Patent ID: 8056003

Claim:
A method for designing a personalized mail template to be used in a franking machine, via a telecommunications network, said method comprising the following steps: selecting by a user at a customer apparatus a general mail template from a library of templates stored at a certifying authority; transmitting from the customer apparatus to the certifying authority personalization data for personalizing said general mail template; creating and editing by the user at the customer apparatus a draft personalized mail template on the basis of said general mail template and of said personalization data; storing said draft personalized mail template in a protected memory of the certifying authority; checking by an operator of the certifying authority said draft personalized mail template; storing the checked draft personalized mail template as a certified personalized mail template in the form of a computer file in an accessible memory of a certifying authority transmitting via said telecommunications network said certified personalized mail template to the franking machine; and printing indicia on mail items based on said certified personalized mail template.