What are postage meters? They are the machines that ensure that each letter has got a mark of some kind on it, indicating where it is supposed to go. These marks are commonly known as Franks. Postage meters are mechanical in nature, so they are able to aid in lots of envelopes getting franked at once. If you are a company that has to send out large volumes of mail, then you should make sure that you have one of these handy machines to help you out. On a postage machine the machine will have a stamp that prints the amount that the letter is worth, and it will also have something called a meter stamp, which is the proof of payment, so no actual paper stamps are needed.
The postage meter was invented by Edward Franks. It was the first method of printing a stamp of some sort on an envelope before it was due to go out. The device was later improved upon by one Arthur Pitney. It was made up of a manual crank and stamping meter. Nowadays postage meters consist of keyboard, through which the postage seals are entered, as well as three different seals for stamping, depending on what type of postage is being stamped. The machine also has a way of counting how many letters have been stamped and what the total amount of the postage is. In the old days these machines had to be manually reset, but now they have their own resetting system which works by remote.
More on postage meters
There are different types of postage meters, all of which serve the same purpose. The most modern ones that are used are the digital meters. These ones are run just like normal printers that print the franks through ink cartridges. All of the relevant information is kept on things called data matrixes, where the postal codes and amount of postage are stored.
If this is not for you, there are also internet based stamping methods. If you like to do a lot of business via eBay or PayPal, then you should be able to print a label using their technology and templates. This is a completely legitimate form of postage and is authorised by postage company Pitney-Bowes, the same company that improved upon the first franking machine. All of this postage is considered to be legal tender.
The main components that you need to look for in a good postage meter are things such as the base, the feeder that sends the envelopes through the meter, the postage scale that will weigh the postage and decide how much it is worth, the sealer that makes sure the envelopes are moist, as well as the stacker and tape dispenser. If all of these parts are working in harmony, then you should have yourself a great postage meter.
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Information taken from – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_meter