Printed matter is a term to describe printed material produced by printers or publishers, such as book

Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

s, magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

s, booklets, brochures and other publicity materials and in some cases, newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

s. Because much of this material is mailed, it is also a category of mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

, accepted for delivery by a postal administration, that is not considered to be first-class mail and therefore qualifies for a special reduced printed matter postal rate. Depending on the specific postal regulations of the country, it is usually non-personal correspondence and printed in multiple quantities. Most postal authorities do not permit additional services, like registration

Registered mail

Registered mail describes letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and need a chain of custody that provides more control than regular mail. The posted item has its details recorded in a register to enable its location to be tracked, sometimes with added insurance to cover loss...

 or express

Express mail

In most postal systems express mail refers to an accelerated delivery service for which the customer pays a surcharge and receives faster delivery. Express mail is a service for domestic mail and is governed by a country's own postal administration...

 services, to be added to items mailed as printed matter.

In the Postal Convention between the United States of America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the Republic of Mexico, proclaimed on June 20, 1862, terms were specified relating to the rates for printed matter between the two countries. The rate was one cent for every ounce or fraction of an ounce.

United States

As of June 2007, the USPS has a printed matter classification known as "Bound Printed Matter", BPM, defined as, advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material that is securely bound and at least 90% is imprinted by a process other than handwriting or typewriting and is only available for user with an imprint permit.

For international shipment of printed matter, the USPS provides a discount M-bag service; following the 2007 elimination of surface mail

Surface mail

Surface mail, also known as sea mail, is mail that is transported by land and sea , rather than by air, as in airmail...

, only airmail

Airmail

Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...

M-bag remains.