Saturday, August 22, 2009

Postage Meters: Why it is vital to Use a Postage Meter

By Chris Ulrich

Postage machines and scales are most likely the two most vital parts of any small company mailing system. Both can come in a assortment of models of varied refinement. Let's explore some attributes of each.

Your postage machine system handles to print postage amounts based on mail pieces according to the current rates and regulations of the US Postal Service. Since these rates are typically estimated based on the weight of the package being sent, it is necessary to have a postage scale to weigh packages and letters to find the correct cost.

By utilizing a scale, you can eliminate the likelihood of extra and over payments that occur when you are required to affix additional stamps to mail pieces due to lack of "proper change" so to speak or when unsure of cost. Studies have shown that savings to the average company can be up to 30 percent.

A number of digital scales have a straight connection to your postage meter, resulting in automatic recording of the postage due. This is helpful when you often send mail of variety of weights and can also facilitate pricing for other carriers, like Federal Express and United Parcel Service.

Spring scales on the other hand do not offer all the features of digital scales. If however you have fairly low volume and mostly ship just letter and envelopes, spring scales offer an logical solution, sometimes spending as little as $35 as opposed to a digital scale which can run upwards to a few hundred dollars. Scales can also be rented and a small digital scale will run you about $7 each month.

When it comes to service and support for your postage machine system, the meter itself does not require a service contract because the manufacturer is the owner as you merely lease it, and they are responsible for repairs. Prior to leasing a meter, be sure you know how repairs will be handled, whether you must ship it or will a technician come to your business?

In days gone by, you had to bring your postage machine to the post office to add more postage to it. Now, the US Postal Service requires that refills be done on the phone. Modern meters have a basic phone jack that let you to download more postage from the account with the post office, and some will even let you buy refills online.

As you can see, your mailing system can be quite simple and economical, or quite sophisticated and expensive. This can wind up with you purchasing anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars each year to automate your mailing efforts. You can opt to go with a bare bones postage machine solution from as little as $25 a month and watch your spending escalate to one or two hundred dollars a month based on the sophistication of the add on features you elect to implement.

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