Here at Domtar, we love discovering how the evolving digital world can work in tandem with printing and paper. From marketing campaigns to letters from home, mail has proved itself to be a connecting and consistent power in our lives. We recently learned of a company that focuses on providing convenience and comfort to military members—Sandboxx. Sandboxx Letters is a web and mobile app that allows personalized mail to be created and mailed to military members in basic training in a way that’s convenient for them. The program is a demonstration of how the automation of the digital world can sometimes lead to print and mail production. Here’s an overview of how it works.
Loved ones that support those in basic training write the letter on their phone or computer and can include a photo. Sandboxx prints and ships the letter overnight. The letter is printed on paper, packaged into an iconic air-mail designed envelope and shipped the same day. They ship to every military training base in the United States and tracking is provided to the sender. There is no guessing as to when the recruit will receive the mail. The letter to the recruit includes a blank sheet of branch-specific custom stationery, a return envelope and a self-addressed sheet with your address already printed. This makes the reply from the recruit effortless.
The image above shows everything that is included in each Sandboxx Letter, including:
- A shipping envelope that’s delivered to your recruit and carries all of the contents above.
- A pre-addressed return envelope to make replying back to you easier for your recruit.
- Your Sandboxx Letter copy, which includes up to 3,000 characters.
- An optional photo for you to include in your Letter.
- Return stationery to make it simple for your recruit to write back to you.
Besides the letter writing and delivery service, the Sandboxx website has a section titled Not Sure What to Write with a list of ideas to help overcome writer’s block. They also list gift ideas relative to the season with consideration on what gifts are more convenient to ship. Exchange gift cards are available specific to the military branch, Army, Navy, Air Force Marine or Coast Guard. The gift cards are printed right into the letter and have no expiration date. Stamps are also available to purchase and include in the letter to the recruits. The website is well done, easy to navigate and conveys a feeling of warmth. They have a long list of positive reviews and have shipped over 6 million letters.
Congratulations to Sandboxx for a business to help those that serve our country and thanks for them the innovation that links technology with a tangible product. I’m interested to hear back from any readers that have used this service as either a recipient or a loved one supporting a recruit.