New Ink Jet Cancel for iLSMs

Stardate: 220612

Since the beginning of the year (2012), ink jet cancels have been used with intelligent letter sorting machines at a number of Royal Mail mail centres - see previous blogs. A new version has recently appeared at Exeter and now at Thames Valley (Swindon), Dorset and S.W. Hants and Jubilee Mail Centres. This version is very similar to that used by the IMPs - Integrated Mail Processors. 

I recently obtained examples of two of these cancels from iLSMs 3 and 7. These are illustrated below.

iLSM 3

iLSM 7

With the intoduction of "Branding" over the next few months, more new versions of these cancels are expected.

Jubilee Mail Centre iLSM Cancels

Stardate: 140512

Further to my previous entries, it is now clear that there are four sizes of font being used in the new cancels that are being trialled at Jubilee, Edinburgh, Mount Pleasant, Swindon (Thames Valley) and Bournemouth. The table presented here summarises the four versions and how to identify them.

Type/ Version	Letter Height (mm)
1	2½
2	2
2½	3
3	3½

Unlike IMPs and Stamp Cancelling Machines (SCMs), envelopes are not presented for stamp cancelling inverted. The cancellation that the item receives is based on the envelope size presented and hence the variation in the size of the cancellation that the envelope receives.

Intelligent Letter Sorting Machine (iLSM) Cancel

Stardate:110412

On my blog of 14th March 2014, I illustrated a new ink jet cancel that was in use at the Jubilee Mail Centre (JMC) in Feltham. (Close to Heathrow). This type of is being introduced throughout the country gradually. All of the iLSMs at JMC have been equipped with ink jet printers. The machines at South Midlands MC and now SW Dorset (at Bournemouth) are equipped with the ink jet printers and producing similar cancels.

Another version of cancel at JMC has now been seen in which "Jubilee" is in italics. Reports that I have received suggest that there may be at least four versions from this office.

The example is dated 27th March 2012. The actual identity of the iLSM may be obtained from the tagcode which is the four state bar code at the top of items from Britain. The tagcode associated with this cancel is also present in the image.