The New E-Mail

No more licking and sticking, just clicking, for some folks, Postmaster General Marvin Runyon proclaimed Tuesday, unveiling the first electronic stamps.

The e-stamps were approved for testing. If all goes well, businesses and individuals will be able to print their own postage using personal computers and the Internet.

The new stamp prints out on a regular computer printer as it puts the address on an envelope.

The e-stamp will include the postage amount, name and ZIP code of the local post office, date the postage was printed and rate category, such as “First Class.”

In addition it has an electronic bar coding of the same information as well as the ID number of the printing device and a digital pattern that will make each envelope unique and hard to counterfeit.