Patent ID: 7789226

Claim:
An envelope package comprising: a plurality of generally aligned envelopes, said plurality of envelopes being compressed together, the plurality of envelopes including at least 50 envelopes; and two or more generally non-elastic bands extending around said plurality of compressed envelopes and retaining said envelopes in a state of compression, and wherein said plurality of envelopes, due to the state of compression thereof, exerts an expansion force of at least about ½ pound such that said plurality of envelopes are sufficiently compressed to generally seal ambient air out of said plurality of envelopes and to reduce absorption of moisture therein, further wherein each envelope is generally flat and planar in the absence of outside forces, and wherein said bands retain said plurality of envelopes in a limited state of compression such that none of the banded envelopes are bowed out of plane by more than about 1/40 of the length of that envelope.