How Menard's Mail and Publications Policies Work: Scanning, Photos, and the Sept 30 Publications Rule
When you send mail to someone at Menard, they might receive a scanned PDF on a tablet rather than the original paper. Here's how scanning works, what's excluded, how photos are handled, and what changes for books and magazines starting September 30, 2025.
IDOC scans all incoming non-privileged mail. Mailroom staff scan both sides of the envelope in color, then scan everything inside - letters, greeting cards, photographs. Those scans get uploaded as PDF images to the person's Bulletin Board/tablet. They'll receive a notification when new documents are ready to view and download.
Note: If the person you’re writing to doesn’t have access to a tablet for any reason, they’ll receive paper photocopies of their mail instead.
Exclusions
- ✓ Publications (books, magazines, newspapers, etc.) - these are excluded from scanning/photocopying and are handled under separate publications rules.
- ✓ Official government documents mailed from a government entity (including items like birth certificates and Social Security cards) - these are not scanned.
- ✓ Correspondence from IDOC staff to a person in custody - this is not scanned.
Starting September 30, 2025, all publications must be mailed directly from a publisher, book club, bookstore, or distributor. After that date, visitors can no longer drop off books, magazines, or other publications at any facility for a specific person. The bottom line: if you want to send reading material, order it from an approved publisher or distributor and have it shipped through the mail - don't try to bring it in by hand.
Photos get handled differently depending on their source. Original photographs mailed directly from a photo printing vendor - showing the vendor's watermark or logo - will be delivered to the recipient, as long as the content is otherwise authorized. This includes photos you purchase yourself but have the vendor print and mail on your behalf.
Tip: If you want your loved one to receive original printed photos (not just scanned copies), use a photo printing vendor that mails them directly with the vendor watermark/logo.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Assume your non-privileged letters, cards, and enclosed items will be scanned in color (envelope front/back plus everything inside) and delivered as PDFs on the Bulletin Board/tablet.
- ✓ If the person you’re writing to doesn’t have tablet access, expect them to receive paper photocopies instead.
- ✓ For books, magazines, and other publications, plan ahead for September 30, 2025: they must be mailed directly from a publisher/distributor, and visitors can’t drop them off at any facility.
- ✓ If you want original printed photos delivered, have a photo printing vendor mail them directly with the vendor watermark/logo (unless the photos are otherwise unauthorized).
Here's the big picture: most incoming non-privileged mail gets converted to a color-scanned PDF for tablet viewing. But certain categories work differently. Publications follow their own rules - and after September 30, 2025, they must ship directly from a publisher or distributor, not from a visitor drop-off. Photos are the other major exception. If a photo printing vendor sends originals with its watermark or logo, your loved one receives the actual printed photos instead of just a scan (assuming the content is authorized).
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