Are physical letters too old-fashioned?

[sciencefinn]

I'm in the process of reaching out to PI's for the Fall 2020 cycle, and am thinking about ways to avoid getting lost in the shuffle. I understand that an email with a CV attached is customary these days, but I am entertaining the idea of sending physical letters to supplement them. Thoughts on this? Is it too extra?

 

[MarineBluePsy]

While some may appreciate the old fashioned appeal of handwritten letters you also run the risk of delivery being delayed.  University mail is often routed to a primary mailroom, where it then gets rerouted to the department, where an assistant then routes it to the appropriate person.  If anyone of these people is out then there can be delays.  Also not every professor checks their physical mailbox regularly.