What is a franking machine?

What does a franking machine do?

A franking Machine also commonly known as a 'Postage Meter' is used to print a barcode on to a letter or parcel in place of a traditional stamp. A franking machine can download and securely store postage funds and is used to guide the user when choosing mail classes and special services. 
Franking Machines can weigh and measure letters and parcels and print the correct postage amount based on Royal Mail prices. Franked postage prices are cheaper than stamps, no matter what class is sent. 

What is franking machine used for?

The franking machine will print the postage on to envelopes, postcards or adhesive labels. This process is known as 'franking' hence the name 'franking machine'. All franking machines comes with a Royal Mail licence and when you want to pay for postage on your outgoing mail, you can add a company logo & message onto your letter, packet or parcel instead of using stamps.

What are the advantages of using a franking machine?

There are a number of advantages to using a franking machine; the most popular of these are;

• Always the cheapest postage prices with Mailmark tariff

• Eliminate costly Royal Mail surcharges

• Brand your post with your company logo & details, turning the franking machine in to a Marketing tool

• Save inefficient trips to the post office

• Cost accounting via usage reports

• Faster delivery with franked mail expedited as high-priority business post

Does a franking machine need a phone line?

Older franking machine technology used to rely on connecting to a telephone line to update tariff information and download important updates. 
The Frama franking machine range now connects via a LAN connection through the internet. This not only improve the performance of uploads and downloads of information but also means that a dedicated business telephone line is no longer needed for the franking machine to operate, saving your business even more on communication costs.

Is a Franking Machine cheaper than using stamps?

A Frama franking machine provides your business with the cheapest price available from Royal Mail for postal items. For example. A 2^nd class stamp costs 61p. A Frama franking machine using the Mailmark pricing tariff would cost 41p per letter. As well as providing a significant cost saving, your items of post will look more professional and the preparation time will be greatly reduced.Please see an example of cost savings in the chart below.

If you would like to calculate the exact savings, please click here for our postal calculator.

Discover the Frama franking machine range.