Letter station
The letter station of Deutsche Post AG was between 1 August 2005 and February 27th 2009, a pilot project that was intended for commercial customers for automatic acceptance of mail.
In the first phase, letter stations were tested between August 1, 2005 and May 19, 2008 at three locations in Cologne . The manufacturer of the letter station pilot devices was the South Korean company Samkyung . The integrated franking units were supplied by Francotyp-Postalia .
The second test phase with four stations in Frankfurt am Main took place between October 1, 2008 and February 27, 2009 at noon . The manufacturer of these stations was Telefrank .
Possible forms of dispatch
In addition to the usual letter formats from standard letters to maxi letters , books and goods shipments as well as postal delivery orders could be placed. Additional services such as registered mail or cash on delivery were also possible.
The letter station calculated the correct fee depending on the order and printed this on the shipment. The letter stations did not accept any Infopost items , but certain quantities of information letters as standard , compact and large letters could be posted without any problems.
Appearance
Since the letter stations were mostly set up in industrial estates and on inward and outward streets , far away from post offices , almost every letter station was under one roof , similar to that of a bus shelter for a bus stop . Access to the machines was possible around the clock. Only letter products that could be paid for cashless using the POSTCARD were accepted.
The dimensions of the stations were 3.30 meters in length, 1.60 meters in height and 1.32 meters deep.
service
The user guide on the letter the station took place via a touchscreen - screen . Large compartments also made it possible to post larger quantities of information letters .
With a few restrictions, all letters including additional letter services (BZL) were accepted. Only the POSTCARD with the associated PIN was accepted as a means of payment .
After logging into the system, a dialog began in which the letter station asked whether it was a letter or a postcard , whether the shipment was already completely or partially franked, whether it was a national or international shipment and which BZL were wanted. If the mailing was unfranked, the letter was placed in the machine on the left side of the station.
The consignment was weighed , measured (consignments with a maximum height of 15 mm could be posted) and given a postage meter according to the type of consignment . After the costs were determined, the creditworthiness of the POSTCARD was checked again and the debit was carried out. Then a receipt and u. U. also created a posting receipt.
Letter station locations
Test letter stations in Cologne
The first three test letter stations were in the streets of Cologne:
- Amsterdamer Straße (Riehl / Niehl) at house no. 228 (until approx. June 15, 2007)
Location number
: 1003620 0002 Postage meter identification: 3D03000DCA - Eupener Straße (Braunsfeld) at house no. 80 (until January 28, 2008)
Location number
: 1003620 0001 Postage meter identification: 3D03000297 - Goltsteinstraße (Bayenthal) at house no. 91 (until May 19, 2008)
Location number
: 1003620 0003 Postage meter identification: 3D03000D5C
Test letter stations in Frankfurt am Main
Between October 1, 2008 and February 27, 2009 12 noon, four second generation letter stations were put into operation in Frankfurt am Main.
- At the letter center, Gutleutstrasse 340–344, 60327 Frankfurt
- Lyoner Strasse 11, Niederrad, 60528 Frankfurt
- At the Metro wholesale market, Guerickestraße 8, Rödelheim, 60488 Frankfurt
- At the post office, Saalburgallee 19, 60385 Frankfurt
Historical precursors
After initial attempts in other countries, automatic registration machines were put into operation in 1909, first in Berlin and later in several other cities in Germany . However, they met with little approval. Above all, the lack of information about the recipient on the posting slip was criticized. Even the tests that were resumed in individual OPD districts after the First World War were unsatisfactory, despite improvements. The usage fell short of expectations. A general introduction has therefore been refrained from. The manufacturer was Heinrich H. Klüssendorf from Berlin-Spandau.
Between 1995 and 1997, Deutsche Post AG tested an automatic letter acceptance system (ABAS).
See also
literature
- Handheld dictionary of postal services
- Hans-Jürgen Tast: "LETTER STATION" pilot project. New generation of machines from Deutsche Post , in DBZ (Alfeld), ISSN 1438-2830 , No. 12, 2005, p. 16, 1 S / W-Fig.
- Hans-Jürgen Tast: In operation in Cologne since August 1: New Samkyung machine "BRIEFSTATION" , in DBZ (Alfeld), ISSN 1438-2830 , No. 18, September 2, 2005, pp. 60–61, 4 B / W ill.
- philately , No. 339, September 2005
- Jürgen Olschimke: The letter station of the second generation , in philately No. 378, December 2008, p. 34 ff.
Individual evidence
- ^ Message from Deutsche Post AG ( Memento from December 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Online on the Internet on February 10, 2009
- ↑ Concise dictionary of the postal system, p. 223
- ↑ Michel-Rundschau, No. 5/1999, pp. 458-464