In academic, scientific and professional communities, individuals request reprints of published articles from the authors of those articles. To investigate the effect of the method of communication, letter or postcard, with or without a personal handwritten note, on request compliance rate and response latency, two separate studies, in 1979 and in 1981, were conducted. The 1979 study contained 120 psychological reprint requests, 30 per condition, while the 1981 study contained 200 requests, 50 per condition. Replies were recorded for a 30 day period in the first study, with a compliance rate of 54 percent, and for a 60 day period in the second study, with a compliance rate of 76 percent. An analysis of results showed that the compliance rate was not affected by the form of communication. However, in the 1979 study, adding a personal note to either a letter or postcard delayed the latency response. In the 1981 study, an interaction occurred between the variables, with the longest latencies occurring for letters with personal notes and for postcards without notes. Both authors and individuals requesting reprints should consider these findings in terms of professional behavior, cost-benefits, and timelines of information. (BL)