Postage Meters - Industry Lingo

To make the right business purchases, you have to know the language. Here's a guide to postage meter lingo.

Account Codes / Account Tracking
Account codes allow you to assign the cost of postage to different departments or clients. Low-end postage meter models with this feature only track a department number, while more advanced models can indicate the client name or department for billing.

Automatic Date Advance
A feature that automatically forwards the date logged in the meter so you don't risk having mail returned because the date was wrong.

Automatic Postage Reset
This feature prevents users from accidentally printing large denominations. Meters accomplish this by resetting to basic first-class letter rate after each use, or by requiring a safety button to be pushed if the amount is over $1. Either method is useful, especially if more than one person will use the machine.

Base
The part of the mailing system that handles the mail through the meter. Standalone meters don't require a base.

Consumables
The mailing supplies that you use and must replenish, e.g. labels and the ink or toner used to print the postage. In some cases you may use special envelopes, or even sealing fluid, as well.

Decertification
The phase out of mechanical meters by the United States Postal Service in favor of electronic meters, in hopes of reducing mail fraud due to meter-tampering.

Decimal or Bulk Mail Meters
These are able to print postage in fractional amounts. Bulk mailings typically require postage to three decimal places, such as $0.198.

Feeder
The part of the base that is used to guide an envelope through the meter. Manual feeders require the user to shepherd the piece all the way through the meter; semiautomatic feeders handle the piece from the meter opening. Automatic feeders grab envelopes and process them on their own.

Flapping
See Nesting.

Franking
Synonymous with stamping. An envelope that has received postage has been "franked."

High Value Blocking
Requires that the user take the additional step of approving postage that is over a certain amount, e.g. $1. This helps prevent the user from accidentally assigning large values of postage erroneously.

Indicia
Marking printed on the envelope/package that indicates the amount of postage used, as well as the date and meter number.

Information-Based Indicia (IBI)
The postage markings printed by PC Postage products. The IBI includes bar codes that indicate postage has been paid, as well as additional shipping information.

Mail Class Die
Used to mark an envelope or package with specific markings showing a given postal classification, e.g. second-class mail.

Meter
The part of the mailing system that prints postage. Meters are federally regulated; they can be rented but not purchased.

Meter Settings
The maximum postage the meter is able to postmark. Machines have a set maximum, usually $99.99, $9.99, or 99 cents.

Nesting
Method of stacking envelopes with their flaps open so they can be moistened and sealed as they run through the sealer. Sealers that are capable of opening the envelope flap do not require nesting, but cannot be used with already-sealed envelopes (as they would rip them open while attempting to open their flaps).

Online Postage
Services that allow customers to download official Postal Service postage from the Internet and print it directly onto envelopes and labels using your existing printer (or, in some cases, a small proprietary printer). PC Postage can be entirely software-based, or can integrate with a small hardware storage device, which stores postage securely offline.

Password Protection
A password is required to use the meter, thereby preventing unauthorized users from printing postage.

Phone-Based Refill / Postage By Phone
The United States Postal Service has now mandated that all postage meter refills be done over the phone.

Postage Capacity
The maximum amount to which the meter can be filled at the post office. Most meters go to $9,999, while a few run as high as $99,999.

Rate Chip
Digital scales that automatically indicate the charges for multiple classes of mail, or possibly for other carriers like FedEx or UPS, store rate information in a replaceable chip. For full functionality, this chip must be replaced any time a carrier changes its rates.

Scale
A device that weighs letters or packages and, in some cases, indicates the amount of postage needed. Higher-end scales can interface with the meter so the correct postage is automatically entered.

Sealer
The device that automatically seals envelopes as they are run through the meter. Most sealers can also seal envelopes that don't require postage, like paychecks.

Stacker
The part of the mailing system that helps organize metered mail. A catch tray simply organizes the mail, while a power stacker actively clears the stamped mail away from the meter.

Tape Dispenser
A device that will dispense a piece of tape for the system to meter. Higher-end models feature automatic tape dispensers.

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