The postage stamp is mailed into the digital age

Royal Mail Lamp Box used in Scotland. Image by Rab-k.
CC BY-SA 4.0

The humble postage stamp dates back almost 200 years. The stamp, variations to the design aside, has remained relatively stable. Now a new innovation is to come to postage stamps used in the UK: barcoding, as The Guardian has reported.

The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. This stamp was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840, depicting the head of Queen Victoria.

The coming of the digital age is now here for 2022. This is through the addition of barcodes, which will be included on everyday Royal Mail stamps. This change comes into effect on 1^st February, 2022. The barcodes will appear on the everyday stamps people use for mail, which feature the profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

The new barcodes will match the stamp colour and they will be positioned alongside the main body of the stamp, separated by a simulated perforation line. The new barcode needs to remain an integral part of the stamp and remain intact for the stamp to be valid, according to the Royal Mail.

The innovation will enable consumers to scan the barcodes found on the stamp by the way of a special app developed by Royal Mail. For passing amusement, the scan process includes  animation featuring Shaun the Sheep (a character from the eponymous British stop-motion children’s television series, which is a spin-off of the Wallace and Gromit franchise).

In addition, the person sending stamped mail can choose which video the recipient sees when they get their letters or parcels. One day, after Shaun the Sheep has come and gone, the postal service hopes consumers will be able to watch videos or greetings from senders. Personalised messages will be possible through each stamp having a digital twin.

The technology developer – Royal Mail Group – is a British multinational postal service and courier company, originally established in 1516. The company was moved from the state to the private sector in 2012. The company continues to hold a licence to issue postage stamps within the UK.

Current stamps are valid for now. However, Royal Mail has indicated that non-barcoded stamps need to be used by January 2023. An exchange process will operate for a limited time, allowing people to swap old postage stamps for new ones.

Nick Landon, Royal Mail chief commercial officer, tells the BBC: “Introducing unique barcodes on our postage stamps allows us to connect the physical letter with the digital world and opens up the possibilities for a range of new innovative services in future.”