Systems and methods which provide for activation of postage indicia at a point of sale are shown. In operation according to embodiments, unassigned (e.g., not yet activated or not yet representing postage value) tokens (e.g., IBI barcodes) suitable for later use as postage indicia are distributed to various point of sale locations, such as retail locations, consumer kiosks, vending machines, etc. and made available for purchase by users. Upon purchase, at a point of sale, such unassigned tokens are preferably activated as valid or live postage indicia. Thereafter, the postage indicia may be used to post mail items.

Systems and methods which provide for distributed activation of pre-printed, or otherwise pre-produced, indicia to thereby provide value bearing indicia, such as postage indicia, are shown. Embodiments apply indicia to fungible items, such as envelopes, paper stock, labels, etc., at a central location. When one of the items bearing the pre-produced indicia is incorporated into a mail item by a user, the pre-produced indicia may be activated and thus becomes valid postage indicia for use in posting the mail item. Various images, information, characters, symbols, and/or marks may be provided in association with pre-produced indicia. Such marks may be printed using a same or different media than an accompanying pre-produced indicia. Embodiments implement a system for scanning pre-produced indicia for activation as postage indicia.

For protecting confidential information in a printed document, the invention provides a system and method for, on one hand, encrypting the confidential content of the document and then printing the part or parts of the document with confidential information in an encrypted form and the rest of the document in a non-encrypted form, and, on the other hand, decrypting the encrypted document content for display and use or for printing. In addition, for preventing unauthorized copying and tampering of a printed document, the invention provides a system and method for managing a unique tag, which is attached to the document and which authenticates the document.

Systems and methods which provide for activation of postage indicia at a point of sale are shown. In operation according to embodiments, unassigned (e.g., not yet activated or not yet representing postage value) tokens (e.g., IBI barcodes) suitable for later use as postage indicia are distributed to various point of sale locations, such as retail locations, consumer kiosks, vending machines, etc. and made available for purchase by users. Upon purchase, at a point of sale, such unassigned tokens are preferably activated as valid or live postage indicia. Thereafter, the postage indicia may be used to post mail items.

An electronically activated mailer capable of containing one or more articles to be shipped and having an activation code on the mailer or a receipt for it. The purchaser or user of the mailer scans the activation code, such as a QR code, using a digital camera on a mobile phone and, upon receiving the scan, the mobile phone is linked to a web application. The validity of the activation code is verified, possibly using a verification code on the mailer. Upon verifying the activation code, the mailer is activated to receive via the web application destination and return addresses and pick-up information for the mailer. The pick-up information payment are provided to a carrier for delivery of the mailer. Purchase of the mailer can also possibly be used to access shipping services via the web application.

Systems and methods which provide for activation of postage indicia at a point of sale are shown. In operation according to embodiments, unassigned (e.g., not yet activated or not yet representing postage value) tokens (e.g., IBI barcodes) suitable for later use as postage indicia are distributed to various point of sale locations, such as retail locations, consumer kiosks, vending machines, etc. and made available for purchase by users. Upon purchase, at a point of sale, such unassigned tokens are preferably activated as valid or live postage indicia. Thereafter, the postage indicia may be used to post mail items.

Assemblies, systems, and methods for applying postage indicia to one or more sequential mailpiece on a high speed mail sorter are disclosed. In some aspects, a system for franking one or more sequential mailpiece using a postal security device (PSD) hub assembly on a high speed mail sorter includes a plurality of PSDs configured to generate a coded digital signature for the one or more sequential mailpiece during a latency period, a plurality of photo sensors configured to define the latency period, a PSD host configured to receive the generated coded digital signature, wherein the generated coded digital signature is encoded in a data matrix, and an indicia printer configured to receive printer control data and to print the printer control data on the one or more sequential mailpiece in an order in which the plurality of PSDs are tasked during the latency period.

A container having postage printed on the container and having integrated authenticating security features is provided. The container can further include a recipient address field and a sender address field.