A postage meter is a US Postal Service approved mailing machine for printing USPS postage directly on a mail piece.  They can range from large high production mail shop machines to small desk top devices for the occasional mailing. 

The meter is the critical part of your mailing system. It prints the indicia and stores the postage.

Nothing, these terms are used interchangeably.

Postage printed from a mailing meter is faster, more accurate, and more flexible than using stamps.  Our postage meters can print between 17 and 140 mail pieces per minute, both of which are faster than applying stamps.  Postage meters are more accurate than applying stamps because you can use easy, digital controls to adjust the postage value according to the actual weight and priority of the mail.  Finally, postage meters are more flexible than stamps because they provide options simply not attainable with standard mailbox-drop stamping.

Postage meters are generally comprised of a feeder, sealer, stacker, printing system, tape dispenser, and the USPS meter itself. 

- Feeder: The feeder moves the mail pieces through the machine.  Feeders generally come in either semi automatic or automatic.  Semi automatic feeders require a user to hand feed each mail piece into the feeding system.  Semi automatic feeders are common among low volume mailing meters. 

However, what separates FP Mailing Machines—the meters that Whitaker Brothers recommends—from other brands is their extreme reliability in their automatic feeding.  They will even accept poorly stacked mail pieces.  This means less jams, less babysitting, and more time to concentrate on other things. 

Our automatic feeders come in a horizontal, conveyor style, or vertical, USPS style system.  To learn more about our automatic feeding systems refer to our Ultimail and CentorMail postage machine models on our postage meter page.  We also have mailing meter video demonstrations.

- Sealer:  On all postage meters, no matter what brand, the sealer moistens the glue flap on the envelope.  Our CentorMail high production mailing machine also has an additional power sealer that applies pressure to the moistened flap.  This pressure further activates the glue for the best sealing available in any mailing machine worldwide.   

- Stacker: Although slightly different in meaning, the term stacker is often referred to interchangeably with exit trays, catch trays, power stackers, and exit conveyors.  The stacker is the last section of the postage meter.  It is where your newly posted mail is placed when it is finished.  A good stacker will typically fit a generous supply of mail pieces. 

As with the feeders, stackers also come in two breeds—static and automatic.  Static stackers are typically simple trays for the franked mail to gather.  Most mailing meters will come standard with a static exit tray.  However, these will usually require frequent emptying, as they fill up quickly.

Automatic stackers on the other hand use moving conveyor to “shingle” the stack of mail in a fluid line.  This is a popular choice for larger mailings because it requires less operator attention, keeps mailings in batched order, and stacks neater than basic stackers.

- Printing System:  As its name implies, the printing system is what actually prints the indicia, or postage, on the mail piece.  There are generally two types of printing systems: thermal and inkjet.  Thermal printing systems will usually be found on lower volume units. 

Thermal printing systems are dependable, but slower.  Their ink ribbons are fairly inexpensive, but their ribbons can be overheated under extreme usage.  Thermal printing also has the advantage of printing on glossy surfaces.      

Inkjet printing systems are by far the most efficient method of printing postage.  Whitaker Brothers postage meters utilize HP Inkjet technology, the leader in printing heads for not only mailing equipment, but also ink jet technology as a whole.  Inkjet cartridges also have the added benefit of lasting from an amazing 17000 to 126,000 impressions!  Whitaker Brothers now offers replacement inkjet cartridges for any mailing machine.  Check out our pricing on our Mailing Meter Ink Cartridge section.      

- Tape dispenser:  Tape dispensers help print postage on mail pieces that are too large to fit through the meter itself such as parcels.  Once the postage prints on the tape, you can peal it off and stick it on any package.  Many times, the tape option is accessed via a hotkey located on the postage meter’s control panel.

Whitaker Brothers also recommends the use of pinwheel tapes.  Pinwheel tapes give you the flexibility of mailing larger parcels while providing the speed and reliability of using the feeding deck.  Contact us for more information on pinwheel tape and other mailing product supplies.     

- Scale:  A scale weighs letters or packages and if it has current rates, tells you how much postage to apply to your mail piece. Interfaced models automatically apply that amount when you put the piece through the meter.

Some scales also allow you to rate shop to see if a different carrier is less expensive. rateguard™ insurance is available to guard against multiple USPS rate increases.

- Meter:  Although entire mailing systems are often referred to as “meters,” inside these machines exists the actual USPS mechanism for validating, recording, and storing your postage.  This mechanism is the true meter.   These meters are located inside of the mailing machine and are not visible.  Meters are the property of the US Postal Service, making it illegal to disassemble or tamper with them.

There only three manufacturers of postage meters available.  These manufacturers are approved by the United States Postal Office (USPS) to “frank” or apply postage.  These three companies are Francotyp  Postalia or FP, Pitney Bowes and Hastler/Neopost.  Hastler/Neopost is grouped together because they are now a single company. 

Whitaker Brothers recommends FP mailing machines because of their reliability in the field, and because they are the easiest to use.  FP mailing machines also utilize identification card technology, which makes them the most secure postage meters in the industry.  Whitaker Brother’s background in providing security equipment such as shredders, disintegrators, parking control systems, and employee control systems make FP mailing products a perfect solution for our customers.

We will send you a new rate card for your postage meter.  If you would like assistance with a rate change you may always call your representative for assistance.  Because of the recent expenses such as the cost of fuel, the US Postal Service expects their rate increases to be more frequent than in past years.  

Many of our customers take advantage of our FP rateguard to protect themselves from the costs associated with a rate change increase.

 

A scale weighs letters or packages and if it has current rates, tells you how much postage to apply to your mail piece. Interfaced models automatically apply that amount when you put the piece through the meter.

Some scales also allow you to rate shop to see if a different carrier is less expensive. rateguard™ insurance is available to guard against multiple USPS rate increases.

Printed postage has many advantages. It promotes a professional image for your growing business, gives you the ability to assign exact postage, saves trips to the post office and allows you to send mail in different classes and track the costs of specific mailing campaigns -- all of which can save your business up to 20 percent of mailing costs in the long run.

We are local and have in-house experienced technicians.  No matter what kind of problem you have, we will be able to help.  With the fastest response time of any other mailing solutions company around, there’s no one better with supporting you than Whitaker Brothers.