Digital Stamps

18th November 2016

Bulk mailings can easily be identified by the telltale postage logo on the envelope. Royal Mail’s service indicator and Down Stream Access (DSA) providers’ indicia stand out from personal mail by the notable absence of a stamp.

For a long time, the option has been available to apply postage stamps to mailings in order to give that personal touch, but this relied on the upfront expense of the stamps being met, the process of applying the stamps to envelopes, applying a franking mark, and then claiming back the price of the stamps after the mailing has despatched.

While the effect looks good, and anecdotal evidence tells us that for charities the response rate is higher, the additional up-front expense, additional time and cost required to complete the mailing, as well as the refund application process, makes this option less attractive to smaller companies and charities.

Well, now there’s an alternative and it’s called a Digital Stamp.

When used in conjunction with a DSA provider’s Mailmark service, it allows us to print a full colour stamp image onto matt-coated postcards and envelopes. The relaxed font requirements for Mailmark mailings mean that, combined with a handwritten font, at first glance your mail looks much more personal than those with the traditional postage paid logos.

At the moment, there are only 2 designs to choose from, but Royal Mail will be releasing special edition Digital Stamps in the future.

Summary

While the production cost of a matt-coated 4-colour envelope is higher than that of a single or 2-colour uncoated one, it is outweighed by the saving from not having stamps applied to a plain envelope.

DMP is an accredited Digital Stamp producer and Mailmark service user.