Bill & statement inserts
Scratch-and-sniff bill inserts sized and folded to run with your existing statement inserting.
Gas leak awareness printing
Mercaptan scratch-and-sniff inserts for gas leak awareness.
Scratch-and-sniff bill inserts, enclosed mailings, self-mailers, and door hangers that let your customers and neighbors smell what a gas leak smells like, produced by Shepard for utility and pipeline public awareness programs.
What your utility gets
Gas safety outreach that works for your customers and your program.
- Customers who know the smell and what to do. A scratch-and-sniff piece lets people experience the odor of natural gas, paired with your message on how to respond to a possible leak.
- Support for your RP 1162 program. Inserts can carry your leak-recognition messaging, and each order can come with production records for your files.
- Possible savings through combination runs. When press schedule, size, stock, and ink colors line up, a combination run can lower your cost by sharing makeready with other jobs. Ask whether your job is a fit.
- On-time delivery to your bill-print vendor. Finished inserts arrive when your vendor needs them, so they ride along in your regular bill mailing instead of needing a separate mailing and its postage.
- Expert format guidance. We help you choose a format that travels inside the outer envelope or as a self-mailer with the scent panel folded inside, never an exposed postcard, to help avoid false gas-odor alarms in the mail stream.
01 What they are
A gas sniffer card your customers can actually smell.
Natural gas has no smell of its own. Distributors add an odorant, typically a mercaptan-based blend, so a leak can be noticed. A gas scratch-and-sniff insert carries a scent-encapsulated coating that releases a similar odor when scratched, turning a safety message into something people remember.
That odor is there for a reason. On March 18, 1937, unodorized gas leaked beneath the school in New London, Texas, and built up unnoticed until it ignited. Approximately 298 students and teachers died. Texas responded with a state law requiring distinctive odorants in gas so people could be warned by the smell, and the mercaptan-based odorants used today serve that same purpose (Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association).
An odorant only helps if people know what it means. Scratch-and-sniff inserts let customers learn the smell safely at home, so they recognize it and know to act if they ever notice it.
- Scent-encapsulated coating applied to a printed panel
- Paired with your leak-recognition and response message
- Produced to run with your statement inserting or mailing process
02 RP 1162 public awareness
Supporting API RP 1162 pipeline public awareness programs.
API RP 1162, Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, gives guidance on communicating pipeline safety to the public, including how to recognize and respond to a possible leak. Federal pipeline safety rules, 49 CFR 192.616 for gas and 49 CFR 195.440 for hazardous liquids, require covered operators to maintain public awareness programs and incorporate RP 1162 (1st edition, December 2003) by reference.
RP 1162 does not require scratch-and-sniff pieces or any single format. Many utilities and pipeline operators choose them because a smell is hard to explain in words. Shepard produces the printed pieces; your compliance team defines the audiences, messages, frequency, and evaluation your program needs.
- Enclosed gas leak awareness mailings for customers and the public near your system
- Scratch-and-sniff bill inserts that ride along with existing statements
- Production scheduled around your public awareness calendar
03 Program support
How Shepard helps with your RP 1162 program.
Your company owns its public awareness program and decides its audiences, messages, frequency, and evaluation. RP 1162 does not require scratch-and-sniff pieces. Shepard prints the pieces your program calls for, usually from artwork you supply, and delivers them to your bill-print vendor or lettershop. Send us your art, or ask about design help. This is production support, not legal or compliance advice.
- Baseline message topics. Your artwork can carry the topics your program assigns, such as calling 811 before digging and other damage prevention, recognizing a leak by sight, sound, and smell, what to do and what not to do, and your emergency contact number.
- Delivery cadence. We schedule production and delivery to your bill-print vendor around your calendar. For example, the 1st Edition baseline for local distribution company customers is twice a year, which many utilities meet with spring and fall drops.
- Optional multilingual versions. Supply artwork for each language your company’s language assessment calls for, and we print every version and list each one with its quantity.
- Optional QR code or short link. Add a QR code or short link to your artwork pointing to a survey you run, to help gather data for the effectiveness evaluation done at least every four years.
- Production records with each order. Approved proofs, a version and language list, quantities, and delivery or shipping confirmation to your bill-print vendor or lettershop.
Regulatory text: 49 CFR 192.616, Public awareness (eCFR).
04 Formats
The right format for every audience.
Enclosed mailings
Scented pieces mailed inside the outer envelope for audiences who don’t receive your bill.
Self-mailers
Folded so the scent panel is on the inside, protected during mail processing.
Door hangers
Die-cut hangers with a scented panel for door-to-door outreach.
Send us your print-ready artwork, or ask about design help.
05 Expert advice
Why the scent panel should never travel exposed.
Scratch-and-sniff coatings work by trapping scent in tiny microcapsules. On an exposed piece, like a postcard, mail-processing belts and sorting equipment can rupture those capsules in transit. The result is a gas-like odor in a postal facility or mail truck, and a false gas-odor alarm nobody wants. Mail scented pieces inside the outer envelope, or as a self-mailer with the scent panel folded inside.
- Mail scented pieces inside the outer envelope, as bill or statement inserts or enclosed mailings
- Or mail them as self-mailers folded so the scent panel is on the inside
- Never exposed like a postcard: we don’t recommend postcards for mercaptan pieces
- Door hangers are hand-delivered, so they don’t pass through mail processing
06 Quantities
Quantities and combination runs.
Shepard has run mercaptan inserts from short runs in the tens of thousands up to runs in the millions. On short runs, press makeready and setup are spread over fewer pieces, so the cost per piece is higher.
Combination runs are an option when the job allows. When press schedule, art, size, stock, and ink colors line up, one press sheet can carry several customers’ versions at the same time. For example, a sheet with 25 pieces up can carry five different versions at 5 up each, so everyone on the sheet shares the makeready cost. Not every job is a fit, so ask whether yours is when you request a quote.
Illustrative sample card fronts for an example combination run. Designs and utility names are fictional.
07 Why Shepard
In print since 1974. Shepard stands behind every job.
Shepard has managed specialty print since 1974. We match each insert job to the best-suited production facility in our network, giving you manufacturing-scale capacity, competitive pricing and scheduling, and full accountability from first spec to final delivery.
Specialty know-how
Scratch-and-sniff, die cutting, and inline finishing are part of what we’ve built our reputation on.
Manufacturing-scale capacity
From a test run to a full system-wide mailing, your job gets the capacity it needs.
Everything in writing
A written plan, specifications, and quality levels agreed before production starts.
Delivered on schedule
Finished inserts delivered to your bill-print vendor or lettershop for your regular bill mailing. Mailing services available on request.
08 FAQ
Mercaptan insert questions, answered.
What is a mercaptan scratch-and-sniff insert?
It is a printed piece, such as a bill insert or mailer, with a scent-encapsulated coating that releases a mercaptan-like odor when scratched. It lets people experience the smell added to natural gas so they can recognize a possible leak.
Is a scratch-and-sniff insert required by API RP 1162?
No. API RP 1162 and the federal rules that incorporate it (49 CFR 192.616 for gas pipelines and 49 CFR 195.440 for hazardous liquid pipelines) require operators to run written public awareness programs, but they do not require any particular format. Scratch-and-sniff pieces are one tool many operators choose to help deliver leak-recognition messages. Your compliance team decides what your program needs.
Which edition of RP 1162 applies?
The federal regulations incorporate the 1st edition (December 2003) by reference. API has since published newer editions, including a 3rd edition. Check with your compliance team and regulator on which edition your program is evaluated against.
Why should a scratch-and-sniff gas insert be mailed inside an outer envelope or folded self-mailer?
Mail-processing equipment, including sorting belts, can rupture the scent microcapsules on an exposed piece. That releases the odor in transit and can cause false gas-odor alarms at postal facilities or along the route. Mailing the scented piece inside the outer envelope, as a bill or statement insert or an enclosed mailing, protects the coating so the scent is released when the recipient scratches it. A self-mailer also works when Shepard folds it so the scent panel is on the inside, protected during mail processing. What we don't recommend is a postcard or any piece that leaves the scent panel exposed.
What formats can Shepard produce?
Statement or bill inserts, enclosed mailings, self-mailers, and door hangers, sized to fit your existing inserting or mailing process. For anything sent through the mail, the scented piece should travel inside the outer envelope or as a self-mailer with the scent panel folded inside, never exposed like a postcard.
Can Shepard handle both small and large quantities?
Yes. Shepard has produced mercaptan inserts from short runs in the tens of thousands up to runs in the millions. Short runs carry a higher cost per piece because press makeready and setup are spread over fewer pieces. Combination runs are an option, not a standard: when press schedule, art, size, stock, and ink colors line up, one press sheet can carry several customers' versions at once (for example, a sheet with 25 pieces up can hold five versions at 5 up each), so each customer shares the makeready cost. Ask whether your job is a fit.
What records does Shepard provide for our public awareness file?
Each order can include production records: approved proofs, a list of versions and languages printed, quantities, and delivery or shipping confirmation to your bill-print vendor or lettershop. Your company keeps its own program records, including proof of mailing from whoever mails the pieces.
Can you match our delivery schedule and language needs?
Yes. We schedule production and delivery around your program calendar, such as spring and fall drops for customers your program reaches twice a year. If your company supplies artwork in several languages, based on its own language assessment, we print each version. Your company decides the schedule and languages.
Do you design the inserts?
Most utilities send us their own artwork, and we print it. Send us your art, or ask about design help.
Can you deliver to our bill print or lettershop vendor?
Yes. Most utilities mail inserts with their regular bills, so we deliver finished inserts to your bill-print vendor or lettershop on your schedule. Mailing services are available on request.
How do I get a quote or samples?
Use the quote form or call (609) 838-8000 with your format, size, quantity, and in-home date. Physical samples are available on request.
09 Request a quote
Planning your next public awareness mailing?
Send us the format, size, quantity, and in-home date, and we’ll come back with options. Or call (609) 838-8000. Shepard Printing Corp., 109 North Gold Drive, Robbinsville, NJ 08691.