Post and Go News 2025 - includes PO Branch self-service kiosks.

This post and its comments will hold all news on Post and Go stamps, machines, and PO Self Service Kiosks (SSKs).   

For details of new Post and Go stamps issued by the postal authorities in Guernsey and Jersey I recommend WhiteKnight's Commonwealth Stamp Opinion. All issues from the islands, and Gibraltar and the SOAR stamps from Isle of Man and Ireland will normally be pictured there as announced.

Anything about the old Royal Mail machines and any later news for PO SSKs will continue to be added on the 2024 blog post. Please continue to make comments there or send me news/images by email.

 

Self-Service Kiosks

All readers and collectors should be indebted to Malcolm, Trevor and a few other people for their continued perambulations around the country reporting on the rapidly diminishing estate of Self-Service Kiosks in Post Office branches.

These will continue to throw up errors and surprises and they will be reported here either as comments or, if significant enough, as edits to this original post.

The reducing number of machines in use means that the large stocks of Queen Elizabeth Machin blanks will be spread even more thinly and take longer to use up, especially as branches now offer different service, such as Tracked24/48 or Evri, DPD, etc as alternatives to Royal Mail services.

Whereas the casual poster of packets might have visited the SSK they may now think twice (if the queues are not too long) and use a counter service.

So to start this year off with a picture last week, I don't know when this fault occurred at Cheltenham (WHSmith) PO.  The black ink is missing in the centre, leaving 2nd class short of an s and truncating the datastring.   The base stock is CL16S.  Thanks to JG and his friend for supplying this.

Machine fault causing omission of some of the black inscription on 2nd class (CL16S) stamps at Cheltenham PO.

UPDATE 13 January.

If you read the comments you will see that Post Office Ltd (POL) has awarded a contract for the supply of new SSKs to imageHolders - that may mean new stamps, time will tell.

Trevor has added this information from the imageHolders website website:

Post Office branches continue to play a vital role in communities
As Post Office branches continue to play a vital role in communities, this initiative ensures they meet the evolving expectations of today’s customers. The new self-service kiosks will enable quick access to key services, like:

Postal Services: Send parcels, buy stamps, and more.
Home Shopping Returns: Return items without the hassle.
Electronic pre-advice and overseas services
Printed confirmation and tracking detail
By streamlining these services, the kiosks will allow staff to focus on complex queries, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Kiosk Accessibility at the Forefront
We’re committed to ensuring these kiosks are accessible to everyone. Our design is focused on inclusivity, with features like ergonomic screens and assistive technology support, including screen readers and braille interfaces. It’s all part of making sure that every visitor to the Post Office has a positive experience.

Richard Satchell, our CEO, shares:

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Post Office to help deliver more efficient and accessible services to customers across the UK. Our self-service kiosks will not only reduce wait times and improve customer satisfaction but will also ensure that these essential services remain inclusive to everyone, regardless of their abilities.”

Kiosks Rolling Out Across the Nation

The nationwide rollout is set to begin in Spring 2025, with self-service kiosks being introduced in a select number of Post Office branches before expanding to more branches across the country. This partnership signifies a major milestone in both imageHOLDERS’ and the Post Office’s ongoing missions to modernize service delivery, enhance customer experiences, and meet the changing needs of today’s consumers.

“Post Office is committed to enhancing customer service across the network, working in partnership with our Postmasters and retail partners,” commented Neal Newbrook, Propositions Manager, Post Office.

“Introducing these new self-service kiosks will make it easier and more efficient for customers to access the Post Office mail products they require. We are excited to work with imageHOLDERS on this key project that will help postmasters and our retail partners meet evolving customer needs.”

We look forward to this new chapter and can’t wait for you to experience our kiosks in action!

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UPDATE 17 April 2025

RW sent this picture of a Guernsey Arms Post and Go stamp with the inscription G.I.C. and reports that the kiosk that they used to print this stamp was being moved and they dropped it.

It's reported that they can't repair it and the one in the Bureau is not compatable so there is some question about what will happen with the 'Visiting Cruise Ships' overprints.

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All news about P&G in 2025 will be here, and comments for the old (January 2024) post have been closed.   If you have any late news for 2024 please email it to me at the usual address and I will add it.

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