Postmarks and Franking

This page shows the two styles of PPI that you may use. IMPORTANT - you cannot simply print a PPI on an envelope and put it in a post box - they will simply be sorted out by the collection office and the recipient will be charged full postage plus a handling charge. The PPI is to be used for bulk mailings only where the envelopes are given to the Royal Mail with the appropriate paperwork for which you will need to have a Royal Mail postage account. If Warnes do your mailing for you, you will be able to use our account and our licence number.

PPI Samples:

The Above PPI's are for display purposes only and will not work if you try to take them directly from the page. If you wish to use our PPI'S You may download them as a .zip file here Download. Alternatively if you have your own royal mail postage account you can use the PPI generator on the Royal Mail Website

Stamping and Franking

Normal post must have either a postage stamp affixed, a franking machine impression or a pre-printed Postmark. Both stamps and franking impressions have a cash cost each time they are affixed to an envelope.

Affixing stamps to envelopes can make a mailing look far more personal and may significantly increase the response rate. It is a comparatively slow process however and there are security implications so it is therefore a fairly expensive option.

An alternative for bulk mailing is the option to print a logo onto the front of the envelope which indicates to the Royal Mail that postage has been paid on account. These logos are known as Postage Paid Impressions, Postmarks or PPIs.

There are three important parts to every UK PPI which must be included:
1. The PPI should include the words "Postage Paid" & "Royal Mail".
2. The licence-holder's licence number should be included. Our licence number is "HQ12514" and we can use this for any mailings that we post out. The service required should be clearly shown.
3. The service is generally indicated by a big number or letter within the PPI design.

First Class PPIs for Mailsort 1 or Presstream 1 bear a large "1". Second Class PPIs for Mailsort 2 or Presstream 2 bear a large "2". Third Class PPIs for Mailsort 3 bear a large "M". Do not get confused with the name Mailsort - if you are mailing Mailsort 1 you MUST NOT USE a PPI with an "M" - use a 1st Class PPI, likewise for Mailsort 2, use a 2nd Class PPI. There is no intrinsic cost associated with envelopes printed with a PPI. No postage has been paid until the envelopes have been filled, handed over to Royal Mail and a Postage Docket for the mailing completed. Postmarks should not be confused with Reply Paid Postage.

Reply Paid Postage

In order to increase response to mailings(see also Response Mechanisms), it is often appropriate to pay the postage for the respondent so that they do not fail to reply simply because they do not have a stamp handy. There are three main types of Reply Paid Postage – FREEPOST, Business Reply Service and International Business Reply Service.

Business Reply Service

This is normally used where a pre-printed envelope is enclosed with a mailing, particularly if the mailing is aimed at Businesses. The envelope must be pre-printed to strict guidelines laid down by Royal Mail with the Business Reply Licence printed in a box at the top left of the reply envelope. The address for the returned items should go in the middle of the envelope and the fact that postage is being paid is indicated by either a large "1" for First Class or a large "2" for Second Class. Next to the number are printed two vertical black bars. These are spaced differently for First and Second Class Business Reply postage.

Reply Paid Postage designs should not be confused with Postage Paid Impressions for outbound mailings. You only pay postage for items that are actually used for responses. You pay for the postage at the usual First or Second Class rate plus 0.5p per response. You can avoid this 0.5p charge by printing a barcode above your address, which the Royal Mail can read electronically.

Freepost

This is ideal for consumer mailings where people are responding to Radio, TV and Press advertisements where the inclusion of a Reply Paid Envelope was either impossible or impractical. The address only needed to be hand-written onto any envelope with the Relevant FREEPOST licence details without the box top left and without the large "1" or "2" or the two black bars. These are returned by Second Class post unless the "1" and the two black bars are printed on the envelope. Potentially this might make it even more obvious to consumer respondents that they are not paying for the postage, however the distinction can be confusing:

NOTE: The postcode for both FREEPOST and Business Reply Services is normally different to your normal postcode and you MUST use the correct postcode as supplied by Royal Mail for this service.

International Reply Paid Service

Most countries have signed up to an international scheme which allows the inclusion of a specially designed reply envelope so that responders from overseas can reply free of postage in the same way as those within the UK. A different envelope is required, a sample of which is shown below: