Franking Machine

There are several types of franking machines/ postage meters available in the market today, differentiated mainly by the technology used and their capability. In terms of technology, on the one hand there are franking machines that use very basic/ elementary technology to those that use quite advanced technology on the other. When we speak of capability, we are talking about the ability of a franking machine to cater to a certain volume of jobs on a scale of low to high volume franking.

Postage scales play an important role in franking machines because the weight of the mail and type of posting (domestic, international) decide the cost of sending a particular piece of mail. Franking machines come with either a manual/mechanical or digital postage scale to decide the rate of postage required.

Manual Postage Meter

These mechanical franking machines feature a postage scale to weigh the mail and provide a reference table with the amount/ value of postage stamps required for the corresponding weight. Human error in reading such scales (which is quite common) is one of the biggest problems with such postage meters. While these cost much less than an electronic franking machine, they are ideally suited for low volume mails only.

Electronic Postage Meters

Electronic franking machines brought about a drastic change in the appearance of a postage meter with electronic displays and telephone-like keypads. The cost of postage was accounted electronically and the postage was printed with a die.

Digital Postage Meter

These franking machines have a pressure sensing microprocessor to provide a digital display corresponding to the weight of mail. The rate information can be programmed into the meter which helps in the computation and display of the exact rate of postage required to send the mail. Certain digital scales can also download the latest information pertaining to postage rates from the Internet using the �rate update� feature. In addition, these models may boast of features such as ability to handle heavier mails and handle multiple carriers.

Multiple carriers indicate different pricing. For example: DHL, FedEx and UPS may have different rates for a particular mail. The digital scale can compute the cost depending on the carrier you choose.

A digital postage meter prints the stamp according to cost indicated by the scale. It prints the IBI (Information Based Indicia) that captures important postal information through bar codes.

Additional postage can now be ordered over the phone as compared to taking the meter to the post office for resetting which used to be the norm earlier. You can also choose among any type of scale for your postage meter. There are usually no compatibility issues between the two pieces of equipment.

Price of digital franking machines is a key consideration since these are invariably costlier than the mechanical machines.