Royal Mail have indicated that as part of the ongoing development of Post & Go they are planning to trial a new machine at Stampex next week in place of the standard Wincor Post and Go machine.

The information provided states “The trial machine will  not provide the usual  self-service functionality and so will be operated by staff at the counter positions. It will only vend a full set of overprints on the Machin design stamps. The overprints have the same typeface as the Wincor offering and so will only appeal to specialist collectors. ”

RM have said that they may be able to offer the pictorial Birds 2 version as well depending on availability of a second machine and space constraints.

Information continues stating “We are trialling the machine with a view to installation in Tallents House to provide a more effective offering to the trade when larger quantities are required for new issues. Depending on the suitability of the machines they may also be installed in post offices at some point in the future but there is no planned installation programme to date.”

So a very interesting Stampex in store for postage label collectors- Watch this space for the latest new on these developments..

In what appears to be  software changes to the Post Office counter printer software, which became visible around 30th December 2010, the “date seperator” overprinted on the Horizon Postage label has changed from ‘-‘  back to its ‘Horizon’ setting of   ‘/’. Thus giving a new date format of dd/mm/yy.

As well as the chnages to the format of the printed date , this change appears also to have had the effect in some Welsh branches  with the bilingual version of the overprint of causing the ‘l’ of Post Brenhinol (The Welsh equivalent of ‘Royal Mail’)  to be omitted from all labels printed in those offices that print the Bilingual version of the Horizon Postage Label in Wales. This has resulted in labels issued with the text  “Post Brenhino ”

It will be interesting to see how long this configuration lasts. Watch this space..

Yesterday (Sept 13th)  was the first day of sale for the much anticipated  new Gold Imperforate Horizon labels in Chesterfield.. A first day cover is shown ..

The next stage is believed to be their introduction in Wales..

The ‘Type 2’ Gold Machin labels went live today, in a single branch trial at Old Street Crown Office in London.
These labels are as ‘Type 1’ (with psudeo-perforations) but with imperforate edges and rounded corners. It is believed that these have been issued in response to feedback regarding the ‘peelablity’ of the perforated labels. The next stage will their introduction at Chesterfield Branch Office, next week.

One of the most common requests I get is for a “simplified listing” of the Horizon Postage Labels currently available (as well as the ones that have been withdrawn), in order that collectors can determine how ‘complete’ their collections are . Shown here is the full list of the 29  Postage Label Indicators, showing the 22 currently being used (and so available on the two different variants of Gold Labels) as well as the 7 types that have already been withdrawn.

For each label shown there is/was a Welsh ‘Bilingual’ version available and two label overprint types- Thin and Thick lettering as well as two Machin gold label types (Original and the “August 10” type).

This makes 44 label overprints (22 English 22 Welsh)  in 2 print styles (Thick and Thin)  on 2 different gold Machin label types as well as the existing white labels whose stocks are currently being rundown ~ who said that ‘The modern collecting alternative’ of UK Postage Label collecting was boring, easy or without variation?..

Don’t forget, however, that many of these labels already have a limited lifespan of future availability- The original white labels are no longer available for Post Offices to order , the ‘Thick’ style (From the original Horizon software) overprint only has a matter of weeks left before it is completely removed – the first variant of the Machin gold label will be not replaced and rumors of plans (apparently)  to remove some of the ‘rarer’ indicators before Xmas ’10 have been circulated…So..fill those gaps now!

The Post Office have confirmed that White Horizon Postage Labels are no longer available for Post Offices to order nationwide  and that all branches are using up old white label stock before using the new Gold Machin labels. It is likely, therefore, that all branches will be using white labels by the end of the year. So which branch will be the last? Watch this space..

Further to earlier reports, I now have examples of Gold Horizon Machin Labels, issued in Kent in the BR5 postcode area, in error.

Additionally, these are of the ‘Horizon Online’ type with narrorower lettering (see below)- of which there are only about 750 Post Offices currently upgraded.

It has been reported today that a distribution of the Gold Machin Horizon Labels has taken place outside of Wales!-to some Branches in Kent – Further details to follow- in the meanwhile-check with your local PO to get some before they are withdrawn..

It has now been confirmed that the First Day of use of the Gold Horizon Labels in Wales was yesterday, April 20th 2010.

 Some branches having received their stock yesterday and all others in Wales receiving it  today.

Shown below is a FDC produced yesterday ‘machined’ (sic) into an inch of its life by the Cardiff FCT.

Please contact me if you would like to purchase a similar cover.

As suggested  in this months Stamp Magazine, It is now understood that the De La Rue printed ‘Gold Machin’ postage labels, previously trialed at ‘Camden Town High Street Crown Office’ will shortly return to use at Post Office Counters ~ This time, initially at least, the distribution of the labels will be restricted to Post Offices in Wales.
This means the overprint that will appear on the labels will be bilingual, giving rise to new varients – as there is currently two styles of overprint in use – one from the original Horizon-enabled Post Offices and the other thinner printing style of Branches that have been upgraded to ‘Horizon Online’. A further complication is that some Branches in Wales produce a ‘English’ overprint.
Additionally, unlike the Camden trial, their use will not be restricted to ‘Special Delivery’ mail and all classes of mail that currently receives a Postage Label will be eligible for a new ‘gold’ label.
UPDATED ~The distribution of the labels will commence from April 19th 2010 , giving a potential First Day of Issue of around the 20th-21st April – but no official First Day facilities will be offered by Royal Mail or the Post Office – but please contact me if you would like to buy any covers.  The labels are from a different print run than that used as Camden Town, but it remains to be see if there are any visual differences!

The distribution will be phased, meaning that branches will receive labels on different dates – there is no instruction to use them over the existing white labels so they will appear randomly.  Watch this space!