The PostmarkedEmail Process

1. An email message is created.
2. The PostmarkedEmail Imprinter, which can be a library on the outgoing mail server or a separate PostmarkedEmail appliance, hashes the message body, subject, sender, and receiver to create a unique message digest. PostmarkedEmail Services can also be used to perform these functions as a mail relay with no modifications required to the sender's infrastructure.
3. The message digest is added to creation email batch list. A PostmarkedEmail receipt, including the EPM, is embedded in the outgoing email as a visible trust seal and as an invisible signed x-header, which functions as a cryptographic seal to prevent tampering. The email is sent.
4. When the creation batch is finished, the batch file is sent to the PostmarkedEmail Batch Processor where the batch file is hashed to create a unique batch message digest which is sent to the U.S. Postal Service Electronic Postmark® service (USPS EPM) for postmarking.
5. A Proof of Creation EPM is issued by the U.S. Postal Service and stored by the PostmarkedEmail Batch Processor.
6. The email is transported accross the Internet using existing standard SMTP channels from the sender to the receiver.
7. The receiving email server checks for the presence of a PostmarkedEmail receipt. If the receipt is valid and the sender is still on the PostmarkedEmail Safe Sender List, the message is placed directly in the recipient's inbox, bypassing all spam and content filters. Proof of delivery information is returned to the PostmarkedEmail Batch Processor by the ISP in clearing batches. These clearing batch files are hashed to create a unique batch message digest which is sent to the USPS EPM service for postmarking. A Proof of Delivery EPM is issued by the U.S. Postal Service and stored by the PostmarkedEmail Batch Processor for later verification and audit.
8. Recipients see the email flagged with the blue ribbon envelope in the inbox and with the U.S. Postal Service Eagle in the email, indicating that the email is trusted and safe to open.