There are many ways of using the mail services provided by Royal Mail

Although the market has been open to competition for a number of years the vast majority of businesses still rely on Royal Mail to contact their customers

The costs of the different services provided vary greatly. For instance the cost per 100 1st class DL letters range from:

• Pre paid stationary   - £49.50
• Smart Stamp           - £41.00 plus monthly subscription
• Stamps                   - £41.00
• Franked mail            - £36.00
• Franked mail CMA     - £31.30

Using a franking machine to access Royal Mail have many benefits to a company

They include:

• Discounted tariffs - save up to 16 pence an item
• Using your company logo to promote your business
• Print a return address to ensure undelivered mail gets back to you
• Accurate postal rates - no more "over stamping"
• No more trips to the Post Office

There are 4 franking machine manufacturers in the UK

Neopost and Pitney Bowes operate both a direct and indirect sales and servicing channel

Frama and Francotyp Postalia primarily use a network of dealers

The cost of ownership differ greatly by manufacturer and can often lead to unbudgeted expense