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Fifteen years later, the Apple Cards origin story

437 points · 120 comments · ksec

  1. woadwarrior01 · · focus · HN ↗
    > For one, Apple was unwilling to have visible barcodes printed on the envelopes — but it wanted every step of the shipping and delivery of your card tracked. That wasn’t something the US Postal Service did. Apple and the printing company created an invisible barcode that was sprayed on the envelope, visible only under certain UV light, so that the envelope itself would remain unadulterated. And the USPS agreed to scan cards when sent, when processed at mail facilities, up to and including when they went out on a mail truck for delivery.

    This is classic Steve Jobs. Sheer force of will.

    1. ZeWaka · · focus · HN ↗
      Can't believe they got USPS to do a custom stamp in 2011.
      1. gnopgnip · · focus · HN ↗
        Which one is that?
        1. ZeWaka · · focus · HN ↗
          I honestly couldn't find any documentation of it anywhere. But it's clearly in the picture.
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