Patent ID: 7533067

Claim:
A virtual stamp dispensing system for printing virtual stamps each having a virtual stamp indicium and a custom image comprising: a virtual stamp meter including: a limited button input user interface consisting of a plurality of denomination selection buttons, each of the plurality of denomination buttons associated with a distinct, discrete postage value used for creating the virtual stamp indicium, a plurality of image selection buttons, and a memory for storing one image for each of the plurality of image selection buttons, and a print button; a printer subsystem printing virtual stamp indicia and images on virtual stamp media stock in response to the selection of one of the plurality of denomination selection buttons, one of the plurality of image selection buttons and then the print button, and; a control panel including a control panel label recess for receiving a control label having a plurality of printing zones corresponding to the plurality of selection buttons, and; a collocated processor operatively coupled to the virtual stamp meter including storing in a storage device a library of images including a greater number of images than the number of plurality of image selection buttons, and; a user interface program including a control panel label creation function receiving button assignments and causing the virtual stamp meter printing subsystem to print a control label on the virtual stamp media stock, wherein the control label includes a plurality of denomination fields each associated with one of the plurality of denomination buttons and a plurality of thumbnail images, each associated with one of the plurality of images associated with one of the plurality of image selection buttons.