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A postage meter is an electro-mechanical device for producing evidence of postage . Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects wherein written Documents typically enclosed in Envelopes and also Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use of postage meters. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A postage meter imprints an amount of postage, functioning as a postage stamp, a cancellation mark, and a dated postmark all in one. A postmark is a Postal marking made on a letter, Package, Postcard or the like indicating The meter indicia serves as proof of payment and eliminates the need for adhesive stamps. Indicia has a number of meanings In postage indicia are markings on a mail piece showing that postage has been paid by the sender [1]

The postage meter was introduced in the United States in 1912 by Arthur Pitney, who in 1920 went into business with partner Walter Bowes in order to produce the machines. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar

Postage meters have evolved from purely mechanical devices to today's Internet-based postage dispensing services. The evolution of the postage meter is covered in the following sections.

Contents

History

Since the issuance of adhesive stamps in 1847, postal officials have been concerned about security against stamp theft and how to process mail in a timely fashion. [2] As early as 1884, a Frenchman, Carle Bushe, obtained a British patent for a device that would print a “stamp” on an envelope and record the amount of postage by means of a counting device, or meter. Inventors in Germany, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain pursued similar idea in the late 1800’s, but nothing came to pass. An inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method form device or other useful means Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands [3]

Working independently, a young Chicago inventor, Arthur Hill Pitney, obtained his first mailing system patent in 1902. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Shortly after, he formed the Pitney Postal Machine Company, which became the American Postage Meter Company in 1912 The first machine consisted of a manual crank, chain action, printing die, counter and lockout device.

In 1919, Pitney joined forces with Walter H. Bowes, an entrepreneur who had achieved prominence in postal circles through his company, the Universal Stamping Machine Company, which manufactured post office canceling machines. In 1920, the two companies merged to create the Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company. [4]

The Model M Postage Meter was authorized on September 1, 2002 and was put into commercial use in Stamford later that year. (In 1986, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated the Model M as an International [5]). [6]

Function

The postage meter normally consists of a keyboard for entering the postage, three seals, and a stamping mechanism. A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure or an embossed figure in paper with the purpose of authenticating a document but the term can also mean any device for Years ago, users needed to bring their meter to a postal office in order to add additional postage (sometimes called a “reset” or “refill”). That changed in 1979 when Pitney Bowes invented remote meter resetting, otherwise known as Postage by Phone®. Today, users can add to their postage balance by telephone, prepaid cards, via the web or through a direct connection over the Internet. Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information Prepaid telephone calls are a popular way of making Telephone calls which allow the caller to control spend and not be tied into ongoing commitments with the Telephone operator The first counter shows the remaining balance. The second counter shows the total postage of the franked consignments. The third one counts the amount of prints and is for statistic purposes only.

If the integrated scales are disabled, the postage has to be entered manually via the keyboard. Otherwise the machine calculates the postage regarding the dimensions and the weight of the consignment. Afterwards the letters are automatically run through an aperture, which is limited to the largest allowed dimensions, and the postage is imprinted. The balance-counter subtracts the imprinted value from the balance, the counter of the total adds the same value, and the printing-counter adds one. If the desired postage is no longer topped up, imprinting is denied. After running through, the consignment arrives at the collect pan orientated "postmark up/front". For thicker consignments there are peelable postage strips, which are manually inserted into the machine via an entry on the side. You can use a postage meter to send First-Class Mail®, Standard Mail®, Priority Mail®, Express Mail®, Package Services, International Mail as well as Presorted Mail.

Types of meters

Mechanical, manual and rotary-print head meters

Mechanical meters are letterpress meters that had to be taken to the post office and physically reset by a postal official. These meters were decertified and taken out of circulation by the USPS in 1999.

Manual Set and Rotary Print Head meters were decertified by the USPS in 2002. While more advanced, including remote meter resetting capabilities, this early technology was deemed susceptible to tampering. [7]

Digital meters

With Digital Print Meters, postage is added through a modem connection. Postage is printed through an inkjet cartridge using special postage ink. The most advanced systems print Information Based Indicia (IBI), a 2-dimensional Data Matrix or bar code combined with visually identifiable characters and symbols. Information Based Indicia refers to a system used by the United States Postal Service (USPS for labels or marks to be applied to the mail item to indicate electronic postage A Data Matrix code is a two-dimensional matrix Barcode consisting of black and white square modules arranged in either a square or rectangular A bar code (also barcode) is an optical Machine-readable representation of data The data matrix contains such information as amount of postage, origin zip code, destination, mail class, weight, and confirmation/tracking numbers. Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects wherein written Documents typically enclosed in Envelopes and also The ZIP code is the system of Postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects wherein written Documents typically enclosed in Envelopes and also

Leading systems also include IntelliLink technology, which provides access to a complete suite of management information and USPS services such as Delivery Confirmation, Signature Confirmation, Certified Mail and e-Return Receipt. Certified Mail is a type of Special Service mail offered by the United States Postal Service and other postal services which allows the sender proof of mailing as Other preferred features include Weigh-on-the-Weigh and Shape-Based Rating, which automatically calculate the correct postage for mixed-weight and mixed-sized mail.

There are a number of companies offering postage meters, also called franking machines.

Internet- and stamp based meters

While most mailers use mailing systems, new technologies are making metered mail accessible to even the smallest of businesses.

eBay and PayPal® users can print labels with postage using eBay's online postage solution and pay using their PayPal account. eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and This technology, powered by Pitney Bowes, provides for a completely browser-based online postage solution. Pitney Bowes Inc ( is a Stamford Connecticut -based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to Documents Packaging [8]

Other technologies allow you to print postage from your PC or from small stamp printers. In the first consumer application for postage meters, you can also upload digital photos and print customized stamps.


Examples

Franking in Belgium

Franking in Germany

Franking in France

Franking in the Netherlands

Franking in India

Franking in Austria(new)

Franking in Austria (old)

Franking in Switzerland

Franking in the USA

Personalized Postage Indicia

Mailing System Components

A postage meter is only one component of a mailing system. Other elements include:

For high-volume mailers, a postage meter may also be incorporated into an inserting system which prepares mail end-to-end.


References

  1. ^ The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Historical Engineering Landmarks, September 1986
  2. ^ The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Historical Engineering Landmarks, September 1986
  3. ^ Notes from the Past: Brief History of Meter Postage, www. stampnotes. com
  4. ^ Pitney Bowes Timeline, www. pb. com
  5. ^ Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark
  6. ^ The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Historical Engineering Landmarks, September 1986
  7. ^ US General Services Administration, Secure Meter Enhancement and Migration Phases
  8. ^ Financegate. com, News of March 17, 2004

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 2008-04-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 529 - First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in Jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor

External links

Neopost is a manufacturer of postage meters and mailroom equipment Pitney Bowes Inc ( is a Stamford Connecticut -based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to Documents Packaging

Dictionary

postage meter

-noun

  1. A machine used to print prepaid labels onto pieces of mail, and to record total postage charges.
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