A new NCR “Self Service Kiosk” for Post Offices

During February 2014, Post Office Ltd commenced the replacement of the existing Wincor-Nixdorf “Post & Go” self-service machines with units manufactured  by ‘NCR Corporation’ of America.

The NCR kiosks are designed for faster mail processing, an improved ‘customer journey’ and have the capacity to provide additional transactions  in subsequent upgrade phases. They also feature an ‘enhanced’ customer /staff interaction system (aka ‘traffic lights’)   to ensure the handover of  barcoded mail is smoother and a certificate of posting is issued where requested or required.

Collectors will more than likely be familiar with similar looking NCR Self-Service machines from other  UK retailers nationwide- for example those found in  Tesco and Marks and Spencer.

 What’s in the Box?

The NCR Self-Service kiosks are wider than the existing Wincor machines -but they are loaded with  a touch screen, scanner , payment “Pin Pad”, postal scales  and two stamp printers, plus a receipt printer.  Each ‘Stamp’ printer is fitted  with a ‘1st Class’ or ‘2nd Class’ media -controlled by a different    spindle size for each side to prevent incorrect loading of the stamp media.

The receipt printer produces double sided ‘Horizonesque’ “Certificates of Posting” /payment receipts.

The receipt generated appears to be very thin thermal paper and does not withstand handling very well – for collecting purposes it is recommended that a copy is taken to preserve  the information printed.

Customer Journey

As with the Wincor-Nixdorf units currently found in Post Offices, for customers posting mail there are two main options-you  can choose to either ‘Buy Stamps’ or ‘Post an Item’.

NCR Post & Go ‘NVI Stamps’

Where ‘Buy Stamps’ is selected – the usual options are available- six values of  ‘NVI’ stamps  printed from the 1st Class reel and two ‘NVI’ values printed from the 2nd Class reel.

These are available in singly, multiples or collectors strip format. Collectors strips are dispensed in strips of six (1st class reel) or two (2nd class reel).

Values available:-

1st Class Reel:- 1st Class, 1st Class Large, Europe 20g, Worldwide 10g, Worldwide 20g, Worldwide 40g

2nd Class Reel:- 2nd Class, 2nd Class Large.

They appear very similar to the Wincor, Hytech and IAR versions, but with minor positioning and font variances.

The ident string also will be familiar to collectors, comprising of the usual information – Branch code, machine number (for technical reasons this will likely be in the 60s) and the session/item number.

No more “White Labels”- Welcome to open value (OV) stamps

White labels are no more! as the NCR kiosks contains only stamp reels – only  “Open Value” stamps  for each item being posted will be printed by the NCR kiosk. 

The NCR kiosk can process 1st and 2nd Class Inland  mail including “Signed For” and “Special Delivery” . International airmail and “Signed For” and “Airsure” options are available. In addition Parcelforce  Worldwide Inland (24 , 48)  and and International Mail can also be accepted.

The relevant information gathered during the transaction is printed onto the Stamp Media.

For customers who choose to ‘Post an Item’ they will prompted to weigh the item, select the destination country and answer a couple of questions on the value and urgency of the item. Once this is completed the service required can be selected from a picklist- this includes barcoded inland and international Royal Mail and Parcelforce services.

Next a “certificate of posting” can be requested (or will be mandatory if the item is barcoded) and address details must be entered via the “touch screen keyboard.”

For inland items , where address details are entered the first four characters of the postcode will be printed on the stamp dispensed – firstly to guide the poster as to which item the stamp is for and second to prevent reuse as a ‘self cancelling’ device- items where this Postcode does not match the address on the item may be surcharged. (Unlike the white labels they are replacing , there is no ‘post by’ date shown on OV stamps)

If an item being posted  is barcoded or a ‘Certificate of Posting’ is requested then the “customer host” will be altered via the ‘traffic light’ system so that the transaction can be item being posted can be ‘handed over’ , the transaction paid for, stamps printed  and the “Certificate of Posting” issued.

Note- it is not possible to purchase ‘Open Value’ stamps in quantity – they are generated singly for each item being posted. It is also not possible to generate Open Value stamps for ‘make-up’ values- only for actual tariffs.

NCR Post & Go ‘OV Stamps’

NCR Self service units will no longer dispense white ‘Postage Labels’ but  instead print “Open Value’ (OV) stamps for all items being posted.

OV stamps will contain the information captured as part of the ‘Post an Item’ transaction such as Weight, Service Indicator and Price Paid.

Items being sent ‘First Class’ or via ‘Airmail’  or via Parcelforce Worldwide will have the OV Stamps printed on First Class media (i.e. with two phosphor bands)- e.g. Machin, Generic (Robin/Union Flag) or Pictorial (e.g Flora).

Inland items being sent second class will have OV Stamps printed on Second Class media (single phosphor band) .

NCR Post & Go ‘OV Stamps’- Decoder

Definition of NCR Post Office Self Service overprint

On 28th February 2014 , the UK Post Office launched Self Service ‘Postal Kiosks’ manufactured by NCR corporation into the Crown Post Office branch in Harpenden, Herts.

Kiosks number ’67’ and ’68’ became operational on Friday 28th February 2014 in the Crown Office Branch in Harpenden, Herts.

These kiosks , similar to those seen worldwide (such as those in Australia) take the self service of the acceptance of Post Items to the next level.

NCR kiosks short and wider than the existing Wincor units that are currently found in over 200 Post Offices, feature faster processing of almost all Royal Mail and Parcelforce products that are usually only available at the counter.

Customers can choose from 8 different stamps for later use or process their mail quickly and easily using the intuitive touch screen- which produces  a never-seen-before Open Value (or ‘OV’) Stamp.

Almost all mail can be processed though the kiosks- both letters and parcels -including inland first and second class mail, International mail and priority mail that includes tracking and delivery guarantee worldwide.

For stamp collectors these new range of stamps-  have become available for the first time, featuring the ‘Iconic Machin Queens Head’ image combined with  electronic information printed at the point of mails acceptance -they are sure to prove very popular with collectors and customers alike. Welcome to the 21st Century Post Office!

2nd Class Letter OV Stamp

For more information see https://postagelabelsuk.com/ncr-self-service-kiosks-welcome-to-the-21st-century-post-office/ (Log-In Required)

Royal Mail have confirmed the new values that will be available from Post and Go kiosks from the prices changes this month. Via their ‘micro site’ http://iarroyalmailpostandgo.com/latestnews/  they have confirmed that the current ’10g’ and ’40g’ Worldwide values will be replaced by 60g Europe and 60g Worldwide values- an increase of £1 in the price of a Collectors Strip.

[table caption=”Post and Go ” width=”500″ colwidth=”” colalign=””]
no,Existing Value,Old Price,Updated Value, New Price
1,1st Class,60p,1st Class,62p
2,1st Class Large,90p,1st Class Large,93p
3,Europe 20g,88p,Europe 20g,97p
4,Worldwide 10g,88p,Europe 60g,£1.47
5,Worldwide 20g,£1.28,Worldwide 20g,£1.28
6,Worldwide 40g,£1.88, Worldwide 60g,£2.15
7, TOTAL,£6.42,NEW TOTAL, £7.42 [/table]
These new values will be available from Wincor or NCR kiosks situated in Post Offices throughout the UK, or from Royal Mail kiosks via their ‘philatelic exhibition program’ or their fixed sites  from 31st March 2014 onwards , either singly or as part of an updated ‘collectors strip’ format.     The withdrawal of the 10g and 40g values is likely to produce some rarities in the next few weeks – with certain issues/varieties only being available in limited numbers and locations.

10g Worldwide NVI Stamp-to be retired

At Spring Stampex Jersey Post will join the Post and Go club and will taken ownership of their own ‘Series B’ machine- number J001 – that will vend a unique Jersey Flag  stamp with six relevant NVI values  on one reel alongside a GB Union flag stamp on the other – a truly unique, modern and innovative way of producing a joint stamp issue.

The print string will be (For items purchased at Stampex)

B2GB14 J001-0000-001

For the back office/preorders a different string will be used.

B2GB14 B001-0000-001 etc.

Royal Mail ‘Next Generation’  ‘Series A Machines

The existing three Royal Mail Post and Go machines will be retired and semi-permanent sites found for them (promising overprinted versions! ). Before this, the last roadshow for these machines will be at York Stamp and Coin Fair  on 17th/18th January 2014 where machines A3 and A4 will appear for the last time in a mobile environment.

Royal Mail Series B

Appearing from the outside as taller with a slicker, more streamlined appearance, inside a faster PC able to process orders and print stamp quicker with an improved screen combined with software with a simpler interface and capability to connect to smart phones apps promises a powerful package ready for the road in the UK and worldwide.

The first appearance of the “series B” machines will be Spring Stampex where three new Royal Mail series B machines will be showcased.
These machines will be designated ‘A003’, ‘A004’, ‘A005’ (‘A’ Indicating Self-Service) and will have updated print string as follows:-

B2GB14 A001-0000-001

The first character ‘B’ indicates a ‘Series ‘B’ machine , followed by Month, print location and Year designations.

The print counter has additional characters allowing for 999 prints in a single session and a reduced number of characters in the session number before the counter resets to zero.

As a relatively new area of stamp collecting, Post and Go stamps are proving to be both exciting and popular with GB collectors. ‘Armchair’ stamp collectors are realising that they can no longer expect all of their collection to arrive in an envelope from Tallents House and they are going back to the roots of collecting in larger and larger numbers – experiencing the thrill of the chase combined with the satisfaction of new and unique find- that won’t be available tomorrow , from anywhere else or via mail order.

So last years ‘Post and Go Roadshow’ was a success- Royal Mail took it’s (now infamous) ‘Series 1’ self-machines machines combined with a newly invigorated ‘Instant Smilers’ offer in various combinations to locations all around the UK- both as part of the  regional Stamp Show calendar (Perth, York, Salisbury, Stafford) and via the Post Office Stamp Shop (Main shopping centres in Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, Croydon and London) to give the maximum opportunity for collectors and non-collectors to purchase, many for the first time, their unique offering.

So building upon last years events , Royal Mail is continuing to improve and develop the products and services available- and continuing to make them available to as wide an audience as possible. As part of this ongoing development Royal Mail iscontinuing to invest in new, improved technology and have purchased a number of new ‘Post and Go’ machines – designated series ‘B’ -that promise to be faster and will allow further development of new products.

A surprise appearance of not one ,not two but three Wincor-Nixdorf printed MA13 Post and Stamps has occurred in the unique Self-service  branch- at Tudor Street, Ludgate Circus, London EC1.

The latest printings appear to have been installed in the last few days, a visit earlier this week has revealed.

It certainly is an interesting development and has provided the last variants of the MA13 Post and Go stamps in the operational ‘Wincor’ format.

Machine 1 – Christmas Robins MA13

Machine 2 – Union Flag MA13

Machine 3 -Machin MA13

Royal Mail have announced to the philatelic trade that they will be partnering with Post Office Ltd to provide an innovative way of purchasing this years Christmas stamps, Royal Mail Post and Go Instant Smilers  as well as providing some unique Post and Go stamps.

Commencing this week in Newcastle (20th November) and then moving to Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, crossing  the Welsh border into Cardiff before proceeding to the metropolis via Croydon onwards to London’s’  Covent Garden and finally  Shepherds Bush (Final Day 19th December) this year pop up ‘Christmas Stamp Shops’ will operate from the “back of a lorry trailer.” (see opposite for dates)

The trailer will comprise of a unique environment to compose and purchase this year various Christmas Smilers (in newly upgraded ‘sheets of 20 format)  – a ‘Winter Wonderland’ effect which will be partnered with the now familiar ‘Royal Mail Series One ‘ (Otherwise known as ‘Hytech’) machines A3 and A4, vending  ‘Christmas Robins’ and (by popular demand) 2nd Class Post and Go Stamps.

The Xmas Robins are likely to be MA13 versions and there is a possibility that the 2nd Class Post and Go stamps are of a new MA13 printing too , as it is understood that the original printing has been ‘ring-fenced’ for the new Post Office machines (due next year). Also as previously announced, Post Office outlets will not include any overprint. The only difference between the different sites is likely to be the receipts  (Possibility  of a bilingual version in Cardiff/Wales?).

It is worth noting that these ‘outlets’ do not appear to be ‘Post Offices’ in the true sense -so no Horizon,no  Datestamps and no mouthwatering ‘items from the stock centre’  as appeared in Camden Town last  year,- it is more likely that there will be signposts ‘to the nearest Post Office’ for customer wanting the more traditional Post Office service.

So this years Pop-Ups look like they are building on the successes of last year (unique offerings) and  responding to the feedback around ‘difficult to find’ by placing them in central shopping locations in England ,Scotland and Wales- ‘Post and Go for the masses !- something we applaud..

During Autumn Stampex Royal Mail announced their intention to take the ‘Post and Go Roadshow’ to another international stamp exhibition ‘ PhilaKorea ‘ in 2014.

The international show, sponsored by Korea Post takes place August 7th- August 12th 2014. (6 Days) in the ‘COEX Hall’, Seoul.

A similar set-up to that used in Australia in 2013 is expected, along with a suitable overprint (including  ‘KR’ origin code) . Mirroring the 2013 Australian Stamp Expo , It is expected that ‘GB’ versions of the Post and Go stamps will be available from the Philatelic Bureau.