royal mail smartstamp manual

This SmartStamp® user guide shows you just how

simple it is to print postage onto your envelopes and

labels, straight from your PC and printer. No more

running out of stamps, or having to leave the office

to buy more.

Our easy-to-use SmartStamp® software saves you

time, trouble and money. What’s more, it can enhance

your company’s image thanks to the professional look

it gives your mail.

Read on and follow our straightforward steps on

everything you need to know – from installing your

software through to printing postage, logos and

slogans – to help you get your mail out quicker.

get familiar

<Back to contents

Page: 1

Next pagePrevious page

5 what is SmartStamp® 3.0?

6 new features of version 3.0

7 get started

7 What you need.7 How to install SmartStamp® 3.0.8 See a demonstration.9 How to open SmartStamp.®

9 How to activate SmartStamp.®

9 How to Trial Print your postage.9 How to print a specimen postage mark.

10 How to personalise your postage with logos or slogans.11 Insert your company logo.12 Logo and Slogan option.12 How to print a single envelope or label.13 How to top up your account.15 Use SmartStamp® on multiple computers.15 Printer compatibility.16 Your navigation menu.16 Settings.17 Customise your settings.17 Connection settings.18 Having trouble with your printer and/or

internet connections?19 Can I get a refund on unused or damaged

postage marks?

19 Warnings settings.21 Language settings.22 Info settings.23 Templates.25 Address books.27 Postal services.29 View your account balance.

30 use SmartStamp®

30 create envelopes and labels

31 Print modes.31 Trial print your postage.32 Print a single envelope or label.35 Mail merge.36 Print postage marks for multiple addresses.37 Change mail merge settings.37 Bulk print.38 Bulk print postage onto envelopes or labels.39 Change bulk print settings.39 logos, slogans and sender addresses

40 Applying a logo or slogan.41 Applying a logo to envelopes and labels.42 Removing logos.43 Add a slogan.44 Add a sender address.46 Selecting or editing an existing sender address.

contents

<Back to contents

Page: 2


47 print envelopes and labels

47 Save a template.48 Open a template.49 Alter the preview to your printable area.50 Printer offset.52 Adjusting a print with printer offset.55 Choose the right format for envelopes and labels.55 Print onto labels.56 Choose the right label.58 Print specific labels within a sheet.58 Select labels for editing.59 Select labels for deletion.60 Add labels on a mail merge.60 Print onto envelopes.61 Choose the right envelope.62 Custom formats.62 Change details or settings before printing.63 Load envelopes and labels correctly.64 postal services and postage marks

64 Get Royal Mail product and service information.64 New prices and formats.65 Delivery within the UK and Channel Islands.66 Standard parcels.66 Delivery outside the UK.67 Favourites

67 Save frequently used postage values.

67 Remove postage values from your Favourites.68 Find a postcode or address.68 Understand the postage mark.69 address books

69 Select your address books.70 Access and import your PC’s address books.71 Import data from Microsoft® Exchange (CDO).71 Import data from Symantec ACT!72 Import data from Microsoft® Excel.73 Import data from eBay.™

75 Import data from Microsoft® Access.75 Configure your address table.77 Search for an address.78 Select an address for single print.78 Select multiple addresses for a mail merge.80 Postage History

83 Export Postage History items.

84 manage your account

84 make payments and manage your account online

85 Top up your account.85 View your account statement.86 View your current balance.87 Print a statement.87 Apply for a refund.88 Update your personal details.

contents

<Back to contents

Page: 3


88 Review your SmartStamp® subscription.

89 troubleshooting

89 I’ve forgotten my password.90 My account has been suspended.

What shall I do?90 Can I get a refund on unused or damaged

postage marks?90 I’m having trouble with my printer and/or

internet connections.91 Can I abandon or reset a print?92 Can I change the settings for a complete mail merge?92 Can I change the settings of one item in a mail merge?93 Can I use SmartStamp® with more than one

address book?93 How does Royal Mail process postage created

by SmartStamp®?93 How do I get additional SmartStamp® software?93 How do I uninstall SmartStamp®?

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 4


SmartStamp® summary of software licence.

• Your SmartStamp® software is licensed to you, not sold

• You indicate your acceptance of the licence terms when you installthe software

• Your software can only be used with one Royal Mail account at anytime

• You can install your software on any number of computers withinyour organisation that use the same account(s)

• You can obtain additional copies of the software by orderinganother CD or by downloading it fromwww.royalmail.com/smartstamp

• You must not sell copies of your software to a third party

• This software is protected by copyright laws.

Please read the full licence agreement when you install your newsoftware.

Your SmartStamp® account is subject to its own terms and conditions,which you will see when you open your account. Please also readthem carefully.

Any contract between your company and SmartStamp® must be for

a period of at least three months.

what is SmartStamp® 3.0?

With SmartStamp® from Royal Mail you can print postage marksdirectly onto envelopes and labels – straight from your computer. All you need is the SmartStamp® software installed on your PC andan online SmartStamp® account.

SmartStamp® also lets you include your sender’s address details andcompany logo or slogan on your mail.

To start preparing your postage, simply select ‘Envelopes’ or ‘Labels’

from the ‘New’ menu on the left hand navigation.

You can save your most frequently used formats as templates toreuse when needed.

There are three print modes: Single Print, Mail Merge and Bulk Print.

• Single Print – prints onto a single envelope, single label or pair oflabels in a label sheet

• Mail Merge – prints multiple postage marks onto envelopes andpairs of labels, with addresses which can be imported from yourPC’s electronic address book

• Bulk Print – prints more than one envelope or label withoutaddresses.

Go to page 31 for more about the three print modes.


<Back to contents

Page: 5


new features of version 3.0

In response to your feedback, we’ve improved the

software in the following ways:

Advice Centre: this replaces the current ‘hints & tips’ and offersmuch more information and technical support.

Ad hoc Business Collections: now you can pay for an ad hocBusiness Collection through SmartStamp,® in the same way thatfranking customers can pay through their meter.

eBay™ address book: this lets you select address details from youreBay™ address book and even choose the addresses for auctionsending between specific dates.

Interface with Microsoft® Access: this means you can mail fromaddress books held in Microsoft® Access.

Royal Mail forms: now you can preprint Certificate of Postingforms with details of your mailings, so you don’t have to fill themout at a Post Office® branch. This excludes Special DeliveryTM

products.

Posting journal: this lets you create a journal of all the itemsyou’ve posted within a specific timeframe, including informationsuch as the date, address and price.

Price of bulk mailing: now the screen shows you the cost of yourmailing before you print out the postage.

In addition to these new features, we have also enhanced thefunctionality for labels, logos, templates, mail merges, editing,adding and deleting.


<Back to contents

Page: 6


What you need.

• PC with a minimum 200Mhz processor, at least64MB RAM and 20MB free hard disc space

• Microsoft® Windows® – either:

• 98 (SE 2nd Edition)

• 2000 (server, professional, SP2 & SP3)

• NT 4.0 server (4.0 workstation, SP6 & SP6a)

• XP Home & Professional (SP1)

• Printer (inkjet, laserjet or thermal with 300dpi orhigher output)

• Internet connection

• SmartStamp® account number (to print live, useable postage marks).

You can download SmartStamp® by visiting

www.royalmail.com/smartstamp, clicking ‘Buy Now’

and following the payment instructions. Alternatively you

can download SmartStamp® from the ‘My Account’ page of

the SmartStamp® website.

SmartStamp® is not supported on Apple Macintosh. SmartStamp® works best with Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0.

If you do not already have this browser installed, you can download it from www.microsoft.com/downloads

How to install SmartStamp® 3.0.

1 Before you start, make sure you login to your PCas an Administrator.

2 Close all applications on your PC.

3 If you downloaded the WinZip version, double clickeither ‘smartstamp_ver3_XP_setup.zip’ if you areusing Windows XP or ‘smartstamp_ver3_setup.zip’

if you are using any other version of Windows toextract the SmartStamp® exe file.

a Double click on the download called either‘smartstamp_ver3_XP_setup.exe’ if you are using Windows XP or ‘smartstamp_ver3_setup.exe’ if youare using any other version of Windows.

4 Follow the installation instructions.

5 Open SmartStamp,® enter your reference number and follow the instructions to complete the installation and activate your account.

6 If you need any further help, please call our customerhelpline on 08456 001 334. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Local rates apply.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 7


See a demonstration.

Before you begin using SmartStamp,® go to ‘Start printing

SmartStamps now’ to see a demo to:

• find out more about how SmartStamp® works

• set up templates

• customise your settings

• print postage marks onto envelopes or labels(postage is not valid in Trial Version)

• configure and fully test your software before settingup an account.

Simply follow the on-screen instructions or read on to learn how toactivate SmartStamp.®

Once you enter the Welcome screen, the Envelope Template pagebecomes your default start page. Next time you open SmartStamp,®

it will open with the last print medium (envelopes or labels) you used.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 8


enter your customer reference number

to activate SmartStamp®

use SmartStamp® in trial version

Open SmartStamp®

How to open SmartStamp.®

Once the installation is complete you should have the SmartStamp®

icon on your desktop and in your programs menu. Double click onthe icon to open SmartStamp.®

How to activate SmartStamp.®

Simply enter your SmartStamp® customer reference number in thebox under ‘Activate your account’ and click the small yellow arrow.

How to trial print your postage.

Until you are familiar with using SmartStamp,® you should practice by trial printing your postage. ‘Trial Print’ lets you print a specimenpostage mark without your account being debited, so you can seehow your real postage will appear in print. This costs you nothingand doesn’t require a password or internet connection. The specimenpostage mark is not valid postage and will be marked as a specimen.

How to print a specimen postage mark.

1 Select your print medium via ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the‘New’ menu to open your SmartStamp® Selections window.

2 Select your print mode. In Single Print, Mail Merge or Bulk Print,prepare the stamped envelope or label sheet in the preview areaas usual.

3 Select a printer from the drop-down list and edit the printersettings as necessary.

4 When you are ready to print a specimen of your postage markedenvelope or label sheet, click ‘Trial Print’.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 9


How to personalise your postage with logosor slogans.

You can give your mail a truly professional look by adding yourown logo or slogan alongside your printed postage mark. WithSmartStamp,® you have an area of 50mm x 28mm to the left of your postage mark reserved for your business personalisation.

‘Logos & Slogans’ features:

• Insert Logo - either use your own logo or choose an image from our logo library

• Insert Slogan - choose a font and write your message

• No Logo/Slogan - cancel any previous settings.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 10


last sender address, logo and slogan are used

as default settings

click to save template

preview area

An envelope template with logo and sender address

templates menu for envelopes and labels

format options

Insert your company logo.

Your chosen logo, slogan or message will automatically appear to theleft of a specimen postage mark in the preview area of the screen, so you can see exactly how it will look when you decide to use it.

You can choose a logo from SmartStamp’s logo library, which willopen by default when you select ‘Insert Logo’ and click on ‘SelectFile’. You can also copy your own logos into this folder to access them easily.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 11


logo & slogan options

preview of graphic and postage mark

Insert your company logo

logo & slogan navigation menu

Logo and Slogan option.

You can add logos and slogans with Single Print, Mail Merge andBulk Print. You can use them on special labels, such as logo labelsand all-in-one labels.

The logo and/or slogan you select are only settings for the currentmail item displayed. If you would like to use these settings for all theitems of your current mailing, then tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box. If you would like to save the settings to be your default settings, thentick ‘Set as Default’.

Logos in the following formats may be added to envelopes withtemplates for Single Print, Mail Merge and Bulk Print for envelopesand labels:

• Bitmap (.bmp)

• TIFF (.tif)

• GIF (.gif)

• JPEG (.jpg).

You can change the typeface and font of your slogan:

• Click the ‘Font’ button in the Logo/Slogan section of theSmartStamp® Selections window

• A standard windows font selection window will appear

• Select the desired typeface and size, then click ‘OK’.

How to print a single envelope or label.

Follow these instructions to print postage onto a single envelope

or label:

1 To open the SmartStamp® Selections window, select ‘Envelope’

or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu in the navigation list on the left.

2 Enter the recipient address in the text field provided, either by:

a manually entering the recipient’s details as you wish them toappear in print

b going to your Address Book to locate the address, and then clicking ‘OK’.

3 Select the appropriate postage product from your ‘Favourites’

or from the tabbed options – ‘UK Mail’ or ‘Overseas Mail’.

From 21st August 2006, you will need to ensure that you selectthe correct format for your postage item, i.e. Letter, Large Letteror Packet.

Go to page 64 for more information on the new formats.

4 Click ‘OK’ to return to the main preview area.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 12


5 If necessary, switch to another print format (such as envelope size)via the drop-down list, and your selection will be displayed in thepreview area.

Note that you can only select different sizes or types of the samemedium (ie. envelope or label) that you originally selected.

6 If you have entered a recipient’s address and chosen to print to a label, the labels will either print singly or in pairs. They work aspairs where there are more than four labels per sheet. Wherethere are one, two or four labels per sheet, the address andpostage are both applied to the same label. For labels that workas a pair, double click on the preview area to edit either of them. Both labels will then be opened for editing. To print a single labelwithout an address, leave the Address Box empty in Single Printmode or select Bulk Print mode and ‘1’ from the ‘Number of

Stamps’ box.

7 Select a printer from the ‘Select a Printer’ drop-down list andedit your printer settings.

8 When you’re ready to print your stamped envelope or label, click‘Trial Print’ or ‘Print’.

Remember, we advise that you trial print until you are confidentusing SmartStamp.®

How to top up your account.

1 Click ‘My Account’ on the left hand navigation of SmartStamp.®

You will be taken to the login area of the Royal Mail website, andyou will be asked for your account password which will take you to your account home page.

2 Click ‘Top Up Your Account’.

3 Select whether you wish to make regular or one-off payments.

One-off payments are automatically made using the payment carddetails stored in ‘My Personal Details’.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 13


SmartStamp® supports the following connections:

• Dial up connection to the internet – you can either choose apreferred selection from the available dial up connections oruse the current standard connection

• AOL connection direct to your AOL provider

• CompuServe connection direct to your CompuServe provider

• LAN connection to the internet using your Local Area Network(LAN) settings

• Manual connection to the internet every time you requestonline services, such as connecting to your account when printing postage or refreshing your account balance.

Once configured, your internet connection settings are saved and can be changed afterwards via the ‘Connection’ tab through‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 14


click to run through the connection sequence

Internet connection wizard

Use SmartStamp® on multiple computers.

A benefit of SmartStamp® is that everyone in your office can use it from their own PCs, each using the same SmartStamp® account.

Just install a copy of the software (using the same CD) onto all the PCs from which you need to print, and follow the ActivateSmartStamp® instructions.

To activate a new or separate SmartStamp® account (using a differentcustomer reference number), the SmartStamp® application must beuninstalled and then reinstalled.

To uninstall SmartStamp,® click on ‘Uninstall SmartStamp®’ on the Windows Start menu or open the Windows Control Panel, select‘Add/Remove Programs’, and choose the SmartStamp® software.

Printer compatibility.

SmartStamp® works with all modern colour and black and whiteprinters. As long as your printer can print onto envelopes, letters or labels, SmartStamp® will print valid postage marks.

SmartStamp® supports the following printers:

• Inkjet printers 300dpi or higher

• Laser printers 300dpi or higher

• Thermal printers 300dpi or higher.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 15


Your navigation menu.

Just click ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ in the ‘New’ menu.

Now you’ll be in the SmartStamp® Selections window where you canset up your print mode (Single Print, Mail Merge or Bulk Print) andyour postage. To enter a recipient’s address in Single Print or MailMerge, select multiple addresses from your address book. If in BulkPrint, you should indicate the number of postage marks you require.

With SmartStamp® 3.0, any of the three print modes are available for both envelopes and labels.

Go to page 31 for more about different print modes.

Settings.

‘Preferences’ gives you an overview of your default settings. You’ll find it in ‘Extras’ in the Settings menu.

‘My Settings’ features:

• Connection – specify your internet connection properties

• Warnings – select a limit for your SmartStamp® account to indicatewhen your spend has fallen to a certain balance – or choose anamount in £s if you want to be alerted to the printing of postageof a particularly high value

• Language – configure your postage in English or Welsh

• Info – details of your current settings, such as your customerreference number and the version of SmartStamp® software you have installed.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 16


Customise your settings.

You can configure your SmartStamp® Selections by clicking on‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu. The My Settings screen lets you configure your ‘Connection’, ‘Warnings’, ‘Language’ and ‘Info’ settings.

You should save any changes you make in My Settings by clicking‘OK’ or you will lose them when you leave this section.

Connection settings.

How to establish or edit your internet

connection settings:

1 Click ‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu in the navigation list and select the ‘Connection’ tab.

2 Select ‘Create Connection’ and follow the steps.

3 Select ‘Connect Now’ to test the connection.

4 Select ‘Finish’ to apply the settings.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 17


‘Connection’, ‘Warnings’, ‘Language’ and ‘Info’ options

‘Preferences’ menu

Customise your settings

Having trouble with your printer and/or internetconnections?

If you are having difficulties connecting to your printer,

it is likely that there’s a problem with Microsoft® Windows®

or your printer driver.

Try a test print by selecting the appropriate printer from theWindows Control Panel. If your internet connection is not working,first check your SmartStamp® internet settings.

These can be found on the ‘Connections’ tab of the My Settingsscreen. If the settings appear to be correct, next use the InternetConnection Wizard to try to automatically reset your connection.

Check if your proxy settings are correct. (Note that SmartStamp®

uses Internet Explorer settings for this. If you use a differentbrowser, such as Netscape, to access the internet, it may be thatyou don’t have Internet Explorer set up properly.)

Any persistent problems may be due to a hardware configuration.

You should check the following:

• Is your modem working and correctly installed?

• Are your ISDN card settings correct?

• If you use a LAN, are your network settings correct?

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 18


‘Connection’ tab

edit connection properties

Connection settings


Can I get a refund on unused or damaged postage marks?

Yes – if you print unwanted or damaged postage marks, you canclaim a refund. You will need to complete a form and send theunused postage marks to our Freepost address within seven workingdays. The refund process is managed on the website. To find therefund form, click on ‘My Account’ on the left hand menu and login.At the top of your account home page, click on ‘Apply for a refund’.

Then just fill in the details as appropriate, print off the form, andsend it to us with your unwanted postage marks.

Go to page 87 for more on applying for a refund.

Warnings settings.

If you want to be alerted when your SmartStamp®

account falls below a certain balance or your selected

postage exceeds a certain value, you can set up automatic

warning messages.

• Low Credit Reminder – if your remaining SmartStamp® credit fallsbelow a pre-specified value

• High Value Warning – if your selected postage exceeds a pre-specified value.

How to set up automatic Low Credit Warnings:

1 Click ‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu in the navigation list and select the ‘Warnings’ tab.

2 Check the ‘Low Credit Reminder’ box and specify in thecorresponding input field a value for your SmartStamp® creditlimit. A default value of £30 appears in this input field, which youcan raise or lower either manually or by clicking the arrows.

3 Click ‘OK’ to save your changes.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 19


You will only receive a warning when your Low Credit Reminderis active. This reminder will generate a message when you printpostage that takes your SmartStamp® credit below the specified amount.

How to set up automatic High Value Warnings:

1 Click ‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu in the navigation list and select the ‘Warnings’ tab.

2 Check the ‘High Value Warning’ box and specify a value for yourSmartStamp® balance. A default value of £5 appears in this inputfield, which you can raise or lower either manually or by clickingthe arrows.


Once your High Value Warning is active, you will receive a messagewhen you select postage with a value that exceeds your specifiedlimit. If your High Value Warning is not active or if you deactivate it, you will not receive a warning.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 20


Warnings settings

‘Warnings’ tab

set low credit and high value warnings


Language settings.

How to configure your postage marks in

English or Welsh:

1 Click ‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu in the navigation list and select the ‘Language’ tab.

2 Select either ‘English’ or ‘Welsh’. The preview to the left willdisplay the postage mark for the language you have selected.


get started

<Back to contents

Page: 21


Language settings

‘Language’ tab

select English or Welsh language

postage mark preview


Info settings.

When using SmartStamp® in live mode, click here to check yourcustomer reference number and existing software version.

You will find this information in the ‘Info’ tab when you click‘Preferences’ in the ‘Extras’ menu.

New SmartStamp® customers will receive a customer referencenumber by email.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 22


Info settings

‘Info’ tab

your customer reference number and software version


Templates.

SmartStamp® lets you create and save your most frequently usedconfiguration settings as reusable templates for envelopes and labels.

A template generally stores:

• the format (i.e. envelope size and label sheet)

• the product information and additional services

• the font settings of text elements (slogan, message, and recipient& sender address)

• the printer you’ve selected to print the template

• the printing memo

• the logo or slogan you’ve selected

• the recipient address

• the sender address

• the postage you have selected.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 23


navigation menu to create envelopes and labels


An envelope template

The last sender address and logo/slogan used are displayed asdefault in the preview area but are not saved as part of yourtemplate. When you click on ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ in the ‘New’

menu, the last configuration appears in the preview, including thelast printer you used. You can always return to your templates byclicking on ‘Open’ in the ‘Template’ menu.

Please note: the date of posting is not stored in the template butadded automatically by SmartStamp.® It is always determined by thecurrent date plus one day into the future. The date takes account ofweekends and all British Bank Holidays.

Go to page 47 for more on creating templates.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 24


Address books.

Your SmartStamp® address book lets you select

recipients that you have already set up on your PC.

SmartStamp® supports the following PC address books:

• Microsoft® Address Book (WAB)• Microsoft® Outlook• Microsoft® Exchange (CDO)• Symantec ACT!• Microsoft® Excel (xls) • New! Microsoft® Access (mdb)• New! eBay™ Address Book.

All supported address books are listed in a drop-down menu called ‘Choose Address Book’.

An activated address book is shown with a dark blue checkmark. An uninstalled or deactivated address book is shown with a red checkmark.

To activate or deactivate an address book in the drop-down list, click ‘Settings’. Once an address book is selected, all entries in the address book are listed on the left hand side of the Address Book window.

You can define which fields you want to display in your Address Book window by clicking ‘Properties’.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 25


address book window properties

select an address type and configure layout

select an address book to import

address book table

search for addresses within a selected address book

Import an address from your PC’s address book

If you are in Mail Merge mode, you can select multiple addresses byticking the checkboxes beside each entry in the address table.

Selected addresses automatically appear in the Edit Address box,where you can change existing addresses or add new ones. Thesechanges will only be saved in SmartStamp,® not in your PC’s actualaddress book file.

If a contact in your address book has more than one address listed,you can choose which you want to use. To do this, select ‘Business’,‘Private’ or ‘Other’ from the right hand side of the input box.

Once you have selected an address, you can specify which fields areto appear on your envelope or label, and in which order, by clicking‘Configuration’.

You can also search for a specific entry in a selected address bookby entering all or part of a keyword and clicking ‘Search’. Yoursearch results will appear in the address table.

Click ‘OK’ to apply the selected recipient address(es) or ‘Cancel’

to return to the SmartStamp® Selections window.

Go to page 69 for more on using address books.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 26


Select multiple addresses for a mail merge



address book table

checkboxes for mail merge mode

Postal services.

In the product selection area of the SmartStamp® Selections

window, you can choose from the following postal options:

• UK Mail – select and save products and additional services fordestinations within the UK and Channel Islands

• Overseas Mail – select and save products and additional servicesfor destinations abroad

• Favourites – select from frequently used postage values, settingsand services that you have saved.

Each option gives a summary of the product and additional services, listed as follows:

• Country of destination

• Price of the product class per weight selected (in £)

• Price of the additional services selected (in £)

• Total cost (in £)

• Post by date.

Changes to country, price, product, weight and additional services are updated automatically.

From 21st August 2006, you will need to ensure that you selectthe correct format for your postage item: i.e. Letter, Large Letteror Packet.

Go to page 64 for more information on new formats.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 27


print mode selector

address area

‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’ and

‘Overseas Mail’ options

product selection area

summary of product

and any additional

services selected

Select postal services

UK Mail and Overseas Mail options also offer:

• Product Information – a direct link to the product informationpages of the Royal Mail website

• Add to Favourite – to save the product and additional services info you have selected for later use under your ‘Favourites’ tab.

Go to page 64 for more on postal services.

Please note: The Post by date will not include Saturdays, Sundays orany British Bank Holidays. So if you print a SmartStamp® on a Friday,the Post by date printed will be the Monday. If that Monday is a BankHoliday, then the Post by date will be the Tuesday.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 28


View your account balance.

Your last updated SmartStamp® balance is always

shown in the top right corner of your main SmartStamp®

screen. When you print a postage mark, your balance is

updated automatically.

You may need to refresh your balance if you have topped up youraccount using Royal Mail’s website, or if more than oneperson/workstation accesses a single SmartStamp® account.

To update your SmartStamp® balance, click ‘Update’ in the top rightcorner. You will be asked to enter your SmartStamp® print passwordand click ‘OK’.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 29


Refresh your account balance

create envelopes and labels menu

your SmartStamp® balance


link to Royal Mail Hints & Tips

create envelopes and labels

The ‘Envelope’ tab in the ‘New’ menu lets you prepare an addressand postage mark for printing to single or multiple envelopes. Clickon ‘Save’ in the ‘Template’ menu when working in Single Print, BulkPrint or Mail Merge modes to save your settings for reuse on theEnvelope Template screen.

The ‘Label’ tab in the ‘New’ menu lets you prepare an address andpostage mark for printing to single or multiple labels. Click on ‘Save’

in the ‘Template’ menu when working in Single Print mode to saveyour settings for reuse on the Label Template screen.

When you select either of these actions, the SmartStamp® Selectionswindow will open for you to prepare your mail.

SmartStamp® lets you define your own envelope and label formatsand these custom formats can be used as easily as the standardones. You can choose your custom envelope or label from the formatdrop-down list on the preview area. You will find them underneaththe section ‘Custom Envelopes’ or ‘Custom Labels’.

To create, modify or delete your custom envelopes or labels, yousimply choose ‘Define...’ under the ‘Custom Envelopes’ or‘Custom Labels’ section of the format drop-down list.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 30


Select a format to print on

format options

Print modes.

Single Print lets you prepare an address and postage mark forprinting to a single envelope or label. Click on ‘Save’ in the‘Template’ menu to save settings for reuse. To open a template,select ‘Open’ from the ‘Template’ menu.

Mail Merge is a method of selecting multiple addresses from youraddress book to create a batch of postage paid envelopes or labels,each containing a unique address.

Bulk Print allows you to create and print postage for a multiplenumber of envelopes or labels, such as a sheet of labels withstandard First Class postage. You may specify the number of postagemarks (up to 999) and type of postage you want to print, but youcan’t print address information (to do this, use Mail Merge). You canalso use Bulk Print mode to print a single label.

New! Mail Merge templates can also be saved. You can set up a Mail Merge template for a frequently used list of addressees,

each with individual logos or slogans, different postage and evendifferent sender addresses.

Trial print your postage.

Until you are familiar with using SmartStamp,® you

should trial print your postage. ‘Trial Print’ lets you print

a specimen postage mark without your account being debited,

so you can see how your real postage will appear in print –

at no cost to you. The specimen postage mark will not be

valid postage and will be marked as a specimen.

How to print a specimen postage mark:

1 Select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu and preparethe stamped envelope(s) or label sheet(s) in the preview area asusual.

2 Select a printer from the drop-down ‘Select a printer’ and editthe ‘Printer settings’ as necessary.

3 When you are ready to print a specimen of your stamped envelope or label sheet, click ‘Trial print’.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 31


4 If your print contains more than one element (e.g. mail merge orbulk print of more than one stamp or address and stamp), you canspecify the number of items that will be printed in the trial print.

a. If labels, the number of trial prints is the number of sheets.

b. If envelopes, the number of trial prints is the number ofenvelopes.

To trial print, no internet connection or password is required.

Print a single envelope or label.

How to print postage onto a single envelope

or label:

1 Select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu in thenavigation list to the left. The SmartStamp® Selections window will automatically appear. Select ‘Single Print’ mode.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 32


Print a single envelope or label

select ‘Single Print’

enter the recipient’s address

locate the address using the ‘Address Book’ button


2 Enter the recipient’s address in the text field provided by either: a. manually entering the recipient's address in the text boxorb. clicking the ‘Address Book’ button and locating the address,

then clicking the ‘OK’ button.

3 Select the appropriate postage product from your ‘Favourites’ orfrom the options available under ‘UK Mail’ and ‘Overseas Mail’.


5 If necessary, you can switch to another format (i.e. for envelopesyou can select different envelope sizes) via the drop-down ‘Choose a format to print on’. The selection is automaticallydisplayed in the preview area below.


Go to page 64 for more information on the new formats.

6 Or click on the menu to select another print medium (i.e. fromenvelopes to labels). The SmartStamp® Selections window willappear again.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 33


select a format

preview area


7 Select a printer from the drop-down ‘Select a printer’ menu and choose the required printer settings.

8 When you’re ready to print your stamped envelope, you may select either: a. ‘Trial print’ to print a specimen stamp without your account

being debitedorb. ‘Print’ to print the actual stamp and debit your account.

• For ‘Trial print’ no internet connection is required

• For ‘Print’ an internet connection is required in order to debityour account.

This connection is established by the connection settings selectedon the ‘Preferences’ screen under ‘Extras’.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 34


select a printer

preview area


Mail merge.

Mail merge is a method of selecting multiple addresses from youraddress book to create a batch of postage paid envelopes or labels,each containing a unique address.

You can run a mail merge by simply selecting multiple addressesfrom your address book.

Select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu to open theSmartStamp® Selections window. Then select ‘Mail Merge’. Fromhere, you can select from ‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’ and ‘Overseas

Mail’ for your mail merge.

Your product selection will be the same for all addresses you select.Individual items in the Mail Merge can have the stamp, senderaddress and even the recipient address edited.

Clicking ‘OK’ opens your address book, where each address bookentry has a checkbox so that multiple addresses can be selected.

Go to page 69 for more about address books.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 35


Create a mail merge

‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’ and ‘Overseas Mail’ options


select ‘Mail Merge’

summary of product and any

additional services selected

Print postage marks for multiple addresses.

How to print postage marks for multiple addresses

on envelopes:

1 Select ‘Envelope’ in the ‘New’ menu to open the SmartStamp®

Selections window.

2 Select ‘Mail Merge’ print mode.

3 Select the appropriate postage product (note that you can changeindividual postage marks later) and click ‘OK’. This will open theAddress Book window.

4 Select addresses by clicking the checkbox next to each addressrequired.

5 Click ‘OK’ to return to the main preview area, at which point eachof the selected addresses is applied to an envelope.

6 You can preview your individual envelopes by clicking the arrowslocated below the main preview area. You can change the envelopeformat for the mail merge via the drop-down ‘Select a format to

print on’.

7 Select a printer from the drop-down list and edit the printersettings.

8 When ready to print your postage marked envelopes, click‘Trial Print’ or ‘Print’. We advise that you always trial printuntil you are used to using SmartStamp.®

How to print postage marks for multiple addresses

on labels

1 Select ‘Label’ in the ‘New’ menu to open the SmartStamp®

Selections window.

2 Select ‘Mail Merge’ print mode.

3 Select the appropriate postage product (note that you can changeindividual postage marks later) and click ‘OK’. This will open theAddress Book window.

4 Select addresses by clicking the checkbox next to each addressrequired.

5 Click ‘OK’ to return to the main preview area, at which pointeach of the selected addresses is applied to a label or pair oflabels, depending on your chosen format. You can edit anaddress/postage pair by clicking on the address or postage label.(Go to page 35 for using labels in Mail Merge.)

6 You can preview your individual sheets of labels by clicking thearrows located below the main preview area. You can change the label type and format for the mail merge via the drop-down‘Select a format to print on’.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 36


7 Select a printer from the drop-down list and edit the printersettings.

8 When you’re ready to print your postage marked labels, click‘Trial Print’ or ‘Print’. We advise that you always trial printuntil you are used to using SmartStamp.®

Change mail merge settings.

How to edit individual postage marks and

addresses:

1 Select the envelope, label or one of the labels from the pair oflabels you want to edit.

2 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window from the main previewarea by double clicking the preview or ‘Address & Postage’ fromthe ‘Edit Mailing’ menu.

3 Edit the address or select the appropriate postage product fromthe tabbed options. If you make changes (additions or removals) to your Favourites, these changes will be saved in all otherprint modes.


Bulk print.

When you select ‘Bulk Print’ from the SmartStamp® Selectionswindow, a numeric box will appear.

You can either select from this list, using the up and down arrows, or manually enter a number up to a maximum of 999.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 37


Bulk print postage onto envelopes or labels.

How to print postage in bulk for a number of envelopes

or labels:

1 Select ‘Bulk Print’ from the SmartStamp® Selections window.

2 Specify the number of postage marks you wish to print by eitherusing the up and down arrows or manually entering a numberfrom 1 to 999.

3 Select the appropriate postage product from the tabbed options.

4 Click ‘OK’ to return to the main preview area. You can preview theindividual envelopes or label sheets by clicking the arrows locatedbelow the preview area. You can switch to another print mediumvia the ‘New’ menu. If you want to switch between envelopes andlabels, select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu to resetyour print.

5 Select a printer from the drop-down menu and edit the printer settings.

6 When you’re ready to print your stamped envelopes or labelsheets, click ‘Trial Print’ or ‘Print’. We advise that you alwaystrial print until you are used to using SmartStamp.®

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 38


Create a bulk print

select the number of postage marks to print

‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’ and ‘Overseas Mail’ options


summary of product and any additional services selected

Change bulk print settings.

How to change the number of postage marks to print

or edit other bulk print settings:

1 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window by double clicking thepreview or ‘Address & Postage’ from the ‘Edit Mailing’ menu.

2 Select the appropriate postage product from the tabbed options. If you make changes (additions or removals) to your ‘Favourites’,these changes will be saved in all other print modes.


logos, slogans and sender addresses

Give your envelopes and labels a professional look –

by personalising them with your own logo or slogan

alongside the postage mark.

SmartStamp® has a logo library for you to use. You can save yourlogo graphics in the SmartStamp® default logo folder where you can find them easily.

On envelopes, you can also include your sender address, which will appear in the top left corner on the front of your envelope. You may store up to five different sender addresses for reuse onyour envelopes, which saves you having to manually enter anaddress every time you wish to use it.

These logo formats may be applied to envelopes and some labels in conjunction with Envelope Template, Label Template, Single Print,Mail Merge and Bulk Print:

• Bitmap (.bmp)

• TIFF (.tif)

• GIF (.gif)

• JPEG (.jpg).

Use the ‘Sender Address’ & ‘Logo/Slogan’ tab of the SmartStamp®

Selections window to select your logo or slogan for printing ontoenvelopes or labels.

A sender address can also be added to labels when one or two labels per sheet are selected.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 39


Applying a logo or slogan.

SmartStamp® allows you to add your own logo, slogan or messagealongside your printed stamps in a reserved area of 50 x 28 mm tothe left of the stamp. This gives your envelopes and labels a distinctand professional appearance.

To specify whether you wish to apply either a logo or slogan to yourenvelope or label, the following radio buttons are provided in the‘Logo/Slogan’ section of the tab:

• ‘Insert Logo’ for the selection of either a Bitmap, GIF, JPEG orTIFF from your own files

• ‘Insert Slogan’ (or message) for which you will write the textand select or edit the font settings.

Your selection and edits will automatically appear to the left of aspecimen stamp in the preview area of the screen. This is so you can see in advance how the logo/slogan/message will look whenapplied to the actual stamp.

The application of logos, slogans and messages can be used inconjunction with Envelope Template, Label Template, Single Print,Mail Merge or Bulk Print. Your chosen logo, slogan or message aresettings for the currently selected mail item.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 40


select ‘Insert Logo’ and click to select file

graphic and postage preview area

Insert your company logo

• If you would like to save the settings to all items of your currentmailing, tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box below the preview area

• you would like the settings to be your default settings tick‘Set as Default’.

Any further mailings will feature these logo and slogan settings. If you save the current mailing as a template, the logo and slogansettings will be saved with it.

To deactivate the logo, slogan or message, simply select‘No Logo/Slogan’ in the ‘Logo/Slogan’ section of the screen.

The preview area will automatically respond by removing the logo/slogan/message from beside the specimen stamp.

Applying a logo to envelopes and labels.

How to apply a logo to a mailing item:

1 Select ‘Logo & Slogan’ from the ‘Edit Mailing’ menu to the left, or select it from the preview area by double clicking.

2 In the ‘Logo/Slogan’ section of the SmartStamp® Selectionswindow, select the ‘Insert Logo’ radio button.

3 Click the ‘Select file…’ button to open the default SmartStamp®

logo folder.

4 Choose a logo or browse the file system for the desired image file,and click ‘Open’. The selected image is displayed to the left of thespecimen stamp in the preview area.

5 You can scale and align the logo you have selected by using thecorresponding controls to the right.

6 Tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box below the preview area to putthis logo on to all items of your current mailing.

7 If you would like to set this logo as default for future mailings,mark the ‘Set as Default’ check box.

8 Click ‘OK’ to return to the original preview area.

9 Or click ‘Cancel’ to ignore the changes.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 41


The size of your logo will be centred and scaled automatically. If your image is too small and gets distorted when printed, you cantry adding a white or transparent background to the image with animage editor application.

Please note:

• SmartStamp® provides a selection of logos that you can choosefrom. When you install SmartStamp,® the logos folder will open bydefault when clicking ‘Select file...’ in the ‘Logo/Slogan’ sectionof the SmartStamp® Selections window

• By pressing the ‘Select file…’ button after you have already madea selection, the next file you select will replace the former

• By clicking ‘Cancel’, the changes will be ignored.

Removing logos.

• To remove a logo from a mailing item, simply select‘No Logo/Slogan’

• The preview area will automatically respond by removing the logo from beside the specimen stamp.

Remember that you can always select ‘Apply to All’ to remove the logos from all items of the current mailing. Also, tick‘Set as Default’ to deactivate logos for future mailings.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 42


Add a slogan.

As with logos, slogans can be applied to envelopes

and labels in conjunction with Envelope Template,

Label Template, Single Print, Mail Merge and Bulk Print.

Go to page 56 for a list of labels you can use with

logos and slogans.

Regulations apply when inserting slogans with SmartStamp.®

Please see our terms and conditions for more information.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 43


Insert your company slogan

click to change fontenter your slogan

slogan and postage preview area

How to add a slogan to your envelopes or labels:

To add a slogan alongside your stamps, a text field is provided to the left of the stamp.

1 Select ‘Logo & Slogan’ from the ‘Edit Mailing’ menu to the left, or double click to select it from the preview area.

2 In the ‘Logo/Slogan’ section of the SmartStamp® Selectionswindow, select the ‘Insert Slogan’ radio button.

3 Enter the text of your slogan or message in the input field locatedto the left of the radio buttons. As you enter your text, it willautomatically appear to the left of a specimen stamp in thepreview area below. The font that your slogan first appears in, is dictated by the default font settings.

4 To centre the text and/or to break the text into more than one line, use your space and return keys as necessary. Text which is longer than 255 characters will be truncated.

5 Tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box below the preview area to putthe slogan on all items of your current mailing.

6 If you want to set this slogan as default for future mailings, mark the ‘Set as Default’ check box.

7 When ready, click ‘OK’.

8 Click on ‘Cancel’ to ignore the changes.

To remove a slogan from a mailing item, simply select ‘No

Logo/Slogan’. The preview area will automatically respond byremoving the slogan that was next to the specimen stamp. Remember that you can always select ‘Apply to All’ to remove the slogan from all items of the current mailing. You can also tick‘Set as Default’ to deactivate the slogan for future mailings.

How to change your slogan font settings:

1 Click the ‘Font’ button in the ‘Logo/Slogan’ section of the SmartStamp® Selections window.

2 A standard windows font selection window will appear.

3 Select the desired typeface and size, then click ‘OK’.

Add a sender address.

Sender Address allows you to store up to five different

sender addresses for reuse on your envelopes. This saves

you having to manually re-enter the sender address every

time you wish to use it. (Please note that upon installation,

the sender address functionality is turned off and all five

positions are listed as unused.)

The sender addresses that you enter will automatically be availablefor future selection. You will just need to click the ‘Sender Address’

option in the navigation bar and activate the ‘Show Sender

Address’ box in the corresponding window.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 44


How to enter a new sender address for

your envelopes:

1 Click the ‘Sender Address’ option in the navigation baror double click to select it from the preview area.

2 Tick the ‘Show Sender Address’ box. This will open both an input field entitled ‘Sender’ and a drop-down list containing thesender addresses you have entered so far.

3 From the drop-down list, select either an unused entry or a used entry that you wish to overwrite. Selection of an unusedentry clears the field above. With the selection of a used entry, the relevant data will appear in the input field for editingand automatic storage.

4 In the input field, enter or edit the sender address as you wish it to appear on the actual envelope. The sender address willautomatically be saved to the folder on your PC that you selectedfrom the drop-down.

5 Click the ‘Font’ button of the ‘Sender’ section if you want tochange the font of the ‘Sender Address’. A standard windows font selection window will appear.


7 Tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box below the preview area to put this sender address on all items of your current mailing.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 45


click checkbox to activateenter sender address

preview sender address

drop-down list stores up to five addresses

Insert a sender address

8 If you want to set this sender address as default for futuremailings, mark the ‘Set as Default’ check box.


10 Click ‘Cancel’ to ignore the last changes.

The ‘Show Sender Address’ check box determines whether thesender address is displayed on the envelope. Select the box toactivate and deselect it to deactivate the display of the senderaddress.

Selecting or editing an existing sender address.

How to use the Sender Address option to select

and/or edit a sender address you have already entered:

1 Click the ‘Sender Address’ option in the navigation bar ordouble click to select it from the preview area.

2 Tick the ‘Show Sender Address’ box. This will open both an input field entitled ‘Sender’ and a drop-down list containing sender addresses you have entered so far.

3 Select the required sender address from the drop-down list. The data relating to this entry will appear in the input field forediting and automatic storage.

4 In the input field, enter or edit the sender address as you wish it to appear on the actual envelope. The sender address will automatically be saved to the folder on your PC that youselected from the drop-down.

5 Click the ‘Font’ button of the ‘Sender’ section if you want tochange the font of the ‘Sender Address’. A standard Windows font selection window will appear.


7 If you want to put this sender address on all items of yourcurrent mailing, tick the ‘Apply to All’ check box.

8 If you want to set this sender address as default for futuremailings, mark the ‘Set as Default’ check box.


10 Click ‘Cancel’ to ignore the changes.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 46


print envelopes and labels

Save a template.

How to save a Template:

The ‘Save’ option on the ‘Templates’ menu allows you to save your current postage settings as reusable templates (for envelopesand labels).

After selecting ‘Save’, a file dialog appears. By default, it opens in your templates directory.

• It is recommended that you save your template here since thisdirectory will not be deleted when you uninstall SmartStamp®

• Type a name into the file name entry field and press the ‘Save’ button

• Tick the check box ‘Set As Default Envelope Template’

if you want this template to be your default envelope template

• Default label templates can be defined accordingly

• In the future, SmartStamp® will open with this template.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 47


Save a template

type in file name

click ‘Save’

How to open a Template:

The ‘Open’ option on the ‘Templates’ menu lets you open yourfavourite stamp settings (envelopes or labels).

After selecting ‘Open’, a file dialog appears. By default, it opens in your templates directory.

• Select the template you want to open and press the ‘Open’ button

• Tick the check box ‘Set As Default Envelope or Label Template’

if you want this template to be your default envelope or labeltemplate

• In the future SmartStamp® will open with this template.

get started

<Back to contents

Page: 48


Open a template

select file

click ‘Open’

Alter the preview to your printable area.

The printable area of your envelope or label and the

postage mark is indicated by broken lines and depends

on local printer settings. Regions outside the printable area

are marked as hatched.

Next to the preview area are five control buttons that allow you to zoom in and out, shift the position of your view, select specific input fields and activate the printer offset.

You can also access these options via a pop-up menu when you right click on the preview area.

• Increase – to magnify the scale of the preview

• Reduce – to reduce the scale of the preview

• Position – to shift the preview up, down, left or right

• Select – to edit specific input fields

• Printer offset – to move the printable area.

The area highlighted in the diagram on the next page illustrates the hatched areas. These appear on your preview as diagonal lines. Anything covered by hatched areas will be outside the printablearea of your envelope or label.

The hatched area of an envelope or sheet of labels depends on the format on your printer settings and the selected printer from the drop-down list.

Make sure that your selected format is suitable for the envelopes or labels you are going to print on. Alternatively, you can use theprinter offset to move your printable area by adjusting the verticaland horizontal margins.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 49


Printer offset.

The printer offset lets you adjust the printable area, both verticallyand horizontally, by visually moving the print medium behind it.Printable items include your postage mark, logo or slogan, recipientaddress and sender address, and it is not possible to move any ofthese items independently.

You will need to use the printer offset when the margins created by your printer don’t match the margins as you see them in thepreview area.

The printer offset setting is saved with the printer selection and can be set independently for each installed printer.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 50


five control buttons

hatched areas

Preview to your printable area

How to apply a printer offset using drag and drop:

1 Select the most appropriate envelope size or label sheet formatfrom the options in the ‘Select a format to print on’

drop-down menu.

2 Activate your printer offset by clicking on the last control buttonbeside the preview area. The activated printer offset will beindicated by the cursor arrow changing to a double arrow.

3 Drag your envelope or sheet of labels until the printable area is adjusted to the appropriate margins. You can see how the margins move as the hatched area increases and decreases over the shadow.

4 A trial print will show you whether the postage is printing as you want it.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 51


select envelope size

activate printer offset

drag and drop onto preview area

Apply printer offset using drag and drop

Adjusting a print with printer offset.

The printer offset allows you to adjust your printing. The offsetfeature moves the stamp and address according to the location ofthe envelope or label. If the envelope includes a logo and senderaddress, they are also adjusted according to the offset.

The printer offset may be used in lots of different ways. Two of themost common instances are:

a. using an envelope or label format that is not directly listed in the‘Select a format to print on’ drop-down box

b. adjusting the printing to your printer settings.

In both cases, the printer offset is set up and saved by the printer,and can be activated or deactivated depending on the printer.

How to configure the printer offset with your cursor:

• From the main preview area, click on the ‘Printer Offset’ button

• You can also set up the printer offset via a pop-up menu, whenthe right mouse button is clicked in the preview area:

Increase magnifies the scale of the preview.

Reduce minimises the scale of the preview.

Position allows you to shift the preview up, down, left and right.

Select allows you to edit specific input fields.

Printer Offset allows you to modify the location of the media.

• Your mouse cursor will change to indicate that you are in printeroffset mode.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 52


How to set up a printer offset

1 Click on the preview area and drag your envelope or label untilyour stamp and address are inside the printable area. Note that the printable area of the envelope or stamp is indicated by broken lines and depends on local printer settings. Regions thatare outside the printable area are marked as hatched areas.

2 Release the mouse button to preview your print.

3 Keep moving your envelope or label until your stamp and address are located in the appropriate printable area.

You can also activate and deactivate your printer offset fora specific print.

Configuring your printer offset to scale.

1 From the main preview area, right click on your mouse to display a pop-up menu.

2 Select ‘Printer Offset’ from the pop-up menu.

3 Move the vertical and horizontal offset accordingly.

Note that you can view your changes in the preview area while the Printer Offset window is open.

You can also activate and deactivate your printer offsetfor a specific print.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 53


How to apply a printer offset using the sliding bars:

1 Select the most appropriate envelope size or label sheet formatfrom the options in the ‘Select a format to print on’ drop-down menu.

2 Right click to select the printer offset via the pop-up menu.If the printer offset is deactivated, you must activate

it manually.

3 Move the vertical and horizontal sliding bars to increase anddecrease the margins between the edges and the printable items.You can instantly see on the preview area the margins move as the hatched area increases and decreases over the shadow.

4 A trial print will show you whether the postage is printing as you want it.

Note that the maximum horizontal and vertical printer offset is20mm and -20mm.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 54


use sliding bars

right click to open printer offset window

preview printer offset

Apply printer offset using sliding bars

Choose the right format for envelopes and labels.

From the main preview area, you can choose whether you wantto print on envelopes or labels. You can print in Single Print, Mail Merge and Bulk Print modes.

If you want to change from envelopes to labels and vice versa, click on the appropriate option from the navigation menu, which will open the SmartStamp® Selections window.

Select an envelope or label format from the ‘Select a format to

print on’ drop-down. Your selection will be automatically previewedin the main window so that you can see how the postage markedenvelope or label sheet will look.

Print onto labels.

SmartStamp® lets you print onto various standard label sizes, special labels and roll labels.

You can print a single label, a pair of labels or a sheet of labelsthrough Single Print, Mail Merge and Bulk Print modes.

Depending on the print mode and size of your labels, you can addaddresses, logos and slogans to your labels. However, this will limitthe range of labels you can print on.

When working with an address in Single Print or in Mail Merge, the labels work as pairs where there are more than four labels persheet. Where there are one, two or four labels per sheet, the addressand postage are both applied to the same label. SmartStamp®

allocates the address and postage mark according to the print modeyou have selected. You can move labels within the same sheet andSmartStamp® will always know which labels comprise the pair.

When working in Single Print without an address or in Bulk Print,each label works independently.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 55


Choose the right label.

When you select Single Print, Mail Merge or Bulk Print, your postage mark will automatically be placed in the appropriate location, depending on the size of your label. To change the label size, select a label size and formatfrom the format menu.

SmartStamp® supports the following labels:

SmartStamp® special labels.

• Logo labels/J5103TM > 135 x 38mm (pair of labels, 10 per sheet)

• All in one labels/J5102TM > 63.5 x 38mm& 135 x 38mm (pair of labels, 14 per sheet)

• Bulk print labels/J5101TM > 69 x 38mm (pair of labels, 20 per sheet)

N New! Avery labels.

• L30063 > 99.1 x 38.1mm (2 labels, per A5 sheet)

• L30065 > 99.1 x 67.7mm(2 labels, per A5 sheet)

Avery standard labels.

• J8167®/L7167® > 199.6 x 289.1mm (1 label, 1 per sheet)

• J8567TM/L7567TM > 210 x 297mm (1 label, 1 per sheet)

• J8168®/L7168® > 199.6 x 143.5mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

• J8169®/L7169® > 99.1 x 139mm (pair of labels, 4 per sheet)


• J8173TM/L7173TM > 99.1 x 57mm (pair of labels, 10 per sheet)


New! Seiko roll labels.

• SLP-2RLE > 36 x 89mm (260 labels per roll)

• SLP-SRL > 101 x 54mm(220 labels per roll)

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 56


Roll labels.

• Dymo 99012®/Avery RS013TM > 36 x 89mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

• Dymo 99014®/Avery RS015TM > 54 x 101mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

• Avery R5013TM > 89 x 36mm (1 roll per pack, 280 labels)

• Avery R5014TM > 38.1 x 99.1mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

• Avery R5015TM > 101 x 54mm (1 roll per pack, 280 labels)

• eStamp®4 > 100 x 50mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

• eStamp®2 > 35 x 150mm (pair of labels, 2 per sheet)

New! Brother roll labels.

• DK-22205 > 62mm (continuous roll)

• DK-11208 > 38 x 90mm (1 label per sheet)

If no logo or slogan is applied, the size of the print area reduces to a width of 70mm. The postage mark heightremains unchanged.

If a logo or slogan is applied, only the following

label sizes are supported:

• J8167®/L7167® > 199.6 x 289.1mm (1 per sheet)

• J8567TM/L7567TM > 210 x 297mm (1 per sheet)

• J8168®/L7168® > 199.6 x 143.5mm (2 per sheet)

• J8169®/L7169® > 99.1 x 139mm (4 per sheet)

• Logo labels/J5103TM > 135 x 38mm (10 per sheet)

• All-in-one labels/J5102TM > 69 x 38mm & 135 x 38mm (14 per sheet)

• eStamp®2 > 35 x 150mm (2 per sheet)

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 57


Print specific labels within a sheet.

If you want to print postage marks on a sheet of labels but do notplan to use the entire sheet before the post-by date, you can avoidwaste by selecting specific labels for print. First check with the labelmanufacturer that you can pass your sheet of labels through yourprinter more than once.

To print on selected labels, you should first create them in the usual way (see page 32). Then, using your mouse, point the cursorat a postage mark which needs to be repositioned, press the mousebutton and drag the postage mark to the required label beforereleasing the mouse button.

Select labels for editing.

You can select specific labels in order to edit details such as:

• address or postage on Single Print with address or Mail Merge

• specific postage marks on Mail Merge and Bulk Print.

How to select another label for editing purposes:

Please note: as default, the label in the top left cornerof the label sheet will appear highlighted.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 58


select label format to print on

select label to edit

click to edit

Edit labels in a bulk print

1 Double click on any label on the sheet displayed in the previewarea. If you are working in Mail Merge mode, the address/postagecombination will open for editing.

2 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, you can edit as usual. If you stay in the same print mode, you will be editing only thelabel or pair of labels you have selected. If you change print mode,it will reset your previous preparation.


Select labels for deletion.

To delete a specific postage or address on labels, select the label you want to delete and click ‘Delete’ on your keyboard. Alternatively,you can use the pop-up window and select ‘Delete’.

If you delete all the labels on the same sheet, the sheet will beremoved from the preview area. You cannot delete the last label (or either of the last pair of labels) of a print.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 59


Edit labels in a mail merge

select label format to print on

select label to edit

click to edit

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 60


Add labels on a mail merge.

When working in Mail Merge mode, you can add a newaddress/postage combination on empty labels without resetting yourcurrent configuration. If the label sheets are full, you cannot add new postage to the existing print.

How to add new postage and addresses to blank labels:

1 Select the empty label where you want to add the postage andaddress.

2 Double click on the label or click on ‘Address & Postage’ in the‘Edit Mailing’ menu to open the SmartStamp® Selections window.

3 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, either manually enter/editthe address in the recipient address field or click ‘Address Book’

to open your address book directory and select the address youwant. Click ‘OK’ to copy this address to the recipient address field.

4 Select a new postage product if it is different from the lastselection, choosing from the ‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’ and‘Overseas Mail’ options.


5 Click ‘OK’ to return to the main preview window.

Print onto envelopes.

SmartStamp® lets you print to all standard envelope sizes, although you should check that your printer accepts the envelopesize you select.

You can:

• print one envelope at a time with or without an address

• print many envelopes without addresses

• use the addresses from your address book to print one ormore envelopes.

You can also specify the sender address (which will appear on the top left hand corner of the envelope) and add your company logo or slogan to appear next to the postage mark.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 61


Choose the right envelope.

SmartStamp® supports the following envelope sizes:

• DL envelope > 110 x 220mm

• C4 envelope > 324 x 229mm



The postage mark and address will be automatically placed n the appropriate locations, depending on envelope size. To change envelope size, select the name of the envelope from the ‘Select a format to print on’ drop-down box.

Select an envelope format

select envelope format to print on

click to edit

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 62


Custom formats.

SmartStamp® allows you to define your own envelope and labelformats. The custom formats you define can be used as easily as thestandard ones. You can choose your custom envelope or label fromthe format drop-down list on the preview area, under the headers‘Custom Envelopes’ or ‘Custom Labels’.

To create, modify or delete your custom envelopes or labels yousimply choose ‘Define...’ from the ‘Custom Envelopes’ or ‘Custom

Labels’ sections of the format drop-down list.

Change details or settings before printing.

How to change the details on an envelope prior to printing:

1 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window from the preview areaby double clicking on the preview or clicking on ‘Edit Mailing’.

2 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, either manually enter/editthe address in the recipient address field or click ‘Address Book’

to open your address book directory and select the address youwant. Click ‘OK’ to copy this address to the recipient address field.

format options

Select a format to print on

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 63


3 Select another postage product from the ‘Favourites’, ‘UK Mail’

and ‘Overseas Mail’ options.


Go to page 69 for more about address books.

Load envelopes and labels correctly.

It is important that you place your postage mark correctly on theenvelopes or labels you wish to print. Click on ‘Advice Centre’ in the‘Extras’ menu for more information. For more help configuring yourprinter with SmartStamp,® please go to the SmartStamp® website.

Printing tips on the SmartStamp® website

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 64


postal services and postage marks

Get Royal Mail product and service information.

A ‘Product Information’ button is provided under the ‘UK Mail’

and ‘Overseas Mail’ tabs in the SmartStamp® Selections window.This links directly to the product information pages of the Royal Mail website.

New prices and formats.

On 21st August 2006, the way we price post is changing to take into account size as well as weight. There will be three main formats:Letter, Large Letter and Packet. Your SmartStamp® 3.0 software willautomatically update to the new prices.

From 21st August, you will need to select the appropriate formatfor your letter or package whenever you print a SmartStamp.®

For more information about prices and formats, please visitwww.royalmail.com/size

New! SmartStamp® now lets you print postage for packages

being sent via Special DeliveryTM 9.00am and ad hoc

Business Collections.

‘UK Mail’ tab


product information button



Select UKpostal services

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 65


Delivery within the UK and Channel Islands.

The ‘UK Mail’ tab in the SmartStamp® Selections window lets youchoose products and additional services for destinations within theUK and Channel Islands.

HHow to select a product or service for delivery within

the UK:

1 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window from the ‘New’

menu by clicking ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’.

2 From the destination drop-down menu under the ‘UK Mail’

tab, select ‘UK’ or ‘Channel Islands’.

3 From the combination boxes, select your:

• product

• format, i.e. Letter, Large Letter or Packet(from 21st August 2006)

• weight of item

• additional services.

Your selections and their prices will be displayed in the summary.

4 Click ‘OK’ to apply your selected product (and additional services) to your envelope(s) or label(s) and return to the main preview area.

Please note: some products are only available in specific areas of the UK.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 66


Standard parcels.

Please note that like other products, such as Special DeliveryTM orproducts requiring additional services, your Standard Parcel itemsmight need to be taken to your local Post Office® branch.

Delivery outside the UK.

The ‘Overseas Mail’ tab in the SmartStamp® Selections window letsyou choose products and additional services for destinations outsidethe UK. The first drop-down box you’ll see provides a full list ofcountries in alphabetical order.

HHow to select a product or service for delivery

within the UK:



2 Select the ‘Overseas Mail’ tab.

3 From the combination boxes, select your:

• destination

• product

• weight of item

• additional services.

Your selections and their prices will be displayed.

4 Click ‘OK’ to apply your selected product (and additional services) to your envelope(s) or label(s) and return to the mainpreview window.

Select overseas postal services

‘Overseas Mail’ tab




Favourites

Save frequently used postage values.

The ‘Favourites’ tab in the SmartStamp® Selections

window contains product selectors saved for easy and

immediate reuse.

How to add a postage value to your Favourites:



2 To save a favourite in Overseas Mail, select the ‘Overseas Mail’

tab.

3 Select from the drop-down menu the product class and weightto be applied to your Favourites. Your selections and their priceswill be displayed.

4 Click ‘Add to Favourite’ to save your selected postage information,which will be added to the options available in your Favourites.

You can have a maximum of six products saved as favourites. You can change the products saved in your Favourites by removing items and replacing them with others.

Remove postage values from your Favourites.

How to remove an unwanted postage value from your

Favourites:



2 Select the ‘Favourites’ tab.

3 Select the postage value to be removed and click ‘Remove

Favourite’. The selected postage value will disappear from the options available in your Favourites.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 67


remove from your Favourites

Remove a Favourite

Find a postcode or address.

If you are unsure of a postcode or address, you can visitwww.royalmail.com to look them up. Click on ‘Postcode Finder’

and login to find or check a postcode or address.

Understand the postage mark.

Every postage mark features a unique eight digit code and barcode,which are read by Royal Mail sorting technology to prevent theposting of fraudulent or duplicate items. Thick and thin black barshelp to identify the class of each item; for example, if the first baris thin then it represents First Class. You can post your mail up toand including the post-by date.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 68


Example of First Class postage mark

21.09.06

21.09.06

£4.10

21.09.06

Example of Standard Parcel postage mark

Example of Second Class Welsh language postage mark

address books

Select your address books.

In Single Print and Mail Merge modes, you can select recipients fromaddress books you have already set up on your PC.

SmartStamp® supports the following PC address books:

• Microsoft® Address Book (WAB)

• Microsoft® Outlook

• Microsoft® Exchange (CDO)

• Symantec ACT!

• Microsoft® Excel (xls)

• New! Microsoft® Access (mdb)

• New! eBay™ Address Book.

Your access to these address books depends on which applicationsyou have installed on your computer.

All installed address books will appear in a drop-down list nearthe top of the Address Book window, which you can reach via theSmartStamp® Selections window.

An activated address book is shown with a dark blue checkmark. An uninstalled or deactivated address book is shown with a redcheckmark.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 69


Access and import your PC’s address books.

How to access a Microsoft® or Outlook addressbook for use

with SmartStamp’s Address Book:

1 Select ‘Address Book’ in the SmartStamp® Selections window toopen your address book directory.

2 Select the address book you wish to activate or deactivate from thedrop-down list.

3 Click ‘Settings’ and, in the pop-up window, either check oruncheck the ‘Activate’ box to activate or deactivate access to the address book entries. The ‘Activate’ box is not shown for alltypes of address book. Sometimes you may be prompted to selecta file from a browser.

4 Click ‘OK’ to save your settings and return to the Address Bookwindow.

5 You will be prompted to select the fields that you want to appearon the address list.

Clicking ‘Cancel’ will return you to the Address Book windowwithout saving your changes.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 70



configure your address book table


search for an address within a selected address book

Access and import an address book from your PC

Import data from Microsoft® Exchange (CDO).

How to access a Microsoft® Exchange folder for use with

SmartStamp’s Address Book:

1 Click ‘Address Book’ in the SmartStamp® Selections window to open your address book directory.

2 Select the ‘Microsoft® Exchange’ option from the drop-down list.

3 Click ‘Settings’ to open a Microsoft® Exchange (CDO) window.

4 Click the ‘Automatically log on to server’ checkbox in the usersection and click ‘OK’.

5 Select the appropriate profile from the ‘Profile’ drop-down list.

6 Click ‘OK’ to save your database settings and return to the AddressBook window.


If you select Microsoft® Exchange from the drop-down list in yourAddress Book window, an extra option will appear below the drop-down list box. This option enables you to switch between the variousExchange folders available.

Import data from Symantec ACT!

How to access Symantec ACT! data for use with

SmartStamp’s Address Book:

1 Click ‘Address Book’ in the SmartStamp® Selections window to open your address book directory.

2 Select the ‘Symantec ACT’ option from the drop-down list.

3 Click the ‘Settings’ button and in the pop-up which appears, click the ‘…’ button to the right of the ‘File location’ input field.You will be presented with a standard Microsoft® ‘Open File’ window.

4 Locate the appropriate database in the ‘Open File’ window and click ‘Open’. This returns you to the previous window, where your selected database will appear in the database input field.

5 Click ‘OK’ to save your database settings and return to the Address Book window.


use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 71


Import data from Microsoft® Excel.

How to access data in a Microsoft® Excel file (xls) for use with

the Address Book:

1 To open your address book directory, click the ‘Address Book’

button in the SmartStamp® Selections window.

2 Select the ‘Microsoft® Excel’ option from the drop-down list box.

3 Click the ‘Settings’ button and in the pop-up which appears, clickthe ‘…’ button to the right of the ‘File location’ input field. Youwill be presented with a standard Microsoft® ‘Open File’ window.

4 Choose the appropriate file and click ‘Open’. This will return you to the previous pop-up, where your chosen file will now appear inthe File Location input field.

5 Use the ‘Worksheet’ drop-down box to select the worksheet youwant to read the address data from.

6 Click on the ‘First row column headings’ check box.

If you have configured your Microsoft® Excel file to indicate thatthe first row of your file contains the column headers, these will be displayed.

If you haven’t configured your first row of the Microsoft® Excel file to contain the column headers, your address fields will be displayedas A, B, C, D and E.

7 Click ‘OK’ to save your file settings and return to the ‘Address

Book’ window.

8 You will be prompted to select the columns from the spreadsheetdisplayed.

Clicking ‘Cancel’ instead of ‘OK’ will return you to the Address Bookwindow without saving your changes.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 72


New! Import data from eBay.™

How to access data from eBay™ for use with the

Address Book window:

1 To open your address book directory, click the button ‘Address Book’ in the SmartStamp® Selections window.

2 Select the ‘eBay™’ option from the drop-down list box.

3 Click the ‘Settings’ button. If you are using the eBay™ address book for the first time, the following window appears:

4 Insert your eBay™ username for accessing address data. Click the‘eBay™ Registration’ button. A browser window with an eBay™

login screen will appear.

5 Type in your eBay™ login and password and accept the transferof your data. This step is necessary to comply with eBay’sAuthentication and Authorisation policy. After accepting thetransfer of data, a token generator page is displayed. Just ignoreand close this page, and go back to the SmartStamp® address book.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 73


enter your eBay™ user name

Import data from eBay™

6 The following window will appear (see below):

7 Select the ‘From’ and ‘to’ date of the finished auctions you require the address data for. Please note that the selection must not exceed a period of 30 days.


Clicking ‘Cancel’ instead of ‘OK’ will return you to the ‘Address

Book’ window without saving your changes.

If you would like to change the eBay™ user, click the ‘Change

user’ button. This will take you back to step 3.

The authorisation you granted SmartStamp® in step 5 expires after 18 months. If you want to cancel it before this, please goto ‘My eBay™’ and modify the authorisation settings accordingly.

Please note: Royal Mail is not responsible for the contentof eBay™ web pages.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 74


Select the dates of the auctions you requireaddresses for

Import data from eBay™

New! Import data from Microsoft® Access.

How to access data from a Microsoft® Access

database for use with the Address Book dialog box:

1 Click the ‘Address Book’ button in the SmartStamp® Selectionswindow to open your address book directory.

2 Select the ‘Microsoft® Access’ option from the drop-down list.

3 Click the ‘Settings’ button and in the pop-up which appears, click the ‘…’ button to the right of the Database input field. You will be presented with a standard Microsoft® open file window.

4 Find the appropriate database file and click ‘Open’. This will return you to the previous pop-up, where your chosen file will now appear in the ‘Database’ input field.

5 Select the database table from the list below and if necessary,enter a password for the database.


7 You will be prompted to select the columns displayed on the screen.

Clicking ‘Cancel’ instead of ‘OK’ will return you to the Address Book window without saving your changes.

Configure your address table.

You can reconfigure the appearance and order of field columns in your address entry table, just as you can in Microsoft® Excel. For example:

• Shift the order of the field columns by clicking/holding a field heading with the left mouse button and thendragging/dropping the column header over your desired position in the address entry table

• Manually adjust the width of the field columns by clicking/holding the vertical border of the column with the left mouse button, then dragging/dropping the borderto reach your desired width

• Automatically adjust the width of a field column to fitthe text by double clicking the right-most vertical borderof the field column

• Sort the contents of the field columns in alphabetical or numerical order by clicking or double clicking the field column header

• Adjust the width of the entire address entry table by clicking and holding the right-most vertical border of the window in which the address table appears, then dragging and dropping the border to reach your desired width.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 75


With the exception of the alphabetical/numerical sorting of content,these settings are saved when you close the Address Book windowby clicking ‘OK’.

How to add or remove fields in your address table:



2 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, click ‘Address Book’

to open your address book directory.

3 Click on ‘Properties’ or place your cursor over the address entry table on the left, and then right click and select‘Properties’ to open the Field Selection box.

4 Check the boxes to the left of the field columns that you wantto include in the listed address entries. Uncheck field columns that you want to remove.

5 Click ‘OK’ to save the current field selection and return to the Address Book window.

Clicking ‘Apply’ saves the current field selection but leaves the Field Selection box open rather than returning to the Address Book window.

How to specify address field layout on your

envelope or label:

1 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window from the ‘New’ menu by clicking ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’.

2 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, click‘Address Book’ to open your address book directory.

3 Click ‘Configuration’ in the Address Book window. This opens the Configuration window, where all entry fields supported by the selected address book are listed on the left.

4 Select ‘Business’, ‘Private’ or ‘Other’ for the address type you wish to reconfigure. The current address settings for thataddress type will appear in an input field above these options.

5 Place your cursor at the location in the current address settings where a new field is to be inserted, and mark this location with a left mouse click.

6 Select the field to be included in the address type by clicking the entry in the list on the left. The entry will appear highlighted.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 76


7 Add the highlighted field to the location in the current addresssettings by clicking the button or double clicking the entry again.

8 Edit the layout of the current address settings in the input field bymarking, dragging and dropping with your cursor and left mousebutton. You may use your ‘return’ and ‘delete’ keys to insert anddelete separate lines in the address settings. You may alsomanually enter free text.

9 When finished, click ‘OK’ to save the current address settings and return to the Address Book window.

Clicking ‘Apply’ saves the current address settings but theConfiguration window remains open.

Clicking ‘Cancel’ returns you to the Address Book window withoutsaving changes made to the current address settings.

Search for an address.

How to search for a specific entry in your address book:

1 Select your address book from the ‘Choose Address Book’

drop-down list in the Address Book window. At this point, all entries in your address book will appear in an address table to the left of the window.

2 Enter all or part of a keyword in ‘Search Address Book’ and click ‘Search’. The message ‘Searching’ will indicate that yoursearch is in progress, and the message ‘Done’ will appear when the search is complete. All found matches will appear in anupdated address entry table to the left of the window.

3 Click ‘Delete Search’ to reset the address table when you have finished with the search function.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 77


Select an address for single print.

In Single Print mode, you can only select one recipient address at any time from an activated address book.

How to select a recipient address for a single print:

1 Select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu.Then select ‘Single Print’.

2 In the SmartStamp® Selections window, click‘Address Book’ to open your address book directory.

3 Select your address book from the ‘Choose from these

address books’ drop-down list. Depending on yourconfiguration, all entries in that address book will appear in an address table to the left of the Address Book window.

4 Select which address type you wish to use: ‘Business’, ‘Private’ or ‘Other’.

5 Select the recipient address by clicking in the address table.You can change your selection using the up and down arrows on your keyboard.

6 The selected address entry will appear highlighted in the address table, and details of that entry will appear in the‘Edit Address’ input field for further editing and/or configuring.

7 Click ‘OK’ to copy the recipient address to the postage marksettings and return to the SmartStamp® Selections window.

SmartStamp® does not save changes you make in youractual address book files, as these files are only imported.

Select multiple addresses for a mail merge.

In Mail Merge mode, you may select one or more recipientaddresses from the entries in an activated address book.

The total cost of printing your Mail Merge is

displayed at the top top of the screen next to

‘Printing Price’.

How to select multiple individual addresses

for a mail merge:

1 Select ‘Envelope’ or ‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu.

2 Select the ‘Mail Merge’ radio button.

3 Select the postage and press ‘OK’.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 78


4 Select your address book from the ‘Choose from these

address books’ drop-down list in the Address Book window.Depending on your configuration, all entries in that address bookwill appear in an address table to the left of the window.

5 Select an address type for each address: ‘Business’, ‘Private’

or ‘Other’.

6 Check the box to the left of each address that you want to use in the table.

7 Click ‘OK’ to copy the recipient addresses to the postage mark settings and return to the modified SmartStamp®

Selections window.

8 Use the arrows on the preview area to view each pageof addresses.

How to select multiple consecutively listed

individual addresses:

1 Select your address book from the ‘Choose from these address

books’ drop-down list in the Address Book window. Depending onyour configuration, all entries in that address book will appear inan address table to the left of the window.


or ‘Other’.

3 While holding down the shift key on your keyboard, left click on the first and last listed addresses that you want to include.All of the entries including and in between your selections will be highlighted.

4 When finished, release the shift key.

5 Right click anywhere on the address entry table and, from theoptions listed, select ‘Mark Selection’. A tick will appear in thecheckbox to the left of each address entry highlighted in theaddress entry table.


Selections window.

To remove ticks from checkboxes, right click over a highlightedsection of text and, from the options listed, select‘Unmark Selection’.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 79


How to select multiple non-consecutively listed

individual addresses:

1 Select your address book from the ‘Choose from these address

books’ drop-down list in the Address Book window. Depending on your configuration, all entries in that address book will appearin an address table to the left of the window.


or ‘Other’.

3 While holding down the ‘ctrl key’ on your keypad, left click each of the desired individual address entries. As you do so, theseentries will appear highlighted.

4 When finished, release the ‘ctrl key’.

5 Right click anywhere on the address entry table and, from theoptions listed, select ‘Mark Selection’. A tick will appear in thecheckbox to the left of each address entry highlighted in theaddress entry table.


Selections window.

To remove ticks from checkboxes, right click anywhere on theaddress entry table and, from the options listed, select ‘Unmark

Selection’.

There is more information on bulk printing in the software help files.

Postage History

Postage History allows you to keep track of the postage you print from your local PC via a set of easy to use functions. You can access the Postage History from the ‘Extras’ menu to the left of the main screen.

The Postage History records details of postage printed from yourPC, and displays this information in the following columns:

• Date: Date when postage was printed

• Time: Time when postage was printed

• Address: Recipient address

• Postal Item: Product used

• Price: Price of postage

• Memo: Custom text to categorise mailings

• UID: Postage identifier.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 80


The red buttons at the top of the Postage History screen allow you to access the following tools:

• Delete: Delete the selected item(s)

• Print: Print out the selected item(s)

• Export: Export the selection to various file formats

• Certificate of Posting: A form you can print out to certify your selected postage at a Post Office®.

The columns in the Postage History can be repositionedand resized.

The Postage History will be lost if SmartStamp® is uninstalled andreinstalled on the PC. This can be overcome if you export thecontents of the Postage History to a file before uninstalling.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 81


Search Postage History

select the column you would like to search

use the arrow buttons to select or deselect

Search Postage History Items.

All postage items printed from your PC will be saved in your PostageHistory. Thanks to sophisticated search functions, you can easilylocate specific postage items from the archived data.

After pressing the ‘Search’ button, the ‘Text’ tab allows you tosearch for a ‘substring’ (a keyword or phrase) in a set of columnsyou can choose from.

• Simply select the column name to the left and add it to the list atthe right by pressing ‘>>’

• Use ‘<<’ to remove columns in which to search

• Click in ‘Search into all columns’ to easily apply your search to all columns.

The ‘Date’ tag allows you to search for postage items printed in a specific period of time. Use the ‘Start Date’ and ‘End Date’

fields to define the required period.

You can use the pull down menus on the fields to select dates from a calendar.

Press ‘OK’ to search according to your specification, or ‘Cancel’

to abort the search.

If you want to clear your search and start again, press ‘Clear Search’ from the Postage History screen.

Select Postage History items:

The Postage History lets you select multiple rows by using thestandard selection for lists (i.e. ‘Shift’ key for intervals and ‘Ctrl’ key for adding individual rows).

To mark or unmark the selection, just right-click. You can select ordeselect all items by clicking the check box in the header of the firstcolumn.

By clicking on a column header, you can sort rows by the values of the corresponding column.

Delete Postage History items:

You can delete selected Postage History items by pressing the‘Delete’ button above the detail list. Make sure you select atleast one item. Please see earlier in this section for information on how to easily select Postage History items.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 82


Select Postage History Items

right click to mark selection

Print Postage History items:

You can print out selected Postage History items by pressing the‘Print’ button above the detail list. Make sure you select at leastone item. Please see: Select Postage History items for information on how to easily select Postage History items.

After pressing the ‘Print’ button, an Internet Explorer window opens with a printable list of the selected Postage History items. At the same time, the Internet Explorer printer dialog opens,enabling you to choose your printing options and print out the list.

Export Postage History items.

Exporting.

Exporting is the same as printing Postage History items but itopens a browser so you can choose to save it as a text, Excelspreadsheet or HTML file – in a selected directory.

Certificate of Posting.

Certificate of Posting gives you pre-printed details of your postageon a document that you can simply take to the Post Office® for asignature. You can select up to 12 items from the Postage History,excluding Special DeliveryTM which has its own certificates. Onceyou’ve selected your items, your SmartStamp® software will openAdobe reader with the completed Certificate of Posting, ready to be printed and taken to the Post Office® to be signed.

use SmartStamp®

<Back to contents

Page: 83


make payments and manage youraccount online

Your SmartStamp® account is managed within

a secure area of the Royal Mail website.

To start using the SmartStamp® software you must first set up an account. You will then be issued a customer reference numbervia email to activate the software.

A SmartStamp® account allows you to manage your expenditureonline. To buy postage online, just top up your account by creditor debit card or Direct Debit. You can then print postage marks up to the value of your account balance, which is automatically debitedevery time you print postage.

A great benefit of SmartStamp® is that you always know what’s going in and out of your account, as you can view it at anytime. You can also download a CSV file so that you can import theseexpenses into a spreadsheet.

To access your SmartStamp® account, select ‘View My Account’

in the left hand navigation menu. You will then be asked for youraccount password to access the secure area.

On entering your login details, you will be taken directly to youraccount home page.

manage your account

<Back to contents

Page: 84


Manage your account online

your account options

your customer reference number

useful tips link

From here, you can manage all aspects of your account. You can:

• top up your account

• view your account statement

• view your current balance

• print an invoice

• apply for a refund on unused or damaged postage marks

• update your personal details

• review your SmartStamp® subscription.

Top up your account.

Your SmartStamp® account is managed within a

secure area of the Royal Mail website. Here, you can

put money into your SmartStamp® account to print postage.

Each time you print ‘real’ postage marks, your account will be debited to the value of the postage printed. If you have setup an alert, you will receive a warning when your account is running low. (See page 19 for more on automatic warnings).

Topping up your account is easy. You can make one-off paymentsusing a credit or debit card. Or you can set up a Direct Debit of aregular top up amount that will be transferred every month.

How to top up your account:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand navigation of SmartStamp.® You will be taken to the login area of the Royal Mail website, and you will be asked for your accountpassword which will take you to your account home page.

2 Click ‘Top Up Your Account’.

3 Select whether you wish to make a regular orone-off payment.

One-off payments are automatically made using yourpayment card details as stored in ‘My Personal Details’.

View your account statement.

To keep track of all the transactions that take

place on your SmartStamp® account, you can view,

print and download a complete history (see page 80

on viewing Postage History).

manage your account

<Back to contents

Page: 85


How to view your account statement:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand navigation ofSmartStamp.® You will be taken to the login area of the Royal Mailwebsite, and you will be asked for your account password whichwill take you to your account home page.

2 Click ‘View Your Account Statement’.

3 Select ‘From’ and ‘To’ dates from the drop-down menus next to‘View a summary of your transactions’. Now you can see youraccount activities between these dates.

View your current balance.

Your SmartStamp® account balance is held in your

account area of the Royal Mail website and your last

updated balance can always be viewed through the ‘Your

account home’ link.

Your current SmartStamp® account balance is shown in the top right corner of SmartStamp.® This balance is updated every time you print a postage mark. If adjustments have been made since youlast printed postage (for example, you have topped up your account),then the balance will need updating. Click ‘Refresh’ to update thebalance displayed.

manage your account

<Back to contents

Page: 86


your account options

your account balance

summary of your transactions

View your account statement

Print a statement.

SmartStamp® lets you view your account

statement and export this data as a CSV file

to use with your usual invoicing software (for example,

Microsoft® Excel).

New! Now you can use your Postage History

to print your own statements.

Go to page 80 for more on Postage History.

Apply for a refund.

It is a good idea to test your postage before you start paying for real SmartStamps. This is why we’ve included a ‘Trial Print’

function.

However, there is the possibility that you may accidentally printpostage onto envelopes or labels that are damaged or you don’twish to use. In this case, we can offer you a refund.

How to apply for a refund on postage marks:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand navigation ofSmartStamp.® You will be taken to the login area of the Royal Mail website, and you will be asked for your accountpassword which will take you to your account home page.

2 Click ‘Apply For A Refund’.

3 Now you have two options:

• ‘Physical Evidence’ offers you a form to print, complete and return by Freepost to Royal Mail, enclosing the postage mark(s)that you do not wish to use

• ‘No Physical Evidence’ offers you an electronic form where you are asked to supply the date and time of printing yourpostage mark and the reason you are requesting a refund.

manage your account

<Back to contents

Page: 87


In either case, action must be taken within seven working days

of printing your postage incorrectly.

If you need any further help, please call our customer helpline on 08456 001 334. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Local call rates apply.

Update your personal details.

How to change your details as registered with

SmartStamp®:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand navigation to go to thelogin area of the Royal Mail website, where you will be asked foryour account password.

2 At the top of your account home page, click ‘Change Your

Personal Details’ to update all the details stored.

Review your SmartStamp® subscription.

Your SmartStamp® subscription information is held in yoursecure account area of the website.

How to review your SmartStamp® subscription:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand navigation to go to the login area of the Royal Mail website, where you will be asked for your account password.

2 At the top of your account homepage, click ‘Review Your

Subscription’ to view your previous subscription payments and change your payment method.

manage your account

<Back to contents

Page: 88


I’ve forgotten my password.

For extra security, SmartStamp® requires two passwords, each with a slightly different function:

• Your print password lets you print real postage marks from your software

• Your account password lets you access your account pages (to view your statement and top up your account on the Royal Mail website).

If you have forgotten either of your passwords, follow theinstructions opposite. If your print and account passwords are the same, follow the instructions for account passwords.

How to change your print password:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand menu.

2 Login to your Royal Mail account and navigate to ‘Update Your Personal Details’.

3 Click ‘Change Your Print Password’ and choose a new password for printing.

How to change your account password:

1 Click ‘View My Account’ on the left hand menu. You will be asked for your account password, but you should click on‘Forgotten Your Password’.

2 You will be prompted for your date of birth and asked the security question that you entered when you originally registered. Once you have supplied the correct answers, you will be emailed a emporary new password, which you mustchange later.

troubleshooting

<Back to contents

Page: 89


My account has been suspended.

What shall I do?

There may be a number of reasons why your accounthas been suspended. Please call the SmartStamp® helpline on 08456 001 334 for assistance.

Can I get a refund on unused or damaged

postage marks?

If you print unwanted or damaged postage marks you can claim a refund. You will need to complete a form and send the unusedpostage marks to a Freepost address within seven working days. The refund process is managed on the website. To find the refundform, click on ‘View My Account’ on the left hand menu and login. At the top of your account home page, click on ‘Apply For A Refund’.

Go to page 87 for more on refunds.

I’m having trouble with my printer and/or

internet connections.

If you are having difficulties connecting to your printer, it is likely that there’s a problem with Microsoft® Windows or yourprinter driver.

Try a test print by selecting the appropriate printer from theWindows Control Panel. If your internet connection is not working,first check your SmartStamp® internet settings. These can be foundon the ‘Connections’ tab of the ‘Options’ in the ‘Settings’ menu. If the settings appear to be correct, next use the Internet ConnectionWizard to try to automatically reset your connection.

Check if your proxy settings are correct. (Note that SmartStamp®

uses Internet Explorer settings for this. If you use a differentbrowser, such as Netscape, to access the internet, it may be thatyou don’t have Internet Explorer set up properly.)

Any persistent problems may be due to a hardware configuration.You should check the following:

• Is your modem working and correctly installed?

• Are your ISDN card settings correct?

• If you use a LAN, are your network settings correct?

troubleshooting

<Back to contents

Page: 90


Can I abandon or reset a print?

At any time before you click ‘Print’ on the preview area, you can change your mail items by double clicking the preview area or clicking ‘Edit Mailing’. From here you can change individual items as required, or cancel to start again.

Once you click ‘Print’ and successfully enter your password, you cannot cancel the print. If your items are unwanted or do not print correctly, you can claim for a refund.

Go to page 87 for more on refunds.

If you would like to abandon a print set up, select ‘Envelope’ or‘Label’ from the ‘New’ menu. All the previous set up is then lostand you can start again.

If at any time you are unsure about your items printing correctly, use the Trial Print feature to print a sample specimen of yourenvelope or label. This trial print will not be valid postage and nocost will be debited from your account.

Go to page 31 for more on trial printing.

How to cancel or reset a print:

1 Open the SmartStamp® Selections window from the preview area by double clicking on the preview area or ‘Edit Mailing’.

2 You will not be able to cancel your existing mail merge or bulk print, but you can reset your print by selecting a different print mode and returning to your existing one.

3 Click ‘OK’ to close the SmartStamp® Selections window and return to the main preview area.

‘OK’ will save any changes you make to your Favourites, and these changes will be stored for reuse in all other print modes beside your current print.

troubleshooting

<Back to contents

Page: 91


Can I change the settings for a complete mail merge?

Individual items can be changed in a mail merge and you can alter the sender address, slogan, logo and postage. You can simplyprint a single page once you have edited it, or you can apply thechanges to all the items in the mail merge. To apply the changes toall items, just select the ‘Apply to All’ button from the SmartStamp®

Selections window.

Go to page 37 for more on changing settings for a

complete mail merge.

You can add another address to a mail merge on an empty labelwithin the same sheet.

To add another address to an envelope, you must set up a new mail merge.

Can I change the settings of one item in a mail merge?

In Mail Merge mode, you can change the following settings onindividual items without affecting all other items in the mail merge:

• Postage products (see page 37)

• Recipient address (see page 37).

Double click the preview area or click ‘Edit Mailing’ to open eitherthe envelope postage mark and address or the label pair compoundby address and postage mark, whichever you are working on.

troubleshooting

<Back to contents

Page: 92


Can I use SmartStamp® with more than one address book?

SmartStamp® supports more than one address book, butyou can only use addresses from one address book at a time. If you need to perform a mail merge using addresses held in morethan one address book, either merge all the addresses into a singleaddress book or perform two separate mail merges. Additionally,when using labels, you can add addresses to blank labels from other address books.

How does Royal Mail process postage created by SmartStamp®?

Every time a postage mark is printed using SmartStamp® technology,it is uniquely identified as it makes its way through the Royal Mailnetwork to ensure that the correct value has been paid and youritem is delivered to the specified address.

How do I get additional SmartStamp® software?

You can download it from the website.

Go to ‘View My Account’ on the left hand menu

and click ‘Order more copies of software’.

If you have trouble downloading the software, please call 08456 001 334.

How do I uninstall SmartStamp®?

To uninstall SmartStamp,® click on ‘Uninstall SmartStamp®’ on the Windows Start menu or open your windows Control Panel and select ‘Add/Remove Programs’ in the normal way.

troubleshooting

<Back to contents

Page: 93


royal mail smartstamp manual

Documents