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Desktop Postage
Turn your desktop printer into a postage meter

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com

May 23 2003
Tired of licking stamps? No room for a postage meter? Along with “desktop printing” and “desktop publishing” we can add “desktop postage” to our vocabularies. New technology allows you to print postage directly onto envelopes with your personal computer and printer.

The US Postal Service (USPS) has approved personal computer-generated postage systems that make it possible for business owners to forgo stamps, even for low-volume mailings.

For several years the USPS has been looking for ways to stop postage meter fraud. Both the mechanical devices that record postage usage and the imprint placed on metered mail pieces are targets of tampering or counterfeiting. Some of the new developments in desktop postage are helping in the fight against fraud. And, they make buying stamps more convenient than ever before.

  • ClickStamp Internet Postage from Pitney Bowes
    A very small monthly fee provides you with software to print postage for all types of mail. Buy postage online at any time. Integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Act, and other programs.

  • Simply Postage from Neopost|Online
    Use a special postage meter and scale and simple software to calculate First Class, Priority, Express, Media Mail, and International Mail rates. Purchase postage via the Internet. Insta-Stamp allows you to print postage even when your computer is turned off.

  • Stamps.com Postage From Your Printer
    Print the postage you need directly onto your envelopes and labels, 24 hours a day, with your PC, printer, and an Internet connection. Use for First Class mail, packages, Priority mail, certified mail, and more. Different pricing plans available.

NOTE: This is an ever-changing area for the U.S. Postal Service. Some of the early companies in the testing of new technologies are no longer around and new ways of doing postage are always under development. For the most most up-to-date news on desktop and Internet postage, check in with the USPS.

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Jacci Howard Bear
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