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A printed impression showing postage paid by machine rather than by stamp.
Also known as: Postage meter mark, Meter mark, Frank
A franking mark is printed directly on an envelope by a metering machine and takes the place of a stamp. It shows the value paid, the date, and a licence or machine number that identifies the account the postage was drawn from — which is why franked mail can be traced to a sender even when the envelope carries no return address. Modern marks include a two-dimensional barcode carrying the same information in machine-readable form.
Shows postage paid by a metering machine rather than by an adhesive stamp, and carries the value, the date and a licence number identifying the machine and account.
Contexts: History, Public information
Identifies its sender even where the envelope carries no return address, because the licence number is registered to an account — a property of the mark that most people who receive franked mail have never considered.
Contexts: History, Public information
Now generally carries a two-dimensional barcode alongside the printed detail, holding the same information in a form a sorting machine can read at speed.
Contexts: History, Public information
A rectangular printed block containing a value, a date and a reference number, frequently with a square dotted code beside it.
Both account for postage on an item.