Postage machine stamp. Postage machine stamp is a stamp-type postage voucher printed by a postage machine to indicate that postage has been paid. It is also called "postage machine stamp". At the Universal Postal Union Congress held in Madrid in 1920, it was approved that postage machines could be used for international mail, effective from January 1, 1922, which promoted the development of postage machines. The postage machine is an automated device that directly stamps date stamps and postage stamps on mail and has an accounting function. It has high work efficiency and is generally used at the post office business window or rented by users under the supervision of the post office. Pilot projects in Beijing have shown that postage machines can process more than 10,000 pieces per hour for mail items with a thickness of less than 6 mm. The number of postage machines used in a country reflects the degree of automation of the country's postal services. Thick mail items are generally affixed with postage machine labels.

In 1904, New Zealand was the first to use a postage machine. Postage machines with date stamps were first used in the United States in 1920. There are many styles of postage machine stamps in various countries. The structure is generally a circular postal datemark (Datemark) on the left, which contains the sending location and time; a dual postal mark (DuplexPostalMarking) composed of a rectangular postage stamp (ChargePostmark) on the right. Many countries have designs between the two, which is of great interest to thematic stamp collectors. The United States mostly uses the national bird - bald eagle or torch as the pattern; Japan uses Mount Fuji plus cherry blossoms or flying doves and the earth as the flag; Brazil has the flag, Canada has the maple leaf, India has the wheel of dharma, Australia has the map, Switzerland has the white cross, and the front The Soviet Union has five stars and a sickle and axe; the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth countries and Denmark mostly use crown pictures; Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, etc. contain postal horns; China, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Denmark, Jordan, Fiji, and Hong Kong, China, etc. Countries and regions have the words "Postage Paid" (PP) printed in the postage stamp box.

The Universal Postal Union stipulates that postage machine stamps should be stamped with bright red ink. They can be stamped directly on the mail, or stamped on a special paper label and pasted on the mail.

The United States is the country with the most extensive use of postage machines in the world. Around 1930, Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia became the first user of postage machines to advertise the US Postal Service. The 1998 Universal Postal Union's annual survey report showed that there were approximately 3 million postage machines operating in various countries around the world, of which 1.7 million were in the United States, accounting for 60%. There are 18 countries using more than 10,000 units, and 12 countries using 10,000 to 60,000 units.

Many postage stamps are also accompanied by various promotional and advertising stamps, such as the emblem of the International Year of Communications on the French postage stamps, the Oxford Dictionary advertisement on the Hong Kong postage stamps, etc., they are accompanied by Mail travels to thousands of households around the world, playing a very good publicity role and serving as a rich resource for special stamp collections.

China introduced postage machines in the mid-1930s, but they were actually used extensively after July 1948. In June 1999, the State Postal Administration decided to cancel the "postage paid" stamp and all bulk mail will be processed by postage machines. According to reports, my country had more than 3,000 postage machines nationwide in 2000.

The postage machine stamp contains a lot of thematic information, which can be used in thematic stamp albums. For example, in 1930, the pattern on the left side of the postage machine stamp stamped on the mail sent to customers by Curtis Publishing Company is a Christmas tree with the word "Congratulations" written on it. It is a rare stamp product with a Christmas theme. The United States uses a lot of postage stamps to celebrate Christmas. They are rich in content and colors, and there are new varieties every year. In 1937, a New York post office stamped a postage machine stamp to celebrate Christmas with a bird drawn on it, and the text next to it was "Send a canary for Christmas." It could also be used as a bird-themed stamp product. During World War II, there was a postage stamp in the United States celebrating Christmas that read "For a better Christmas in the future - buy war bonds now," reflecting the strong characteristics of the times.