Patent ID: 8505978

Claim:
A computer system for producing shape-customized, image-customized postage labels, said computer system programmed to: receive a shape input by a user comprising a user definition of contours of a postage label shape comprising at least a portion of an edge that is not parallel to any edge of a sheet of label stock; determine an indicia positioning of machine-encoded, computer-based postage indicia in a governmentally-approved format with respect to the postage label shape; receive a postage amount input by the user; generate machine-encoded, computer-based postage indicia in the governmentally-approved format for the postage amount; receive a user-provided image input by the user; receive an indication by the user of a user-specified image positioning of the user-provided image in an image area with respect to the postage label shape; generate an electronic representation of an image-customized, shape-customized, postage-indicia-bearing-item postage label according to the shape input and comprising said machine-encoded, computer-based postage indicia positioned with respect to the postage label shape according to the indicia positioning, according to governmentally-approved size and spatial location requirements, said electronic representation of the image-customized, shape-customized postage label further comprising said user-provided image in said image area in a position relative to the postage label shape according to said user-specified image positioning.