Reasons for a Postage Scale
Postage Meter Features
Postage Meter Supplies and Materials
Mailing System Equipment
Costs and Billing Options
Tips for Buyers

A postage meter alone won’t be everything you will need if you want to make shipments directly from your office. A postage meter allows you to send all outgoing mail-letters, bulk and direct mail campaigns, packages, and expedites shipping from your own office, but in order to have all of these features run smoothly, you will need the correct mailing system supplies.

Postage Meter Base

A basic mailing system, the postage meter base, is around the same size as a fax machine. Business sized envelopes meant to be sent out are stacked neatly into a feeder tray and labeled as it goes through the meter. Packages that are oversized, odd-shaped, or too heavy can’t be fed through these machines, so meters are usually equipped with sticker printers and postal scales for these situations. A basic postage meter base can be purchased for a few hundred dollars, and can be purchased used or refurbished.

Digital Scales and Other Equipment

If your business sends many different oddly-shaped packages, or generally anything that would not fit in a typical postage meter base feeder, then a good option would be to purchase a postage scale. A scale will accurately weigh the package, ensuring that you don’t have to round up your postage, saving money in the process. Digital scales are more accurate, have higher weight limits, and don’t require calibrations as often as different scales. The price tag on a digital scale will vary, depending on the weight of the packages that you will be measuring. Smaller scales can be purchased for a few hundred dollars.

Other Mailing System Components:

* Letter-folding machines: Fold different materials such as brochures or flyers, allowing for more cost-effective mailing. For example a normal sized sheet of paper can be –tri-folded and placed into an envelope.
* Shrink-wrap machines: Wrap goods into vacuum-sealed plastic bags for mailing
* Bundling/bagging equipment: Feed a stack of documents or other items into an envelope for shipping
* Self-seal envelope “tabbers:” Often used in direct mailing campaigns that seal the envelopes automatically, leaving a perforated edge in the paper so the recipient can open the letter easier.

You should ask postage meter vendors which equipment they would recommend to use, depending on the shipping requirements of your company. You can always use used or refurbished equipment as long as it works correctly with the rest of your equipment.

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