A franking machine allows you to print postage stamps onto your outgoing mail. It can enable you access to Royal Mail special rates such as franking rates, Mailmark & Business Mail Advanced, which are cheaper than stamps. Another feature is that you can print your logo and marketing message, which gives the posts a professional look.

Franked mail contains frank mark instead of a stamp. This means that by using a franking machine you can print a ‘frank mark’ directly onto the envelope or onto a label rather than sticking a stamp on your outgoing mail. Franked postage can be added to letters, packets and parcels with a franking machine. Franked mail not only saves time but also gives access to Royal Mail discounted rates such as franking rates, Mailmark & Business Mail Advanced (BMA).

1. Make sure that your machine has the most up to date Royal Mail rates available

2. Place the letter, packet or parcel onto the scale on your franking machine.

3. Select the Royal Mail service that you require; first class, second class, recorded, signed for etc.

4. Ensure that you have selected the slogan/logo that you require. This can be anything from your company logo to a festive message.

5. Place the item into the feeder of the machine to print the frank mark onto it.

Larger machines in the range have an automatic feeder which will allow you to print multiple items without manually processing them. Machines in the Elite range can have a dynamic scale, which means the machine will automatically weigh each letter, determine the price and print the frank mark onto it.

Once you have franked your mail, you can take it to your local Post Office, post it in a Pox Box (in a meter posting envelope) or if you send high volumes of mail, you can request Royal Mail to pick up your mail daily.

A franking machine comes with a Royal Mail licence. When you want to pay for postage on your outgoing mail, you can use your franking machine to print a postage payment (frank mark) along with company logo & message onto your letter, packet or parcel instead of using stamps. Your franking machine will weigh the item and print the correct postage amount based on the Royal Mail rates, depending on the Royal Mail service (i.e. 1st class, 2nd class, signed for etc.) that you require. Franked postage rates are cheaper than stamps.

A franking machine that is compatible with the Royal Mail Mailmark rates is a Mailmark franking machine. A Mailmark frank mark includes a barcode that Royal Mail systems can read, allowing them to process your mail in a more cost-efficient way. These cost savings are passed onto you, which means you save even more money on your outgoing post than you would if you franked your mail in the standard way.

Mailmark Extra™ gives you even more discounts on each letter that you send.

You can put your franked mail into a standard Royal Mail post box if it is collated inside a ‘postage meter envelope’ or inside a normal envelope with your machine details on. There are also multiple franked mailboxes around the country to drop your franked mail into freely. If you are unsure, you can take your franked mail into your local Post Office.

We know that in the world of outgoing mail it can get confusing as to which solution or franking system is best, so FP are here to help.

One of our friendly team can help you with the best franking machines to buy, rent or lease.

It may be that you are a start up company and you’re wondering if a frank machine could save you money, in which case, our low volume franking machine for small business, PostBase Mini may be perfect for you.

You may be a larger corporate and very familiar with the term franking mail already but want to know if there are more savings to be had; well, our high volume frank machine, Postbase range can suit your business needs and we can talk to you about the most cost effective ways of mail franking.

Royal Mail franking machines are at the heart of our business but we also supply much more. We are proud, authorised business partners with Toshiba and supply a range of MFD’s. We also supply folder inserters, letter openers, digital signature software, document processing software and much more.

Franking machine rental

Our entry level postal franking system, Postbase Mini can be rented with low monthly franking machine rental cost and a shorter contract term. This means you can be flexible if you are just starting out or are unsure if mail franking will benefit you.

Franking machine lease

You can also lease a Royal Mail franking machine over a term or even buy a franking machine. Choose the postage machine that meets your mailing needs from our FP PostBase range. This is a simple process and our team will guide you through everything that you need to do.