Postage stamps - how do they frank them?
Discussion
I've noticed an increasing number of mail arriving where the stamps have not been franked. With a little care they can be prised off and 'recycled'.
However, I heard today that they are scanned or nobbled in some way such that the PO system can tell they've been used, and that even if they look mint, the recipient has to pay £1 extra. There's no sign of anything on the surface like a UV spray, so can anyone tell if this story is true?
However, I heard today that they are scanned or nobbled in some way such that the PO system can tell they've been used, and that even if they look mint, the recipient has to pay £1 extra. There's no sign of anything on the surface like a UV spray, so can anyone tell if this story is true?
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Well very soon they're going to be 41p a go, and a penny saved is a penny earned, and many a mickle makes a muckle, and, er, stuff.
In fact I keep a professional miser on my friends list just to remind me how generous I am. Last year he gave his brother-in-law a 99p screwdriver for Christmas. This year he's giving him another one, even cheaper, to say thanks for his free holiday in Portugal... and somehow he gets away with it!
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 24th December 19:55
We collect stamps for charity but this year we noticed that loads of them were unfranked.
So we peeled them all off the envelopes and reused them for christmas cards. It took about an hour to get them all off but the stamps were worth over £30 in the end so it was worth the time spent.
If all out relatives get charged £1 I will post back
So we peeled them all off the envelopes and reused them for christmas cards. It took about an hour to get them all off but the stamps were worth over £30 in the end so it was worth the time spent.
If all out relatives get charged £1 I will post back
Steve748 said:
There is no way they can detect a re-used stamp unless it looks torn or has paper underneath. Don't stick them on with sellotape or they will attract a surcharge.
Interesting, thanks. I can see why having a square of paper from a previous envelope underneath would look suspicious, but in fact it can be genuine - for example if you stick the stamp on then realise you need a bigger envelope, or want to add something after you've sealed it and don't want an ugly strip of sellotape on the back.
Another example of something the Victorians managed perfectly well, yet the GPO of 2009 cannot.
In the days of your picture (Feb 9 1965) everything was cancelled by hand, now it's mainly mech. The ones that are not cancelled have usually been hand sorted and they leave the cancelling to the delivering postie, but usually they can't be bothered or don't have the time to cancel them. They are trialling stamps that have cuts in them so when you peel them off they tear, like labels on goods in shops.
Steve748 said:
In the days of your picture (Feb 9 1965)
Feb 9 1865 - it's a Penny Red.Steve748 said:
They are trialling stamps that have cuts in them so when you peel them off they tear, like labels on goods in shops.
Yes, I spotted two pre-cut ovals on one of the stamps. They behaved very well under the knife 
So, to make the system more watertight, they need stamps you can lick, and a bloke with a stamper jobbie going bosh bosh bosh... actually, that's what they had in 1865!
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 24th December 21:50
Planet Claire said:
Just tear around the stamp (with the paper still on) and then soak in a saucer of hot water. After a short while the stamp just comes away from the paper, and then with the Prit-stik just glue it onto your new envelope. Easy.
When you're dealing with the self-adhesive stamps you get a manky white layer of debased adhesive which you have to pull off too. But better than nothing if you can't shift it otherwise. You also have to be careful with the Prit-Stik not to get it on the face or to leave a lunpy finish. Well that's what some bloke told me anyway... as for me, I always march off to the PO brandishing a crisp tenner I don't know about Christmas cards or DL type envelope items that go through the automatic systems but I worked in the Post Office as a student, (12 years ago), and the packet sized items were delivered to a group of us at a sorting table and we used a franking stamp manually to frank the stamps.
It was painful to frank each stamp when there were twenty or more on each item so we just smeared the frank all over the stamps obliterating them with ink. We were very diligent - no re-use on our watch!
It was painful to frank each stamp when there were twenty or more on each item so we just smeared the frank all over the stamps obliterating them with ink. We were very diligent - no re-use on our watch!
Simpo Two said:
I've noticed an increasing number of mail arriving where the stamps have not been franked. With a little care they can be prised off and 'recycled'.
However, I heard today that they are scanned or nobbled in some way such that the PO system can tell they've been used, and that even if they look mint, the recipient has to pay £1 extra. There's no sign of anything on the surface like a UV spray, so can anyone tell if this story is true?
Even if the frank has missed the stamp, they do sometimes have some of the phosphor dots which are a machine readable sequence for the postcode, on them.However, I heard today that they are scanned or nobbled in some way such that the PO system can tell they've been used, and that even if they look mint, the recipient has to pay £1 extra. There's no sign of anything on the surface like a UV spray, so can anyone tell if this story is true?
The twin ovals in recent stamps are supposed to become more prominent after the stamp has been through the rollers of the sorting machines, although the effect is a bit variable.
We rarely get reusable stamps - our postman scribbles them out with a biro as he walks round!
Deva Link said:
Even if the frank has missed the stamp, they do sometimes have some of the phosphor dots which are a machine readable sequence for the postcode, on them.
Now that reminds me - there does seem to be a correlation between the non-franked stamps and envelopes which have a kind of barcode either printed onto the surface, or on a seperate strip of paper stuck on.However, it could mean that you've re-used an envelope and used fresh stamps, so they couldn't use it as grounds for a surcharge.
Simpo Two said:
Another example of something the Victorians managed perfectly well, yet the GPO of 2009 cannot.
The sorting machine in Exeter mail centre processes something like 150,000 letters an hour when they turn the wick up. I've no idea of the sort rate for other centres?That's probably one or two letters more than the Victorians had to deal with ?
To answer to OP's question, they are franked as the letters pass through this machine. At this time of year, it wouldn't be unusual for the ink to run out.
philthy said:
The sorting machine in Exeter mail centre processes something like 150,000 letters an hour when they turn the wick up. That's probably one or two letters more than the Victorians had to deal with ?
True, the Victorians didn't have junk mail which no doubt accounts for most of that 150,000, but doesn't 'economy of scale' work? The more letter you shove through, the cheaper each stamp can cost.philthy said:
To answer to OP's question, they are franked as the letters pass through this machine. At this time of year, it wouldn't be unusual for the ink to run out.
Doh, all that expensive machinery and no little man to top up the ink.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff