Cambridge Puzzle

Stardate: 140712

I have a little problem over the Cambridge Crown Office. It was originally at 9-11 St Andrew Street CB2 3AA and had the office ident code of 007113. About February March 2011 the office address changed to 57-58 St Andrew Street CB2 3BZ and the office ident became 008113.

In the recent updated listing form the ukpostagelabels website, the latter address is correct and two kiosks are present. However, today I received an item from a PMSC member with a Post and Go (PAG) from 007113 and 9-11 St Andrew Street CB2 3AA.

Of note is the kiosk number and session number 3 and 00022 respectively. The receipt is below and shows the former address. 

This would also suggest that kiosk 3 became operational on the 12th July 2012. 


Can anyone suggest what is going at Cambridge?

Stardate: 150712

This Cambridge office IS at 57-58 St Andrew Street. The address on the receipt is in error with respect to the location of the kiosk. It could be that because the address is wrong the kiosk printed the id associated with the old address.

Tesco Brent Park Wincor Ident 074005

Stardate: 130712

On Tuesday, I returned to Brent Park with the hope of finally getting an example of a faststamp from this kiosk. The office ident is 074005. The kiosk was installed on 7 December 2011 but due to staff training issues it was some time before it was brought into service and one of the last kiosks to be upgraded to V2.

I was successful in obtaining examples and these are shown above. The receipts are in the same format as those form Tudor Street (and other offices). Other services where proof of posting are required are not available from this kiosk and one still needs to go to the post office counter.

Wincor Office Ident Error!

Stardate: 120712

On one of my rare days off as a carer (10 July), I managed to run around London to visit some relocate post offices with Wincor ATMs. I also visited a few of my regular offices to update the data on session numbers and what faststamps were available. I managed to visit 10 offices and 18 kiosks in about six hours. So it was a case  of in to the office, buy a first class faststamp and receipt from a kiosk before moving on to the next without noticing much on either at the time of purchase.

When I got back home, I sorted out my "stash" of faststamps and receipts only to find a rather usual office and kiosk ident - 000000 as the office ident and 0 as the kiosk - on a receipt from William IV Street/Trafalgar Square. Kiosks 2, 3 and 4 were giving the correct office ident of 015010.

Example of the 000000 office ident with the 0 kiosk ident.

Receipt from kiosk 1 pretending to be kiosk 0.

Kiosk 2 was vending pigs and kiosks 3 and 4 were vending sheep faststamps. See my Wincoralbum1 and
 Wincoralbum2 websites to see the evidence.

You Tube and ATM Stamps

Periodically, I have to search the internet for news and space fillers for the PMSC Newsletter. Sometimes I find clips on You Tube that illustrate some aspects of postal mechanisation. The following is one such collection.

One clip looks amodifying the design t of the software for the Post and Go kiosks. Take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5RFx4qlwyc. Possibly more of Post and Lego (Let go)!

A Mail and Go (Pitney Bowes) system may also be found on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnC_J7GFHRA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0IO6BE7638&feature=related

The Fujitsu Post and Go kiosk that was in use circa 2007/8 is also depicted in a You tube clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK-J8IP_gZM&feature=related Well worth a few minutes watching if you are interested in this area of philately.

iLSM and Branding

A lot seems to be happening at Royal Mail postmark wise. The intelligent Letter Sorting Machines (iLSMs) have now got a new version of ink jet cancel and a new format cancel is being wheeled out over the Integrated Mail Processors (IMPs). Examples of both have arrived on my doorstep.

This is an example from iLSM 1 at Glasgow and is very similar in format to the IMP cancel. The number of bars depends on the size of the envelope in the same way as the previously reported iLSM cancels.

A number of private companies such as UK Mail and TNT have downstream access to the Royal Mail system and get a massive reduction in the price of last mile delivery (ie to the doorstep). Royal Mail now feel that it is important to stress who is actually delivering the mail to the customer and has come up with adding their cruciform logo and "Delivered by" to the mail. The prospect has the bigger companies worried.

An example of this new format cancel from Bath IMP3 is shown above. Similar markings will be appearing on PPI and meter paid items.

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.

Request to all UK Wincor Faststamp/PAG Collectors

Stardate:100612
For the last two years, I have been trying to piece together the usage of the Wincor-Nixdorf Propostal 2000 kiosks throughout the UK with very variable results. Most of the data has been obtained from personal observations, reports from PMSC members, ebay and a few other contacts. The websites with my findings are listed in yesterday's blog.

I would welcome reports of usage for any and all kiosks throughout the country. Session numbers, date and faststamp available along with any additional data from the receipt are needed to build up the overall picture.

I would like to build up a series of pages giving what information is available. The basic layout would include the office id, postcode, number of kiosks, the address of the post office and the first date of use. This would be followed by what information I have on the usage at that office and then any pictures, etc associated with the office. A sample is given below.

020511	BS1 3XX
3 (initially 2)	The Galleries, Castle Gallery, Broadmead, Bristol, BS1 3XX.
8/10/08

First machines in service in the UK. Some kiosks converted for use to sell Bird pictorials on 17/9/10.  New font (font type 2) on Faststamps from 11/9/10. Third kiosk added late 2010. Date unknown (Dec2010?): Kiosk 2 at session 71326 and kiosk 3 at session 3824. Kiosk 2 printing normally with font 2 but kiosk 3 was printing a large gap between office id and transaction number. Upright of d plus e of “worldwide” on the pictorial area. 10/1/11 kiosk 3 at session 4654. 12/1/11 Machin faststamps on kiosk 1 and at session 73004. PO logo on receipt. 14/1/11 Kiosk 3 vending Machins font 2 at session 4996. Wide gap variety. No logo on receipt. 10/1/11 kiosk 3 at session 4654. 22/1/11 Kiosk 3 at session 5596. Worldwide faststamp using larger type (font 1) for “Up to 10g” while rest in font 2. Machin version in use. PO oval being printed on kiosk 3 receipts on 22/1/11. All kiosks used to sell second set of Bird pictorials on 24/1/11 Kiosk 1 at session 74188, kiosk 2 at session 73642 and kiosk 3 at 6045 on 26/1/11. Spacing error and 10g Worldwide in bold on kiosk 3. Spelling error on receipt “Broamead”. 2/2/11 Kiosk 3 vending Birds 2 font 2 at session 6806. Wide gap variety. No logo on receipt. 7/2/11 Kiosk 3 vending Birds 2 font 1/2 at session 6986. Wide gap variety. No logo on receipt. 12/2/11 Kiosk 3 vending Birds 2 font 1/2 at session 7438. Wide gap variety. No logo on receipt 16/2/11 Kiosk 3 at session 7683. 20/7/11  Kiosk 1 vending Birds 3 font 2 at session 8559. PO oval on receipt. 15/2/12 PO oval logo on receipts from all 3 kiosks. Kiosks 1 and 3 vending Birds4 while Kiosk 2 vending Machin. Kiosk 1 at sessions 1212-3, kiosk 2 at sessions 846-7 and kiosk 3 at sessions 31396-7. Strong suggestion that kiosks 1 and 2 have recently been re-set.

For most offices, I have only one or two bits of information whereas for a handful I have enough to show trends in usage.

If you can fill in any information of usage at any office, either comment below or email me at pmechuk@gmail.com.