Franking machines have been delivering great savings to business customers for over a century but technology has come a long way in the interim. Today’s top-end digital franking machines can process over 20,000 mail items per hour with virtually non-stop printing capacity. For businesses with a high volume of mail, the economic argument for franking is overwhelming with savings totaling thousands of pounds per year. However, even small businesses with a low daily volume of mail should consider switching to franking. Modern franking machines come in all sizes and capabilities to suit a wide range of business budgets. For example, Pitney Bowes’ ECO 50 model is specifically designed for small businesses sending around 20 mail items a day. Here are some of the reasons why low volume users should frank.

Save Money

You can make considerable savings on letters and parcels by using a franking machine rather than stamps. For example, a 2nd class letter costs 53p to send using stamps but just 35p with a frank – a saving of 18p. For small parcels, you can save even more – a 30p discount on both 1st class and 2nd class small parcels by franking rather than using stamps. Even with a low daily volume, the savings will soon start adding up.

Save Time

Making trips to the post office can take precious time out of your busy workday. With a franking machine, you can weigh your mail and calculate your own postage fees without leaving the office. No more queueing or rushing to get to the Post Office before it shuts. Instead, you can frank mail at a time that’s convenient and post your mail in any number of ways – in a regular postbox or a franked mail postbox, by handing in to your local Post Office or by using a metered mail envelope that can take up to 30 mail items per day.

Improve Efficiency

With franking technology, you’ll improve cost efficiency. Rather than estimating the weight of your mail items, you can use the franking machine’s integrated scales to weigh your letters and parcels with pinpoint accuracy. This could save you an extra 20% by only paying what you need to and nothing more. The latest franking machines such as the ECO 50 also use Mailmark technology, a new system of printed barcodes that enables the location and status of mail items to be tracked at any point along the mailing process. As an added bonus, Mailmark-compliant franking machines deliver even greater cost savings than SMART and non-SMART franking machines or stamps.

Improve Presentation

Franked mail doesn’t just save your business money – it can improve your business image too. By franking your mail rather than using stamps, you’ll be presenting a highly professional image to your customers. As well as printing your postage costs, you can use your franking machine to print your company logo or website address, an advertising message or promotional offer, or even a QR code alongside the postage. Your logo or message will be the first thing your customers see when the mail arrives, making franking an effective and cost-effective tool for promoting your business.

As you can see, there are many reasons why even low-volume mail users should switch to franking. You don’t even have to commit to buying a machine for your office as you can rent one on a service contract instead, giving you fully comprehensive maintenance for extra peace of mind. Frankly speaking, there’s no reason not to frank!