Hybrid Mail

From your home computer over the internet into the mailbox - HYBRID-MAIL

With the worldwide use of the internet intelligent people - in and outside the postal administrations - quickly had the idea, to revolutionize the form of how to send mail. They favored a combination of traditional and modern communication. They were absolutely convinced that pure electronic mail has its limits. So already in early internet times, there were various offers enabling electronically the sending of mail by internet, which, after having been printed out, was delivered by ordinary snail mail.
The internet knows no borders as you know: also the much discussed "remailing" is part of it (when heavy mail-senders / companies send their mass-letters as electronic documents to a foreign mailing company, which prints them out and sends them back to Germany, making use of the lower postage in a foreign country). Since all participants - except for the Deutsche Post, which must guarantee the delivery at an internationally arranged minimal tariff, profit from this deal, it is not astonishing that the courts have to deal with this issue until today. The whole problem cannot be discussed in this short article however. Since sending letters electronically is possible for philatelists and since it leads to generally useful, however until now little attractive results, this article reduces itself to the offers for the target group of the "normal consumers" - the hybrid - postcard. Moreover, the attempt should be undertaken to work out the points of contact to sport-philately.

This rather strange name (hybrid - postcard) was used in order to distinguish it from the pure electronic postcard, which is very popular with internet-users. The difference essentially consists in its form and delivery. The electronic postcard is not printed out but is sent as en eMail and can be seen on the web sites of the different suppliers.
An internet - investigation as of spring 2001 clearly showed that there have been extensive strategic investigations regarding hybrid mail, which were accessible to the mail administrations and now result in diverse commercial offers, especially by European mail administrations.
One may be surprised that Indonesia's mail is also strongly involved with their product called “Ratron plus”. Considering the geographical dimensions of the country it becomes clear that the practical benefit of such an offer is huge, especially since the printing of the text-documents takes place in decentralized "electronic mail-centers", which are close to the recipients address, in contrast to central solutions in other countries. The system works on basis of the zip code areas.
Generally speaking, hybrid mail is much more than just kids stuff !
Currently, four suppliers offer hybrid postcards. Apart from Israeli mail, which restricts itself to greeting-card-actions for heavy mail users at certain occasions (product-name: SHOHAM Greeting Card services), there remain the Deutsch Post AG (Germany), the South Korean and the U.S. - mail, with whose offers one can actively participate editing his / her postcards. Here I am going to inform about these offers.

The FUNCARDS of the Deutsche Post AG

The Deutsche Post AG participates since 1998 with the offer of its FUNCARD. The offers are directed to heavy mail users on the one side (they are offered the FUNCARD for promotional activities). For example, they offered different activities when people could send FUNCARDS free of charge (German Telecom, …). Recently, a new trend was tested where it was possible to send FUNCARDS directly from the BIG BROTHER web page, this time the senders had to pay for this service.
On the other hand, the offer for ordinary customers is a side product, it is not the main purpose. From a pre-determined offer of motives, the customer decides at his home computer for one of the designs, places address and personal text - and the mail is sent per mouse-click. On the next working day, the printing takes place after 5 PM. Of course, some details have changed in the fast growing internet world since then. The section of PostCom turned into the PrintCom with its head department in Bonn. The billing system - an essential issue with the internet - has changed several times, and of course the different offers including the prices.
If you go to the website of the German post you have to execute the following steps:

• selection of a postcard-motive
• enter of personal message and address
• last but not least payment with an internet - based procedure per mouse-click

Along with the indicium ("postage paid" which appears also in the UPU - language French), appears on the address-side some additional information, which could be counted as part of the indicium and which is changed periodically. Special events like jubilees can be the occasion as well as special holidays.
Some of the offered postcard-topics are dedicated to sport. You have to look for them using a search engine however. Six motives are offered if you enter the keyword "soccer". With Hamburg sports club, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and two types showing VfB Stuttgart only four teams from the German Bundesliga are represented. One card shows a caricature to the topic (as by May 2001).
There were no search results for "sport" and "Olympia". But the service also is available for English speaking customers, even with linguistic delicacies being taken into account: one gets half of the cards entering "football", under "soccer" you get the rest. Why they divided the offer remains a secret.
There were problems in the first time with the sorting machines. Many damaged cards were delivered. But the service improved. Today the cards arrive at their destinations in perfect condition. And the postal customer, especially the collector, still is not content, because the code bars are now missing. But also without coding there is no doubt that these cards went through the mail.
Philatelically interesting is that the entire card is printed (in one single operation?) by the postal entity. Therefore it gets the character of a postal stationery card, or at least it gets really close to it. In the philatelic literature, there are only very few articles regarding this topic. It is remarkable that also the private text of the card is printed during the same operation by the post. Exhibitors could therefore include the text on the card with a certain entitlement into a thematic exhibition. Undoubtedly, this personal text cannot be compared directly  to private text of telegrams, which cannot be included into thematic objects as you know, at most as an exception, when it has a certain documentary value. With the FUNCARD, the printing of the text  takes place in one single process with the indicium.
In the difference to the stamp, the Federal finance minister doesn't determine the reason for an edition, here analogous: Election of the topic. This takes place - similar to parcel stamps - through the corresponding departments of the mail themselves. This new situation surely will create many discussions amongst collectors.
Two things arise particular interest: In contrast to the very gentle treatment of the FUNCARDS nowadays in the national mail-traffic, these go through the sorting machines for international mail and receive the corresponding characteristics of the mechanical letter-treatment there. This doesn't make them less interesting.
A new quality was reached through the imprint of the airmail - symbol. From the point of view of the collector an airmail postal stationery is created.
There was a novelty at the end of the Olympic year 2000. Until then only big volume customers were able to choose the card topic they wanted, now also normal internet - users could upload their own pictures, paying a low extra charge for the transfer.
The attractiveness of the FUNCARD was increased a lot by this. The Deutsche Post follows a world-wide trend to "personalized" mail, which expressed itself elsewhere until now in form of stamps with photos on an additional field.
Olympic collectors will immediately think of the Australian example. A wide range of possibilities to create their own cards and have them printed by the post is available now to the topical collector.
The quality of this individually uploaded images on the internet is hardly predictable. It requires some practice to determine the right proportions and picture qualities. Furthermore, the storage limitation of the PrintCom company is another problem in editing a particular card. The result can be judged when you hold the product in your hands.
But then you already had to pay for this service: until the beginning of 2001 the price for the own topic was DM 2.50 (app. US$ 1.20) plus postage, now the price has increased to DM 3,50 (app. US$ 1.60).
International shipping at present is only available with the German service.
Users must overcome a certain barrier previously, in that they must be willing to use their credit card over the PRINTCOM - partner - bank in the FUNCARD - project, (now FIRST GATE), or entering another agreement, that allows charging over the phone bill. Frequent users of the internet will not see an obstacle in this, but maybe occasional users, especially since the bank cooperating with the FUNCARD service has changed several times so far.  With the former Post bank an account transfer also was possible.
The contact to the occasional or small quantity customer still has to be developed.  Customer inquiries usually are dealt with in a stereotype way, sometimes they are not answered at all. But they do try to make the service attractive for collectors, in that they altered indiciums and designed them interestingly; they even looked for a stamp club and offered their support. Of course, when I investigated about this club, I did not receive an answer.  And it isn’t very logical to refer to the different indicia, hiding them two or three levels deeper on the website. So it happened that the “Sydney 2000” - indicium was discovered by chance.
The last innovation (Christmas mail 2000) consists of coordinating the different pictures, indicia and extra printings, getting as a result something like a Maximum card, which can be very attractive, according to the Verdi example.

FUNCARD of the Deutsche Post (reverse side)	FUNCARD of the Deutsche Post (frontside), showing the Australian Gold Medallist stamp for Beach Volleyball	indicium

NetMailingTM Online of the USPS - AMAZINGMAIL

The US-Post participates is present since a rather short time with similar offers on the net, although hybrid-mail existed already for small-quantity-customers since November 1999. There are two possibilities:

• printing of a personal text in the usual postcard - size (an image may be included into the WORD - document - one side can be designed personally
• designing of a PREMIUM POSTCARD - the front side and the left half of the rear side can be designed

The first offer is not trouble-free in the handling. The download and the benefit of a menu  for the text- and picture-editing makes sense in order to avoid edge infringements, but is remains a secret because during further editing and printing out of a trial print on one’s own computer the printer settings are changed (so the next time you want to use your printer you practically have to install the printer drivers again).  In any case, after two experiences of that kind, the author will wait until the system is improved in the future.
Trying out the PREMIUM POSTCARDS offer is absolutely recommendable. Already on a first glance, the extensive offer of different topics is impressive. Partner for the printing is the Amazingmail company.
There are many graphically interesting topics in the “SPORT & RECREATION” category, even if they don't take reference to a certain team or athlete. Instead you can find matching topics for individual sports (winter sports, windsurfing, golf, canoe, etc.)
Browsing through the side I found five soccer topics - I would not have suspected that, especially as they are offered by a record company. Pop star Robbie Williams, who started out in the Boygroup TAKE THAT, before he started his solo - career,  is known as a soccer  fan, which makes it easier to understand the soccer topics.
It gets quite interesting when designing one’s own postcards. Apart from the own chosen picture and the text on the address - side, you can place an individual logo / picture below the indicium as well. Interesting postcards which are printed as postal stationery cards, are created this way !
In price, even the Premium Postcards are clearly cheaper than the self-designed FUNCARDS of the Deutsche Post. One must get registered as a customer again if you want more than just one test-postcard. This also means that one must reveal the credit card number, and the purchased postcards are then charged on that credit card. The bought postcards are administered in an account so that the charge of the credit card takes place only with the purchase itself. The utilization of the cards then takes place after the generally familiar LOGIN (entering of a chosen user name and password).
The purchase is possible in different denominations up to 100 cards - for the first order there is a discount of 50% (so you should not stick to the minimal denomination ...). The free cards, however, must be used during a 90 - day - period.
One big disadvantage is that international shipping is not possible so far; you can send your cards only within the USA at present (i.e. the recipient must have an U.S. mail address). But there are plans to expand the service in the future. Also, the registration of customers without an US address is not so easy (because of the stipulated use of corresponding forms), but with some experience and with the help of AmazingMail it should be possible.
For philatelic evaluation: Even if the company does not give any technical details about the printing process, they confirmed that the entire card is printed in a single process. So there should be no doubt about the postal stationery character of these cards.

Four examples with Volleyball topic from the AmazingMail service:

PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (reverse side) Results of the election process of the Olympic Host City for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games	PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (frontside) Lang Ping, team captain of the Chinese Volleyball team which won the Olympic Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Anegeles, USA	indicium
PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (reverse side) Osaka on its way to become the Host City for the 2008 Olympic Winter Games	PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (frontside) Kumi Nakata, who won an Olympic Bronze Medal with the Japanese Volleyball team at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Anegeles, USA	indicium
PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (reverse side) Personal message	PREMIUM POSTCARD from the USPS (frontside) Chinese stamp issue 013 celebrating the election as HOst City for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, showing Volleyball	indicium

The FEELPOST - offer of the South Korean mail

Finally I would like to mention the offer of the Korean mail. A big part of the web site doesn't remains a secret if you don’t understand the Korean language. Some English phrases and pictures however show that there exist similar possibilities. There is space for personally edited letters and greeting-cards, and there were illustrations for postcards with reference to sport (the front side of the card is called SPORT DREAM in English). As you know, the next soccer - world championships in 2002 is one of the dreams of the country - it is worthwhile therefore to be watch out for new topics !
I cannot offer practical experiences at this time. However, it is not possible for mail customers to upload own pictures / photos.

Hybrid postcard from the FEELPOST project (reverse side)	indicium

Other forms of HYBRID MAIL

Generally the concept of hybrid mail means that personal data can be entered from a personal computer. This information is transferred to a printer, printed out and is delivered as “hardware” by mail delivery persons to the recipient. It does not necessarily mean that it is an official, i.e. in our sense postal product. It is logical, that some imaginative persons or companies, who offer such services, exist - actually everyone who has moderate computer knowledge and knows how to use the internet could do that.
Unfortunately there are many “strange” offers on the web as well.
A collector friend invited me to visit the Greek INTERNET POST OFFICE . There they offer post cards - among others two from Olympia (!) - at a price of US$ 3.00 per card. The ship in a closed envelope.
All promises were kept as offered: the card arrived a short time after ordering in a normally stamped cover, the personal text was printed on a label which was attached to the card. The big difference to the aforementioned systems is that this is not a postal stationery card from the Greek post.  The use of doubtful names (in this case "Internet Post Office") should therefore always be questioned.

Picture postcard from the POSTGREECE service	Cover in which these postcards are sent

As you know, the further development of communication technology is especially clearly reflected on the internet. - After some attempts in the past - for the first time in the summer of 2001 the "stamp for everyone from the computer" will be offered for German mail customers. Even if it doesn't look very attractive, a new philatelic product, was created.
We see, how interesting it can be to make use of the new forms of media. You should not exaggerate existing computer or internet fears, otherwise one is caught up by reality. So, the SYDNEY 2000 postal stationery card (which exists in an ordinary and an airmail version) is already today the rarest German Olympic issue regarding the 2000 summer games. But even if you are familiar with and interested in the internet, you might be late, as I found out myself.
The IMOS - website together with the one of the author and the on of the OSPC Berlin try to give up-to-date information.