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This turns out to be more difficult than I had expected. I just thought that what I had noticed was a well-known fact both for Australian and New Zeland collectors. My main interest so far was the fact that since a couple of years [around 1992] several countries started issuing coil-stamps put in boxes of 100 pieces. You can find them in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands etc. The market-leader seemed to be the Australian firm [or group of printers, I'm not quite sure] under the name 'Sprintpak'. They are still ahead of other manufacturers but had to give some way to the Dutch printing house of JESSP [Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, Security Stamp Printing]. They trade-mark seems to be the use of a very fine screen for offset-litho-litho that might be confused with a 'stochastic screen'. Hence my description: fake of pseudo-stochastic. There are 2 standard stamp sizes used for Australia - the smaller size hardly ever been used again - in combination with traditional comb-perforation and PVA gum:
For the self-adhesive stamps printed in coils/coills, hang and sell cards of 5, [hang and sell] booklets of 10 and booklets of 20 the following types of kiss die-cut were used:
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Always count the numbers of teeth - not counting the ones in the very corners: 13/16, 16/19 etc.
'teeth'
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This turns out to be more difficult than I had expected. I just thought that what I had noticed was a well-known fact both for Australian and New Zeland collectors. My main interest so far was the fact that since a couple of years [around 1992] several countries started issuing coil-stamps put in boxes of 100 pieces. You can find them in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands etc. The market-leader seemed to be the Australian firm [or group of printers, I'm not quite sure] under the name 'Sprintpak'. They are still ahead of other manufacturers but had to give some way to the Dutch printing house of JESSP [Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, Security Stamp Printing]. They trade-mark seems to be the use of a very fine screen for offset-litho that might be confused with a 'stochastic screen'. Hence my description: fake of pseudo-stochastic. There are 2 standard stamp sizes used for Australia - the smaller size hardly ever been used again - in combination with traditional comb-perforation and PVA gum:
For the self-adhesive stamps printed in coils/rolls, hang and sell cards of 5, [hang and sell] booklets of 10 and booklets of 20 the following types of kiss die-cut were used:
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Always count the numbers of teeth - not counting the ones in the very corners: 13/16, 16/19 etc. 'teeth' a. a joint between two circles/holes, a tooth normally has been torn between two adjacent stamps, with the die-cut perfs the top of the tooth is rounded off: 'mountain'. The distance between half-way the left slope to the right slope is smaller than across the 'valley'. b. a sinusoid wave pattern, 'valley' and 'hill' are more or lesss point-symmetric (turn 180 degrees and 'valley' becomes 'hill' and vice versa) Have a look at: http://www.xs4all.nl/ dziewon/fila/images/au_die01.jpg screen a. traditional screen, 80 or 100 lines per centimeter [200 or 300 dpi], that comes under different angles depending on the colours: 15, 45, 75 or 0 degrees b. a rather irregular screen made up of dots that a spread haphazardly - or stochastically - used often in order to avoid a moiré-pattern [an unwanted Scottish kilt-pattern]. Several stamp printers have been using this type of screen, the German State Printers in Berlin among the first. On the other hand several other stamp printers managed to simulate the effects by using a rather fine screen [some 120, 150 lines per cm] that may confuse you at first mostly shows the regular pattern of dots plus the obligatory different angles. Most stamps having this fake stochastic screen I have seen originate from the Sprintpak group of printers and are self-adhesive coil-stamps [whether Belgium,, Jersey, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, to name of few]. |
The New Zealand Christmas stamps - all from hang and sell booklets - have the following characterizations:
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