The ATMs in Greenland

The aCon equipment in Greenland

	Following on from *Post Danmark* in 2006, *Posten Norge* in 2007, and *Postverk Føroya* in 2008, Post Greenland became the fourth Nordic postal administration to start using the postal equipment of the Danish company aCon. (More information: Denmark > and in VARIABLE 4, Norway > and in VARIABLE 7, and Faroe Islands > and in VARIABLE 11).
	TELE Greenland A/S is owned by the Greenland Home Rule Government. The company is responsible for all telecommunications in the country and provides a wide range of domestic and international services. It is divided into 3 business units: TELE, running the telecommunications service, POST, running the Greenland postal service, and Coastal Radio Service, handling maritime safety and emergency communications.

The Greenland postal administration has acquired the aCon stamp printer, called 'Frankie' (right picture), which has been used by the philatelic service from August 17th 2009.
These mini printers are mainly intended for small and medium sized businesses, offering a huge improvement thanks to more flexible franking and online payment with credit cards.
The stamps printers include a roll of thermal labels. Using the keyboard and the top screen, the user can easily enter the number of stamps and required face value(s). The thermal printing of the stamps is fast.

Also planned is the installation of 4 PostSelv postal kiosks, with similar features and characteristics to those already in service in other countries, although here they are customized according to the Post Greenland company markings and corporate colours. The texts are in Greenlandic and Danish. The Greenland name is nassitsivik.
The first postal kiosk was installed in early September 2009, in the TELE-POST centre in Nuuk, the capital, and put into service on September 17th. The other 3 kiosks have been installed in Kangerlussuaq, Narsaq and Uummannaq.

The customer can use the kiosk for all types of letter and parcel mailings. The user places the postal item onto the scales, and indicates the destination and shipment type, by just following the easy instructions on the touch-screen. The user can also get variable value stamps in strips of 5 from a minimum face value of 0.25 DKK, for later use. Once the operation is completed, the system displays the total to pay, and accepts only payment by major credit cards. The stamps and receipts use thermal printing.

2009. The series 'Post'

The installation of the new aCon equipment involved the manufacture of suitable rolls of thermal self-adhesive labels. In this case, Post Greenland followed the steps of the Danish and Faroe Islands postal administrations, and the first annual issue is made up of a series of 4 different labels, appearing consecutively on the rolls.

The set shows 4 situations in which the characters expresses their joy when receiving mail. The illustrations are by the young local artist and illustrator Kunuk Platoú, who also created the official first day cover and the commemorative postmark (pictured below).

The labels have the same characteristics as those manufactured for Post Danmark and Postverk Føroya. They are manufactured by the Danish company Ganket A/S, on thermal paper, and sized 55.00 x 22.50 mm. The labels have perforations on 3 edges. At the right there is an area with a grey security background with the POST Greenland logo and a straight edge, that is used for the printing of the face value and a 11-digit control code. The labels are on rolls of waxed backing paper, 60 mm wide, with a spacing of 6 mm. between labels and horizontal serrations.

Greenland's philatelic service uses an aCon stamp printer for philatelic orders, and sells ATMs with face values starting from 6.25 DKK, corresponding to the domestic rate for priority mail, on the date of issue. ATMs with smaller face values, starting at 0.25 DKK, can be obtained from the aCon postal kiosks.


Official first day cover, franked with the 4 designs, and detail of the first day commemorative postmark.

2011. Fauna of Greenland

Following the pilot with the aCon PostSelv postal kiosks, POST Greenland decided to install new self-service equipment. So from the summer of 2010 they set up postal kiosks in 12 cities around the country - Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsaq, Nuuk (right picture), Paamiut, Qasigiannguit, Qeqertarsuaq, Tasiilaq, Upernavik and Uummannaq.
As can be expected with new technology, usage of the devices was very moderate in the beginning, but they experienced a rise in usage, and postal customers are now readily accepting the devices. POST Greenland is convinced that the devices will play a significant role in the development of the postal business in Greenland, so they plan the installation of new kiosks in the rest of TELE-POST centres throughout Greenland - Maniitsoq, Pituffik, Qaqortoq and Sisimiut.

(More information on the pilot in the above article >>>, also published in VARIABLE 14).

Unlike what happens in other countries in the region, POST Greenland, quite correctly, decided that it was probably not necessary, nor advisable for collectors, to have an annual release of a set containing 4 different designs for the aCon machines, but to produce a new issue every two years.

The new series on sale from May 2nd 2011 is dedicated to the fauna of Greenland. The 4 designs show images of a polar bear on ice in Fram Strait, in northeast Greenland (photo by Olivier Gilg); a group of walruses on a beach in Young Sound, in the northeast of the country (photo by Carsten Egevang); musk oxen in Inglefield Land, in northwestern Greenland (photo by Olivier Gilg), and a white-tailed eagle in flight in Saqqarliit, in Nuuk (photo by Lars Maltha Rasmussen).

The labels have identical characteristics to the previous issue. They are manufactured by Ganket A/S on self-adhesive thermal paper. The size is 55.00 x 22.50 mm, and have perforations on 3 edges. On the right there is an area with a grey security background with the POST Greenland logo and a straight right edge, that is used for the printing of the face value and a 11-digit control code. The 4 designs appears consecutively on the rolls of labels.

The official first day cover features a scene from Greenland, from a photograph by Erwin Reinthaler. In the picture, the cover is franked with the 4-stamp set and includes the first day postmark.

The basic postal tariffs in Greenland (2009 - ...)

Standard letters up to 20 g.	Greenland		Europe		Rest of the world
Standard letters up to 20 g.	B economy	A priority	B economy	A priority	B economy	A priority
19.1.2009	6,00 DKK	6,25 DKK	7,00 DKK	8,00 DKK	8,00 DKK	9,00 DKK
18.1.2010	6,50 DKK	7,00 DKK	7,50 DKK	8,50 DKK	8,50 DKK	9,50 DKK
17.1.2011	7,00 DKK	7,50 DKK	8,00 DKK	9,00 DKK	9,00 DKK	10,00 DKK

The Greenland currency is the Danish kroner (DKK).