The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors approved funding to purchase The 550 Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS) technology to postmark letters faster and sort them better. These machines will replace existing sorters operating on 1980s technology.

The AFCS machine locates a stamp’s phosphorescent ink and uses it to position the letter for postmarking on the upper right corner of the envelope. It then sends the letter to one of seven bins for additional sorting.

The new machines will be 15% faster, apply barcodes, and process broader-sized letters before sorting them to one of 12 destination bins, according to the USPS. The additional bins will reduce downstream processing needs for about 20% of the mail.

The equipment will be deployed between May 2010 and July 2011.