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Following a successful national trial Great Britain’s Royal Mail will now be adding unique barcodes to all of its regular ‘everyday’ Definitive and Christmas stamps. Each barcoded stamp will have a digital twin and the two will be connected by the Royal Mail App. The unique barcodes will facilitate operational efficiencies, enable the introduction of added security features and pave the way for innovative services for its customers. The barcodes match the stamp colour and sit alongside the main body of the stamp, separated by a simulated perforation line.
The new barcode is an integral part of the stamp and must remain intact for the stamp to be valid. Royal Mail won’t be barcoding special issue stamps — which are printed as a one off to commemorate a person/event and to celebrate the best of the UK’s contribution to the world. An added feature will enable mail recipients to use the Royal Mail App to scan the barcode and view videos, and eventually also filmed messages. The first video will feature the Aardman Animations Limited cartoon character Shaun the Sheep.
The definitive stamps feature the profile of Queen Elizabeth II created by the sculptor Arnold Machin (for more about the great Arnold Machin please follow the link here to see the article from July 7, 2015: https://freestampmagazine.com/tag/machin/).
