>I use it when typing addresses for shipping labels
>the column names for excel spreadsheets or serial keys
Why would those need to be upper-case?
>the column names for excel spreadsheets or serial keys
Why would those need to be upper-case?
This apparently used to be a bigger deal back when the USPS relied on OCR more heavily for bulk mail delivery, but barcodes have become the method of choice.[2]
[1] http://faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?create=kb%3...
[2] http://smartystreets.com/kb/faq/should-addresses-be-in-upper...
With printed words, lowercase words are more legible because of the words' distinct shapes.
It seems that uppercase is just carryover from hand printing. I work with technical drawings and labels are uppercase for no reason whatsoever, and it's fatiguing to read.