What's New In Postage Meter Technology

摘要

There once was a time when a postage meter was just a postage meter. Origi-nating in 1920, the rugged and reliable mechanical meters clunked along providing evidence of postage paid by printing indicia on a passing envelope using an engraved print head. But then, along came the perpetrators. Using every imaginable technique and deception, thieves violated the integrity of the mechanical meters or managed to use a valid meter for some unintended purpose. While slow at first, the fraudulent use of postage meters grew to a point where the USPS was suffering well beyond its level of tolerance. In 1986, the growing tide of fraudulent meter use receded somewhat with the advent of electronic postage meters, but it still persisted as a serious threat.