The "Delivered by Royal Mail" mark, which provoked an angry response from the DM sector when it was announced last year, will be phased in between June 2012 and January 2013.

Royal Mail's decision to delay introduction of the change to the Mark Design Specification follows a belated consultation into the impact of the change on mailing houses and their clients.

However, despite the delayed implementation - which has allowed DM printers and their clients more time to prepare, resistance to the new mark remains strong.

DMA chief of operation Mike Lordan said Royal Mail's decision to start stamping the mail it delivers may well appeal to the postmen, but the DMA members it has spoken to – Royal Mail's customers – are not happy about the prospect.

He said: "Royal Mail does not own the envelopes that it delivers, so it's hard to understand what right it believes it has to stamp its own marketing message on a medium that is not its property.

"If Royal Mail wants to market itself to householders by telling them who delivered their mail, then it should find another means of doing so."

According to Royal Mail, increased competition in the sector has required the operator to alleviate confusion in the case of wrongly-delivered mailings and other issues.

Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene said: "We are proud of the distinctive service we offer and we want customers to be aware of the difference.

"It is important we avoid customer confusion in the UK’s very competitive postal market, where many items are handled by providers other than Royal Mail."

The implementation of the delivery mark is the culmination of eight months dialogue with customers and Royal Mail anticipates that more than 80% of items it delivers annually, equivalent to 12bn, will carry the mark.

These include letters delivered to homes and businesses on behalf of the operator's wholesale Downstream Access customers while items sorted by hand will not carry the mark.

Although UK Mail chief executive Guy Buswell said the organisation will accept the decision Royal Mail has made and will work with customers to assist the change, the Direct Marketing Association has said its members aren't convinced by the move.

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