Top 4 Postage Meter Companies

Postage meters seem to be everywhere, but are actually quite limited in the number of vendors and outlets. Why? Because they hold then dispense postage that's considered the property of the U.S. Mint and controlled by the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, the USPS authorizes and regulates postage meter vendors.

Whether you need a postage meter for the first time, or an upgrade to an existing mail processing system, there are four vendors to consider, but two of the vendors are owned by the same company and offer essentially the same products. The “Big Four” might soon downsize to the “Big Three” unless an industrial mailing system vendor successfully moves down-market later this year.

The 900pound Mail Gorilla: Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Inc.

1 Elmcroft Road

Stamford CT 06926-0700

800-322-8000

http://www.pb.com

When Americans think “postage meter,” they think of Pitney Bowes. This indoctrination started back in 1902 when Arthur Pitney patented his hand-cranked postage stamping machine. By 1920, Pitney merged with Walter Bowes to win approval from the Post Office for their postage meter. Pitney Bowes was part of the original S&P 500 in 1957, and is one of the 87 original members still on the list.

How far does the mail gorilla reach? Into 130 countries, over two million customers, and more than 500 offices and resellers worldwide, populated by more than 35,000 employees. In the 1980s, Pitney Bowes owned 90 percent of the US market, and they still hold the majority, with experts arguing whether that means 60, 65, or 70 percent today.

Their postage meters are divided into a baker's dozen models, ranging from 18 letters per minute to 22,000 letters per hour (all speeds are optimistic best case estimates provided by the vendors themselves).

Although you can only lease postage meters from approved dealers, supplies and support matter. In this case, PB again dominates, with more supplies outlets and local offices for service and support than anyone else. Companies in big cities have plenty of options, but those in Small Town USA almost always wind up with a Pitney Bowes meter in their office.

Together, the biggest in Europe:

Neopost and Hasler

Neopost

478 Wheelers Farms Road

Milford, CT 06461

800-624-7892

www.neopostinc.com

Hasler

478 Wheelers Farms Road

Milford, CT 06461

800-995-2035

www.haslerinc.com

While Hasler is careful to explain that Neopost didn't acquire them, the real story provides little difference: Neopost SA, the French parent company, acquired the Ascom Hasler mail systems division from the Swiss group Ascom in late 2001. Neopost first produced franking (mailing) equipment in Europe in 1920. Together, Neopost and Hasler dominate the postage meter market in Europe and are second in the world only to Pitney Bowes.

They maintain almost completely separate sales organizations (175 branch offices and dealers for Neopost and 120 independent dealers for Hasler), but their products are relabeled versions of each other.

At the low end, they systems are quite comparable to the entry level products from Pitney Bowes and FP Mailing Solutions. Their systems cover the same range as their competitors and offer the same set of features. When searching beyond Pitney Bowes for options, you're most likely to find either a Neopost of Hasler dealer close by.

Also big in Europe: FP

FP Mailing Solutions

140 N. Mitchell Court, Suite 200

Addison, IL 60101-5629

800-341-6052

http://www.fp-usa.com/

Francotyp Postalia Mailing Solutions was created in the 1983 merger between Francotyp (1923) and Postalia (1938), two German companies. They still control about 45 percent of the German market, but are third worldwide behind Pitney Bowes and Neopost/Hasler.

Their smallest unit, the mymail 2, does look sleek enough to fit into the office décor without screaming “postage meter.” The same look carries over to some of their larger systems.

FP Mailing Solutions focuses on the small and medium volume market. Their production machines top out well below their competition, but since the majority of companies are small to medium sized, they play well in the growing company market.

A high-volume firm moving down-market: Data-Pac

Data-Pac Mailing Systems Corp.

1217 Bay Road

Webster New York 14580

800-355-1775

http://www.data-pac.com

Webster NY based Data-Pac has been around for about 35 years and focuses on the middle to high volume market area. They plan a smaller unit capable of about 60 letters per minute in the third quarter of this year. Since their current models start at 160 letters per minute and go up to 250, they aren't mentioned in most lists of postage meter vendors. All their sales are direct, and the planned Easy Mailer model will likely be sold through their Web site.

You are forced to lease, not buy, postage meters from approved vendors. The competition at the low end of the market, around 20 letters per minute, is fierce with free trials, reduced first-year leases, and bargains on supplies. When searching for your first postage meter, go the Web sites of each vendor listed here, put in your Zip code, and contact the dealer servicing your area.

Ask for proposals from each dealer, and pay particular attention to costs of optional equipment such as external scales, worktables, and other mail handling equipment. While you can buy those outright, most dealers encourage leasing them with the meter as part of your total mailing system.

Customer complaints focus on overly restrictive leases and vendors that try to force you to lease new equipment rather than replacing their non-working systems. Get your service details up front, in writing, and carefully check the plans for upgrading or downgrading equipment as your mailing needs change. Finally, leverage the competition that exists among vendors and their resellers and dealers to your best advantage before signing the lease contract.