How to Keep Your Franked Mail Neat, Professional & Protected in Transit

When it comes to business communications, first impressions matter – and your mail is often the first physical contact a client has with your company. Whether you’re sending invoices, contracts, promotional materials, or customer orders & items, it’s vital your franked mail arrives looking clean, professional, and protected.

Here at Mailcoms, we help businesses nationwide maximise the impact of every piece of outgoing mail. Here’s how you can ensure your franked mail maintains its quality from mailroom to recipient.

Use the Right Envelopes for Franking Machines

Not all envelopes are created for going through the franking machine. Padded envelopes for example will not fit through the feeder, whereas gummed envelopes will. Forcing items through the franking machine which are too thick will cause damage to the machine, so it is vital that when franking you use envelopes designed for franking. We recommend using:

✔ High-quality peel & seal options – using envelopes that are easy to seal will make folding and inserting a breeze.

✔ Franking machine compatibility – Always ensure the envelopes you are franking will fit through the machine’s feeder. This will be available in the specifications of the franking machine.

✔ Meter Envelopes – Use meter posting envelopes when you need to send franked mail in bulk with the Royal Mail.

Envelopes

Always Print on a Clean, Flat Surface

Franking impressions can smear or fade if applied over creases, folds, or textured/uneven materials & surfaces. For best results we advise:

✔ Ensure envelopes are clean, dry, and flat before feeding them into the franking machine.

✔ Avoid overfilling the envelope, which can cause bulging and uneven surfaces. If your envelope is overfilled, consider using a franking label instead of trying to feed it through.

✔ Keep your franking labels or direct print areas away from the folds or flap seams of your packaging.

Pro tip: For parcels or bulky items, use franking labels instead of printing directly onto uneven packaging. Find out more about franking labels here.

Ensure Clear & Smudge-Free Impressions

A smudged or faint franking impression can delay delivery due to readability issues or causing confusion/issues with sorting. it is very important to avoid this, and it is easy to do so. To avoid this simply:

🖨 Clean your franking machine’s print head regularly (usually weekly or as prompted). This will ensure smooth franking always occurs.

🖋 Replace your ink cartridges when they are running low. Don’t wait for the print to fade, be proactive and replace the ink cartridge when indicated.

🧼 Use a soft cloth to wipe the feeder and tray to ensure dust, paper or even glue (yes, we have known this to happen) doesn’t affect the print quality.

👉 See our guide on franking machine maintenance for more tips.

Packaging Tape

Use Protective Packaging Where Needed

Fragile or bulky items require extra care as they can be easily damaged in transit. Whether you’re sending documents, promotional materials, or fragile products, using the right protective packaging ensures that your mail arrives in excellent condition. Poor packaging can lead to creases, tears, or even product damage, so it’s important to be proactive.

✔ Use padded envelopes for smaller items such as USBs, jewellery, or components.

✔ Use cardboard envelopes for important items/documents such as certificates, prints, or photographs.

✔ Secure boxes with quality packing tape and void fill materials such as zigzag shredded paper.

✔ Consider double walled cardboard boxes for your much heavier or fragile goods. A single wall box might not cut it as double walled boxes offer superior strength and crush resistance.

✔ Consider using warning printed tape or fragile labels for anything deemed delicate.

✔ Apply franking labels to your larger items so you benefit from the lower franking postage rates.

Every item that you despatch should look like it left your office with care and precision – because it did.

Use the Correct Postage & Positioning

Applying accurate postage not only saves money but prevents delays or returns. Also ensuring that your franked impression is located in the correct place on your envelope or parcel is vital in ensuring Royal Mail can quickly and easily process your items.

✔ Check the weight & size of your item using your franking machines built-in weighing scale and a Mailcoms Royal Mail Size guide.

✔ Place the franked impression or franking label in the top right corner of the envelope or parcel.

✔ Always avoid overlapping the franking mark with any tape or stickers – it needs to be visibly seen at all times.

Prepare Your Franked Mail Properly Before Sending

Ensuring that your franked mail is correctly prepared for the Royal Mail is very important. To ensure it is correctly prepared you can:

✔ Group letters or parcels by class and service.

✔ Use pouches or mailing bags (provided by Royal Mail) to clearly distinguish the class and services being used.

✔ Try to post franked mail the same day it’s printed to avoid Royal Mail refusing the item due to incorrect dating.

👉 See a perfect guide on preparing franked mail here.

Conclusion

Making sure your franked mail looks its best isn’t just about appearance – it reflects your brand, your professionalism, and your attention to detail. With the right materials, preparation, and equipment, you can ensure every item you send leaves a lasting impression for all the right reasons. Make a start today and buy low-cost franking machine supplies here and buy low-cost packaging supplies here.

At Mailcoms, we also offer a range of franking machines. If you are interested in getting a franking machine or wish to upgrade to a Mailmark franking machine with even lower prices available, then please view our franking machine page here or call us today on 01543 572 776.

We are a Royal Mail Authorised Independent Inspector & Maintainer of Franking Machines with over 20,000 customers nationwide and we can supply you with our very own range of models.

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