Franking - Astonishingly Cheap Postage from April 2010

April 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Royal Mail announced earlier this year increased discounts on franked mail from April 2010. Franking machines have offered a more affordable way for mailrooms to process and deliver their mail, but franking machines are now set to become even more popular with considerable savings provided by Royal Mail. As well as the additional savings Royal Mail are to provide using franking machines, they have also increased the price of the humble stamp, making franked mail an even more desirable option.

Changes in Price Driving Demand
The main factor in this recent growth in the UK franking business has undoubtedly been price. Since April 2009, the Royal Mail has been offering impressive discounts to customers who frank their own post. While franking machines have always been a popular choice with certain companies, significantly cutting the time employees need to spend in the mailroom, the new lower rates have brought a massive influx of business, predominantly from those seeking the very cheapest option in the mailroom. According to the Royal Mail website, current savings are typically at least 3p per item on standard First Class, at least 5p on standard Second Class and even more when using other Royal Mail services, such as special delivery. For those businesses dealing with larger mail volumes, such significant savings on single items would obviously translate to considerable savings in a company’s finances overall.

Record Low Franking Prices for 2010
And this April, franking will be even cheaper. The new rates further increase the discounts on franked mail that were introduced by Royal Mail in 2009. On a small second-class letter for instance, the discount on a franked piece is now 7p - that’s a 40% percent increase on last year’s saving and a staggering 22% saving on the stamped alternative. Here are several more examples comparing stamp and franked mail prices for 2010:

•Large Letter First Class (under 100g) – 66p with stamps, just 50p franked
•1kg Packet First Class - £3.35 stamped, just £2.70 franked
•Special Delivery (under 100g, up to £500 insured) – £5.05 stamped and just £4.87 franked.
It used to be the case that franking was only really a viable option with larger mailing volumes. Ten, fifteen or so years ago, the initial outlay for an entry-level machine was typically in the 1000’s and thus savings were only really noticeable with more sizeable mailroom operations. But from April this year, even with smaller volumes of mail, for example 50 items per day, companies will typically be able to save between £4 and £5 and with small footprint franking machines available for as little as two or three hundred pounds, it won’t take long for those savings to be realised.

And Adding Value to Outgoing Mail
Added to the cost savings is the enormous level of added value that a franking machine can bring to any business operation. The branding and personalisation options are huge and crucially, very quick and easy to exploit. Even entry level franking machines http://www.falcondocumentmanagement.co.uk/franking-machin... just into three figure sums, will usually provide organisations with the ability to imprint their company logo onto outgoing mail. And more feature-rich machines will often allow users to add a company slogan and/or a topical message to envelopes to inform mail recipients of any important news that might affect them or any new products/services a company may have to offer.

There are now a number of document management specialists http://www.falcondocumentmanagement.co.uk/document-manage... who offer franking solutions, from the type of small footprint machines described above, through to rapid high-volume automated mailroom systems. Some, Falcon Document Management being just one such specialist, also offer leasing arrangements, so the savings of franking can be felt immediately.

Whatever your organisation’s mailing needs, if you’re looking for better prices and increased branding and messaging options on your outgoing mail, franking is probably the solution for you.