilitates
mailing and processing between countries.

The closest size that would hold your mailing for each of these are:

North American - 8 1/2  x 10 1/2" 
ISO = 9 x 12 3/4" (calculated from mm)
Japanese = 8 1/2" x 10 7/8"  (calculated from mm) 

Your only other option would be to purchase custom envelopes. Keep in
mind however, that you may have to pay additional postage if you use a
non-standard size envelope.

If you'd like information on where to purchase any of these standard
sizes, or how and where to purchase custom envelopes, let me know. For
shipping purposes it would then be helpful to know where you live.
(Country)

Thanks - K~

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Clarification of Question by alfajor-ga on 16 Nov 2003 13:04 PST

Hi,

I'm really sorry it took so long to respond, for some reason I didn't
realize someone had looked at my question.  Yes, knowledgeseeker-ga,
I would be very interested in finding out where to get the Japanese 
style 8 1/2 x 10 7/8 envelopes.

What I need to mail doesn't fold, and I need to mail it in quantity,
so the suggestions about standard letter envelopes, and custom-making
envelopes, probably aren't practical.

Thanks for your input on my question!

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 19 Nov 2003 18:15 PST

Hi alfajor, 

I guess we're in the same boat. For some reason I didn't get notified
that you had responded to my Clarification request. I just happened to
check back tonight and there it was.

It's late right now, but I'll gather up what I found and put together
an answer for you tomorrow (Thursday). Thanks for your patience.

-K~

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 21 Nov 2003 07:50 PST

Well alfajor, it turns out that answering your question is easier said
than done. Here's my problem...

HAGURUMA ENVELOPE COMPANY
http://www.haguruma.co.jp/

Your answer may or may not be on that page(or a number of similar
pages). Unfortunately, I can't read it to tell.

Here's what I think we should do --

I'm going to run this past some of the other researchers to see if anyone can 
read Japanese. Then we can find out if it's even possible (or
affordable) to have envelopes shipped from Japan.

Btw -- where would they be shipping to?

Meanwhile, I think you should talk to your local printing company
about custom envelopes. If you are talking about bulk shipping you
will probably find that having a batch of custom made envelopes will
probably be a worthwhile investment.

When I ran a graphic design company, I occassionally ordered custom
envelopes for clients. Yes, they cost more than regular, but in bulk
lots (say 2500-5000 envelopes), the cost was certainly not
prohibitive.

Important Note: Make sure to tell them that you will be running the
envelopes through a Laser printer. Laser toner does NOT stick to all
kinds of paper. (This I found out the hard way!).

I'll be back in touch --

-K~

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Request for Question Clarification by hailstorm-ga on 25 Nov 2003 01:34 PST

Hello,

knowledge_seeker contacted me to look into the Japanese site mentioned
above as a potential source for the product you need.  Unfortunately,
when I contacted the company, while they mentioned that they could
provide this product, they are not able to accept orders from outside
of Japan.

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Clarification of Question by alfajor-ga on 25 Nov 2003 11:01 PST

Wow, I never thought it might wind up being
so complicated.  Thank you so much for
all the legwork!

Since there seems to be no readily available
source of pre-made, affordable envelopes
in this size, I think that my best option at
this point will be to just get standard 9x12
envelopes custom printed and forget about
the laser printer for now.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts
and suggestions -- and knowledgeseeker-ga,
you've answered my question (even if the
answer is "they're not really available"), so
I feel satisfied with that as an answer if you
want to post it as such -- saved me a lot of
time looking.  Thanks again!

Thank you very much alfajor!

Sorry we couldn't get you what you wanted. It sure wasn't for lack of looking! :-)

If you ever want to follow up and get envelopes custom-made, there are
lots of online companies that do that. Do a search for:

"custom size envelope"  or;
envelopes "custom size"  or; 
"custom size envelope" manufacturing

Leave the word "size" in your search or you will get mostly custom
printers. Even then, read the sites carefully. Some are offering to
print your already-made custom size envelopes. Others are actual
manufacturers. Most sites allow you to caculate a quote or get one by
email.

Hope that helps. 

Thanks for allowing me to post an answer. Good luck with your project. 

-K~

Thanks for taking the time to look into it, I appreciate it!

#9 Envelope 3-7/8" x 8-7/8"
fits inside a #10 envelope  9 -1/2" x 4 -1/8"
and holds a 8-1/2" or 8" sheets

Why reinvent the product?
been used for many years a a reply envelope

available at any office supply store

Envelopes are very simple to make, and can be customized to any size
you want. Do a Google search on "envelope template" and find out how.

if you're mailing in quantity, I would expect you could get custom
made envelopes at a cost that's not too outrageous. Just look in the
phone book under "envelopes" (assuming you're in a major metro area)
and call around.