Franking Machines

Franking Machine Resources

2006-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

This selection of links below should offer some useful information for those looking to use franking machines.

Competition Commission
This is a report by the Competition Commission which looked at the supply, maintenance and repair of franking machines in the UK. It has a good summary of the franking machine market and the view of the main players. Overall a very interesting article even though it is twenty years old.

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Dmoz
This is a directory of office supplies websites - well worth a look. You could also try their Mail Services and Mail Handling and Sorting pages.

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The Business Online
This is a good article on the current franking industry and well worth a read.

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Buying Franking Machine Consumables and Supplies

2006-05-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

This selection of links below should offer some useful information for those looking to use franking machines.

Pitney Bowes
They offer franking machine supplies for their machines such as:
Personal Post
DM100 - DM100 Series DM200 - DM300 B721 (Post Perfect) Secap Machines 5600 6100 561 E511 E521 E581 E586 E591 E596 6200 E600 E700 Series Paragon 6900, E400 Series DP , D400 DM 200 DM 225 DM 250 DM 300 DM IntelliLink

Pitney also sell a wide range of Toners: Hewlett Packard, Canon, Lexmark, Brother, IBM, Kyocera, Panasonic Fax Toners, Samsung. They offer envelopes, office equipment and cleaning products.

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Neopost
Neopost offer inkjet cartridges for franking machines, inked rollers, envelopes, Franking labels, Autostamp supplies, slogan blocks, packaging products and cleaning products.

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CPS Franking
CPS Franking offer two franking machines, the DP 200 and the DP 400. They state that the cost per impression for their franking machine is 0.004p compared to 0.025p for the Pitney Bowes Business/Personal Post machine and 0.03 for the Neopost IJ 25 / SM22.

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Why A Franking Machine?

2006-05-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Many of the suppliers such as Pitney Bowes and Neopost offer leased franking machines which can be very useful when you consider that to buy a stand-alone franking machine can cost anything from £500 up to around £15,000.

The advantage of leasing is obviously the cost, you don't have that upfront cost of buying a machine, however you may be locked into a contract and you don't infact own the franking machine in the long-run.

When looking at the various options, consider the length of your contract and ensure that you are fully happy with any liability you have.

Why Franking Machines: Knowing all the Costs
There is also another concern: The Royal Mail requires that all franking machines are inspected every year. When you purchase or lease a franking machine you should check to see if it can be checked remotely i.e. via a modem. Otherwise, find out how much an inspection will cost.
There are other costs involved in running a franking machine and these are similar to the costs in running printers. At some stage the incartridges and rollers will need to be updated. Furthermore, it may be wise to find out how much it will cost to update your company logo that appears on the franks.
Why Franking Machines: The Benefits

If you're in business then time is money. Sitting there at Christmas or when you send out invoices can be very frustrating, sitting there and adding each stamp to the envelopes. Also it's not fun standing in a quee as you wait to buy your stamps. Buying a franking machine can save you a lot of time, money and hassle.

Also now Royal Mail give doiscounts for businesses that frank their machines rather than use postage stamps.

Directory of Franking Machine Suppliers

2006-05-01T09:25:00.001-07:00

Pitney Bowes - Leasing Franking Machines
Pitney Bowes are the original supplier of franking machines. With this offer you get a 30 day free trial, £20 of free postage and, if you take the offer before 31st of January, you get a free logo worth £45.

We believe Pitney should be the first supplier of franking machines that you look at as the costs are low and they make it so easy to start using the machines.

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Neopost - Leasing Franking Machines
Neopost have a range of franking machines for a wide range of usage levels. If you expect to be a low volume user then try the AutoStamp franking machine. For more frequent users, you may want to consider the IK 40 Franking Machine, the IJ 50 Franking Machine or the IK 70 Franking Machine. For the higher volume users perhaps you should consider the IJ 80, IJ 90 or IJ 100 machines.

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Frama Franking Machines - Franking Machine Manufacturer
Their mailroom products include: Franking Systems, Postage Scales, Letter Openers, Letter Folding Machines, Postage accounting systems and Postage Scales.
Contact Details: Frama (UK) Limited, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 8EP.Phone: 0800 085 1862 Fax 01992 441013 E-Mail: info@framauk.com

IMS Franking - Franking Machine Manufacturer
IMS offer franking machines that they state can handle up to 7,500 items of mail an hour.
Contact Details: FP-IMS Ltd, Unit 4, Saturn House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Berkshire, RG7 8HAPhone : 0870 066 3526 Facsimile : 0870 066 3527 E-mail : info@ims-franking.co.uk

Buying a Company Franking Machine

2006-05-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

As already detailed there aren't many suppliers of franking machines that offer you the units to be leased. The main suppliers are Pitney Bowes and Neopost. If you're just looking to buy stand alone machines try Viking Direct. For franking machine supplies try Euroffice.

Alternatives to a Franking Machine

2006-05-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Royal Mail have not been too slow to offer an alternative to the franking machine. Their SmartStamp software allows people to print postage directly from their PC on to envelopes and labels. The advantages are just the same as with franking machines as you can keep contol of your costs, it saves you time, gives you a professional image and has flexible pricing options.

History of Franking Machines

2006-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

The first postal franking machine was developed by Pitney Bowes in the 1920's. The first machine was sold in the UK from 1922 by agents UPF Ltd. In 1924/25 British Neopost Ltd began selling their new machine called Neopost. Following from then only Pitney Bowes, Neopost and Roneo Alcatel were the largest of manufacturers. There are other suppliers such as IMS Franking, and CPS Mailing UK.

If you're looking to buy a franking Machine on eBay don't bother as only authorised suppliers can offer franking machines.