How to Read Postage Scale

A postage scale is a great time and money saver for small businesses or anyone who tends to send out letters or packages on a regular basis. It weighs your mail precisely, allowing you to pay exact postage as opposed to guessing and often overpaying. Though overpaying postage may only be a few pennies, those pennies can add up to rather large costs over time. Having and then learning to read a postage scale properly could help you cut costs, and keep the trips to the post office to a minimum.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Place the postage scale on a stable, level surface.

2. Turn the postage scale on, allowing it a few minutes to warm up and calibrate itself. If the postage scale registers anything more than zero, it will need to be calibrated before use.

3. Set the readout to the appropriate measurement output. The United States Postal Service uses ounces and pounds as a standard measurement.

4. Select the type of mailing service you will be using. Postage rates will vary depending on the handling requested, and more advanced postage scales have settings for each service such as First Class Postage, Priority Mail, or even Next Day Air.

5. Place the items in the envelope or box in which they will be mailed. The final postage amount must include the weights of the mailing containers or it will be returned for insufficient postage.

6. Place the item to be mailed on the center of the scale platform.

7. Allow the scale to stabilize its measurements. The scale may flip through numbers a few times before it settles on a final weight.

8. Input the destination zip code into the postage scale. The origin zip code should already be programmed into the postage scale during the original set up of the machine, though some older models may require you to input both the origin and the destination zip codes at each weighing.

9. Read the display from left to right. The postage scale should now display the postage needed for your mail in dollars and cents, which are separated by a decimal.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a scale that only gives you the weight of your mail instead of calculating the postage for you, simply compare the weight in pounds and ounces to an up to date postage calculating chart.
• Do not use a postage scale for calculating postage if it is not properly calibrated. Postage scales measure such minute weights that even the tiniest problem with a scale could result in significant errors in postage calculations. Make sure your postage scale is up-to-date and calculating rates based on the most recent postage rates. The United States Postal Service has increased rates several times over the last few years, so some older postage scale models may be calculating the postage at a much lower rate.