Franking Machine Maintenance: Weekly, Monthly and Yearly Checklist

Franking machine maintenance comes down to a handful of small habits on a schedule: check the print impression and ink level every week, clean the feed deck and clear label debris every month, and keep the machine connected so it holds the current Royal Mail rates. Mailmark franking equipment no longer needs the traditional annual physical inspection, because it uploads usage data automatically, but every user still has to keep their machine in good working order as a condition of their Royal Mail franking licence. The checklist below splits that into weekly, monthly and yearly jobs you can hand to whoever runs the post.

Why a maintenance routine earns its five minutes

A franking machine is one of the few pieces of office equipment that costs you money twice when it goes wrong: once for the engineer visit, and again for the mail that comes back. Royal Mail can reject or delay items where the franking impression is unreadable, and a partially blocked print head or a dusty feed deck is usually behind it. Those faults almost always start small, which is exactly why a short routine beats an annual panic.

There is a compliance side too. Royal Mail sets out what users are expected to do in its Franking Equipment Operational Requirements, and keeping the equipment clean, serviceable and correctly programmed is part of holding a licence to frank at all. You can read the wider rules on the Royal Mail franking pages.

Weekly franking machine checklist

Work through these at the same point each week, ideally the morning before your heaviest posting day.

• Print a test impression. Frank one blank envelope and look at it in good light. Every character, the date and the Mailmark barcode should be solid. Streaks, gaps or pale patches mean the print head needs attention, and our guide to why a franking machine prints faded walks through the usual causes.
• Check the ink level. Most machines show a percentage or a low ink warning. Order a replacement once you drop below roughly a quarter, rather than the morning it runs dry. If you are not sure which cartridge you need, our guide to finding the right franking ink cartridge explains how to match it to your model.
• Run a print head clean. One cleaning cycle a week is usually enough to stop the nozzles drying, particularly in an office that only franks a few days a week.
• Clear the label slot. Loose backing paper and label offcuts are a common cause of jams. Pull the label stack out, check nothing has curled or torn, and reseat it.
• Look at your postage credit. Topping up before a big mailing avoids a stalled machine and a queue of half franked envelopes.

Monthly franking machine checklist

Once a month, give the machine a slightly deeper going over.

• Clean the feed deck and rollers. Use a dry lint free cloth on the belts, rollers and the strip the envelope travels along. Paper dust builds up faster than most people expect and it is a leading cause of double feeds and skewed impressions.
• Wipe the sensors. The optical sensors that detect an envelope sit in the feed path and pick up dust. A gentle wipe is usually all they need.
• Check the sealer. If your machine seals envelopes, top up or replace the sealing solution and check the brush or wick is not clogged. Our sealing solution is a straightforward refill for most setups.
• Test the weighing platform. Weigh a known item, such as a sealed pack of paper, and confirm the reading looks right. A drifting scale quietly overpays or underpays on every item.
• Confirm the machine has connected. Mailmark equipment needs to reach its data centre regularly to upload usage data and pick up updates. If it has not connected for weeks, sort that out before it becomes a problem.
• Review your consumables stock. Count what is left of your ink, franking labels and envelopes, and reorder anything you would struggle to replace at short notice.

Quarterly and yearly jobs

Inspections and your Royal Mail licence

Traditionally, franking equipment had to be inspected at least once a year by an Authorised Maintainer approved by Royal Mail. For Mailmark equipment that annual inspection is no longer necessary, because the machine's connection to the data centre and its upload of usage data serve the same purpose. Royal Mail and its representatives can still inspect equipment if they choose. Whatever the model, the obligation to keep the machine in good working order does not go away, and the small print sits in Royal Mail's franking machine guidance for small businesses.

Rate changes

Royal Mail updates its prices once or twice a year, and a machine holding old rates will underpay. Make a diary note ahead of each change, then confirm the new rates have downloaded and print a test impression on the first working day afterwards. We cover each update as it lands, including the 2026 Royal Mail postage rates. Franking still comes in below stamp prices on many letter formats, which is one of the reasons a well kept machine pays for itself.

Stock rotation

Ink does not last forever. Rotate cartridges so the oldest is used first, keep them sealed and stored upright at room temperature, and avoid buying a year's supply in one go unless you post enough to get through it. Our guide to how long franking ink lasts goes into the detail.

Warning signs to act on straight away

• Repeated jams or double feeds after cleaning the deck.
• An impression that is faint on one side of the envelope, which usually points to a feed or head alignment issue.
• A Mailmark barcode that scans inconsistently or prints with visible gaps.
• Error codes that clear and then return within a few days.
• Ink use that suddenly climbs without a rise in mail volume.

Any of these is worth a call to your maintainer rather than another week of workarounds. In the meantime, franking labels let you keep posting for items the machine cannot feed directly, such as thick parcels and oversized packets.

Get the basics right and most faults never happen

Two things cause more franking faults than anything else: the wrong envelope and the wrong ink. Envelopes that are too thick, too glossy, over stuffed or already sealed will misfeed no matter how clean the deck is, so it is worth checking your stock against our guide to envelopes that work with franking machines. On ink, use a cartridge built for your model and store it properly; the difference between a crisp impression and a rejected one is often nothing more than that. If you are changing a cartridge for the first time, our guide to changing franking machine ink without the mess is a five minute read.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a franking machine be serviced?

Franking equipment has traditionally needed an inspection at least once a year by a Royal Mail approved Authorised Maintainer. Mailmark machines are treated differently, because their automatic upload of usage data to the data centre removes the need for that annual inspection, though Royal Mail can still inspect equipment at its discretion.

How do I clean a franking machine print head?

Run the machine's built in cleaning cycle first, as that clears most blockages. If the impression is still patchy, remove the cartridge and dab the print head gently with a lint free cloth lightly dampened with water, never with solvent, then let it dry fully before refitting.

Why is my franking machine jamming?

The usual causes are paper dust on the feed deck and rollers, label debris in the label slot, or envelopes that are too thick, too glossy or already sealed. Clean the deck and rollers with a dry lint free cloth, clear the label path, and check your envelopes are suitable for machine feeding.

Do I need to do anything when Royal Mail changes its prices?

Yes. Your machine must hold the new rates from the day they take effect, so connect it to its data centre around the change date and print a test impression to confirm the update has applied. If it has not downloaded, contact your machine supplier before you post anything.

How much franking ink and how many labels should I keep in stock?

A sensible minimum is one spare ink cartridge and enough labels for two to three weeks of typical posting. That covers a delivery window without leaving you holding stock long enough for the ink to age.

Keeping a franking machine healthy is far cheaper than fixing one. If your routine turns up a cartridge running low or a thin stack of labels, you can restock from our franking label range and our envelope range, with ink cartridges listed by machine model across the site. Not sure which consumables suit your machine? Get in touch with our team and we will point you to the right ones.