Insider Secret #6

A digital postal scale is really the component of mailing systems that provides the money saving functions.

Mailing systems are typically comprised of three pieces -

1. A postage meter which allows printing of postage onto mail.
2. A feeder to get the mail into the meter/printer.
3. An integrated digital postal scale to weigh the pieces.

The meter is really a convenience. By having it, you don’t have to use stamps.

The feeder can be an elaborate device designed to move varying sizes and weights of mail into the meter or as simple as your hand.

The brains of the system is the scale. It weighs the mail piece and in most small applications tells you whether it one or two ounces. This in turn dictates the amount of postage that is required by the post office.

So for most small businesses just knowing the weight of a mail piece and the knowledge of how much postage to put on different weights can be all you need for a “postage system”. No need for a postage meter and the accompanying monthly charges for the convenience.

Many digital postal scales also have the actual postal rates built in so they not only tell you how much a piece weighs, but the exact amount of postage to put on the mail piece. However, with the United States Postal Service changing rates at an increasingly frequent rate, there is an ongoing need to update the rate information in the scale. Typically this requires a chip or card change and involves additional costs. They may also be interfaced with online postage services for rate calculation.

But if you look at the digital postal scale as the only component in your in-office postage system – you can save a lot of money.

First a digital postal scale can be purchased outright. No monthly rental or lease charges and they are relatively inexpensive. Good scales – some with rates built in can be had for well under $100.

So a roll of stamps or two – one for one ounce and one for the second ounce additional cost – along with a digital postal scale may be all the mailing systems most smart small businesses need.

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