It was confirmed today that the first Wincor-Nixdorf UK Post and Go Machine producing Royal Mail postage labels and Post Office ‘Fast Stamps’ will go-live on 8th October 2008 at the Galleries Branch, Bristol. This will be followed on 10th October 2008 at two locations -Sunderland and South Shields…..Thanks to Royal Mail, Tallents House, the full installation schedule, including dates and number of machines to be installed can be seen here..

Horizon Training Labels

 

 

 

 

 

 

2004 Horizon ‘Training’ Postage Label –

Produced in Counter Training Offices to familarise new staff to using Postage Label. The example shown is stamped ‘Training 209 Office’ dated 21st October 2004. Note the label is dated 9th December 2003 – the reason for the difference in dates is that the systems used to generate the labels ‘reset’ their date (at that time) to the beginning of December 2003 at the beginning of each course.

 

First day of Post Office Essentials SiD

On 1st September 2008 a new style of Post Office, known as ‘Post Office Essentials’ (Previously known as ‘Urban Outreach’) opened in the Old Town area of Hastings. This is the first branch of this type (other than a trial branch in Canterbury) to be ‘branded’ in this way. Above is shown the SID from the first day-the first to show the ‘PO Essentials’ branding in any datestamp.

However, the interest  from my point of view is the proposed installation of a Wincor-Nixdorf Propostal ‘Post and Go’ machine (as advised by Royal Mail, Tallents House)  from mid October.. the first branch other than a Crown Office to have such a machine..an enigma indeed.

 

Willen, Milton Keynes 'Essentials' SiD

 

It will be interesting to see if subsequent ‘Post Office essentials’ branches- such as Willen, Milton Keynes will be fitted with Post and Go Machines? 

 

 

Nixdorf ‘Pro-Postal’ machine – to be rolled out to 700 UK Post Offices in 2009

 The ‘Post and Go’ story continues in September 2008 with the roll-out of 20 Wincor Nixdorf ProPostal 2000 machines, commencing on 8th October 2008 in Bristol at ‘The Galleries’ Branch where two Nixdorf machines will replace the existing Fujitsu ones. These machines will vend two distinct and very different labels.

 

The larger type is for items to be posted ‘immediately’- these have a ‘Post By’ date on them indicating their validity.

 

 

 

  ‘Fast Stamp’ type to be taken away for later use- Yes a Real UK Postage Label- after 24 years wait..

As the ‘Faststamps’ labels, prior to overprint, have two phosphor bands, they are only available in 1st Class and ‘Overseas’ varients.

 

A Sample of GB ‘Fast stamp’ printed on UK Post Office ‘Base’ label stock- note the ‘Royal Mail’ Imprint.

Following on from the “Weigh and Vend” experiment in 2004 at Alfreton, Luton and Broadgate, London EC2.  a further experiment – this time for a shorter duration of three months-was set up to assess the suitability of a simpler and less ambitious self-service facility- obviously with a view to finding a viable way of reducing demands on counter staff for simple transactions involving the mailing of inland letter items. Publicity on the spot emphasised the simplicity and speed of the operation.a further experiment – this time for a shorter duration of three months-was set up to assess the suitability of a simpler and less ambitious self-service facility- obviously with a view to finding a viable way of reducing demands on counter staff for simple transactions involving the mailing of inland letter items.

The initial trial involved three branches : trial was of the nature of a ‘proof of concept’- that customers would accept (and use) an automated self-service ‘Postal Kiosk’. The intention was that the machines from three different suppliers would be trialled- a pair of Pitney Bowes machines at Birmingham BO, two Fujitsu machines at Maidstone BO and a ‘double’ IBM machine at Belfast BO.The Birmingham trial was first to get underway on Monday 29^th January; next was that at Maidstone in a newly-opened public office on 5^th February and the last at Belfast on 5^th February, where introduction, postponed until 12^th February was further delayed by last minute problems until the next day, Tuesday 13^th February.This was due to problems with the IBM machine which was initially substituted for a single Fujitsu machine, followed by another a few days later.The situation then became two Fujitsu machines each at Belfast and Maidstone and a pair of Pitney Bowes machines at Birmingham
The initial trial proved sucessful and at the end of October 2007 further “Post and Go” self service machines were installed in further selected Post Offices as follows:- Clapham Common (London SW4), The Galleries (Bristol), Gorton (Manchester), Doncaster, Sunderland and South Shields. The rules of requisition for Royal Mail group dicate that large tenders for the supply of equipment must go through the ‘OJEU’ process and following this process  the 700 replacement machines to be rolled out in 2008/9 will be supplied by Nixdorf and the existing machines withdrawn before the end of 2008.

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Between 25th March and 20th October 2004  , The Post Office commenced the first trials of an “automated postal kiosk” in three branches – known as  ‘Weigh and Vend’  (Badged Automated Postal Service)  and manufactured by the Korean company Samkyung Hitech Co., Ltd.

The machines were installed in Luton, Beds; Broadgate, City of London and Alfreton, Derbyshire and were capable of accepting many different types of mail including Priority Services (Special Delivery, International Signed For) and ordinary mail including BFPO.

However, because of their extended range of products,  the machines were of a sophisticated design,  resulting in their use by customers to be disappointingly low.  The conclusion was that many people had been deterred by their complexity and relative slowness.

The Samkyung catalogue description provides the following description of how the machine operated : (The model designation “PASS” standing for Postal Automatic Service System).

“PASS is a 365-day self-service machine which accepts and stores mail pieces from postcards to small parcels.

Customer selects a postal service on the menu screen and puts in his mail piece through the mail input door which is opened automatically.

After a mail piece is put in by the customer, the door is closed and the postage is determined and displayed to the customer automatically by measuring the weight and size of the mail piece without illegal intervention by the customer.

The customer pays the postage by card, coins or bank notes, and then the postage label or stamp of precise amount is printed out to the customer and the mail input door is opened. The customer takes out the mail piece and attaches the postage label on the mail piece and put in the mail piece again through the mail input window.

PASS finally verifies the mail piece and stores it into the internal storage area.

If the customer wants a receipt, it is printed out to him.

All the transaction data is saved in the internal computer and can be transmitted to external postal server by a network communication.”

In August 2003 the UK Post Office upgraded their Horizon system to include the ‘Smart post’ application which produced distinctly different Postage Labels. �

The label above left is a Horizon ‘smart post’ label and on the right is a Horizon ‘scales’ label, both printed on a Ithaca dot Matrix Printer.

The latest, current ‘Smart Post’ labels are now printed on Epson ink jet printers.

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Early in 2002 after successfully installing computer terminals in all post office branches, Royal Mail followed the lead set by postal authorities in the USA, South Africa, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, by producing at the post office counters labels to be used instead of stamps. These are known, after the computer network, Horizon labels. Unlike some other countries the British labels indicate the postal service for which payment is made. But also unlike some other countries, the British labels are plain white labels, printed in black using initially a simple (ithaca) dot matrix counter printer ,using the functionality originally designed for cheques. (known as a ‘slip printer’). The clerk had to manually feed each ‘sheetlet’  through the slip-printer , one label at a time. The sheetlets consist of two labels, the first of which is  fed through the printer and then revered to print the second label.

The First series of Labels are correctly known as ‘Scales’ labels , named after the application the Horizon system that generated them. (Nothing to do with the physical scales that you place the letter on!).

Scales labels can be identified as follows: