About Mailmark:

The Mailmark services give you access to even bigger discounts than those offered via the other mailsort services. When you upload the information to the Royal Mail eMHS system, you also benefit from a wealth of reporting and tracing facilities all the way down to each individual mail piece. Both the barcode generation and eMHS facilities are available via this website.

A Mailmark barcode must be printed on each mail piece. There are three types of 2D Matrix barcodes plus two 4-state barcode types. Below are examples of the three 2D barcodes types produced by the system:

Format 29 2D:            Format 7 2D:            Format 9 2D:

NB!: The address file produced during the mailsort process does not include the mailmark barcode strings. In stead, use the one produced in the "Process Job" section for producing mail pieces.

Process description:

The Mailmark process is split into three separate steps:

1. Mailsort with Mailmark: Start by processing your file for mailsort. Please note that only files that have been mailsorted on this website are eligible for further Mailmark processing. Once mailsorting is complete, return to the Mailmark section and choose the "Process Job" option.
2. Process Job: This will generate the full Mailmark 2D or 4-state barcode strings as well as an image file containing the actual barcode (2D barcodes only). If you don't have the software needed to produce the graphical representation of the barcodes using the text string, you can instead use the barcode image files and embed those into your mail pieces. Once you have completed the production of mail pieces and you are ready to hand over the mailing, choose "Manage eManifest" to complete the mailing.
3. Manage eManifest: In this section you can create and manage eManifests. Each manifest can contain multiple jobs (batches) and each batch is uploaded individually to the eMHS system. Before an eManifest has been confirmed, it is possible cancel the batch and re-allocate to a different eManifest.

NB!: Before you can access steps 2 and 3 you need to enter your eMHS login credentials in the Setup section. As a minimum you need an eMHS test account. The Royal Mail will only provide you with login details to the production system once you have achieved your accreditation.

Unsorted Mail:

Our Online Mailmark system only support the mailsort services available on this site. It is though possible to use it for both unsorted and wholesale products as well. You just need to choose on the sorted services anyway and take care to select the correct product parameters appropriate to the supply chain when you run the "Process Job" option.

Royal Mail Mailmark Website & Accreditation:

For more detailed information please visit www.royalmail.com/mailmark. Here you can find user guides, technical specifications and details on how to go about getting your own Mailmark accreditation. Mailsort Online is already accredited as a Mailmark solution provider, but all mail producers also need their own accreditation.

FREE when using an eMHS Test account:

You will not be charged when using the system with a Royal Mail eMHS test account. In "test mode" the system uses a sample of the fullly mailsorted address file containing the first 200 records. This sample file is only available for files that have not been accepted for download or paid for.

Using an eMHS Production account:

When processing for Mailmark in "production mode", the fee you pay is the one that applies to the Mailsort process. Further generation of Mailmark barcodes and handling of the eManifest is already included in this fee. It therefore follows that only files that have been through the Mailsort process and accepted for download or paid for, are available for processing in the "Online Mailmark" section with an eMHS Production account.

Mailmark processing:

You will need to keep the files that were generated during the Mailsort process. This includes computer planning and line listing reports as well as bag label data files etc. The address file however, does not include the mailmark barcodes and therefore this file should be ignored. In stead, the one produced in the "Process Job" section is the one to use when producing mail pieces.

Tip: If you need to use Mailmark for an unsorted mail service, just choose one of the mailsort services anyway. It is of course irrelevant whether the data is sorted or not, but you will need to change the service name during mailmark barcode processing later on.

Mailmark Barcode Images:

Barcode images are the graphical representations of the barcodes that need to be printed on each envelope and that can be scanned by the Royal Mail when in transit. The Mailmark processing fees include the underlying barcode strings by default, but as an optional extra the system can also produce the barcode images as individual gif files, one for each record. You can then embed this file onto the mail piede directly without any other processing necessary (the address file contains links to the files).

If you already have your own solution for producing barcode images and only need the barcode strings, you do not need this option. The processing time is also considerably shorter without this option.

DPS Matching Notice:

When processing for Mailsort with Barcodes or Mailmark, the fees include generation of DPS codes and full mailmark strings which are both included in the processed address file. The DPS codes are automatically derived by matching against the Royal Mail PIF database which is updated every six months.

NB! Please be aware that the Royal Mail does not offer any accreditation tests for this service. We can therefore only provide it on a 'Best endeavours basis' and it cannot be regarded as 100% accurate at all times.

If your data already has DPS codes included (must be in a separate column named "DPS"), you can tell the system to use that instead. For records where the DPS field is empty the system will try and find the DPS anyway, in the same way as described above. If your data has a DPS column, but you don't tick the "Use existing DPS" box, the system will ignore ignore this column and derive all DPS codes from the PIF database.

How do I get started with Mailmark?

Before you can do anything with Mailmark you need to contact the Royal Mail to register for an "eMHS Test Account". Please visit www.royalmail.com/mailmark. to do that. Here you can also find user guides, technical specifications plus a list of Mailmark acredited software providers. Mailsort Online is already on this list.

Why do I need an eMHS Test Account?

As well as software providers, all mail producers need their own accreditation, and this is why you need the test account. With this you can use this website to produce mail piece samples with mailmark barcodes embedded and also go through the eManifest handling and upload of mail piece data via the Royal Mail eMHS system. Only when all the tests are completed successfully, will you gain access to the eMHS production system.

The test account can only use mailsorted files that have not been accepted or paid for. It uses the same sample data as is also avalable for free download in the mailsort section. The file contains up to 200 records, which are then Mailmark processed and given a barcode and can be uploaded to the test eMHS system.

How much does it cost?

Using the system with an eMHS test account is FREE. Using it with a production account is only possible after the mailsorted file has been paid for or if you have a Mailmark enabled annual account (more pricing info).

Who can use the system?

In principle, anyone who sends enough mail to warrant the effort required with preparing the mail pieces in order to benefit from the massive posting discounts on offer. In practice, it is mostly businesses, charities, organisations and authorities alike who would do this.

How long does it take?:

The turn-around time depends on the size of mailing and how busy the system is. Generating barcode image files can easily take a few minutes to process, and so can the eMHS item upload.

Files are placed in a queueing system and are processed on a "first come first serve" basis. We can usually process several files simultaneously and thereby keep waiting times to a minimum. If, however, you are experiencing a long delay (more than 10 minutes) with no apparent progress please contact us to establish what the problem is.