Day of issue

The day of issue, also called first day, is the first day a stamp is valid, that is, the first day it can be postmarked on a letter.

Souvenir sheet

Souvenir sheets consist of one or several different stamps, framed by a special design to form an artistic-looking whole.

Coloured stamp

Coloured stamps are stamps designed in different colours than that on the original stamp, but without the perforation. Coloured stamps are not valid postage, but they are considered a philatelic rarity of high value. These stamps do not have teeth.

Definitive stamp

Definitive stamps are produced in large quantities and can be reprinted at any given time.

Designer

Designers are artists who create the artwork for stamps or graphic designers who create or edit the image on the computer.

Additional first day of issue postmark

This is the small additional postmark bearing only the logo of the postal service and the information “Ersttag/First Day,” placed on letter mail items next to the newly released stamp on its day of issue only.

Etch-Art by OeSD

The product „Etch-Art by OeSD“ was developed by the Austrian State Printing Office. The term describes the method of steel engraving. Unlike in times past, the engraving is not worked into a steel plate by hand, but with laser technology. Just like in the case of combination printing, the stamp design is made by an artist, only that in Etch-Art, it is the stamp artist and not the engraver who determines the depth and the width as well as the line for the laser. The product “Etch-Art by OeSD” can be used in combination with offset or intaglio printing, resulting in perfectly designed combination stamps.

FDC

All letters on which the stamp has been affixed and cancelled with the matching special first day of issue postmark and to which the additional first day of issue postmark has been affixed.

Small sheet

Small sheets are the “traditional” sheets of stamps sold at postal branches. They include 50 identical stamps. In the case of permanent series, the number of stamps on one sheet is usually 100, while small sheets include only 4 to 16 identical stamps.

Combination printing

The most expensive and the very best printing technique available is intaglio printing combined with steel engraving.

Offset printing

Offset printing is an indirect flat printing technique that evolved from the lithography technique. The printing areas of the plaque attract oil and repel water, thereby taking in the colour. The non-printing area of the plate is hydrophilic, which means it attracts water. The print is not done directly via the printing plate, but the colour is first transferred to an additional ink roller called rubber blanket cylinder.

Intaglio printing

The printing areas are located below the non-printing areas. So-called incisions are etched into a copper-lined cylinder and filled with printing colour. Given the different depth of these incisions, the required amount of colour for light and dark areas can be controlled. A “squeegee” made of thin resilient steel is used to remove the excess colour from the non-printing areas. The paper is then compressed with a rubber-coated impression cylinder. The low-viscosity ink dries quickly after the printing process.

Self-adhesive stamps on sheets

Usually, 10 stamps featuring two different images are affixed on a sheet of self-adhesive paper.

Self-adhesive coil stamps

In this case, 25 or 100 self-adhesive stamps of the same image are included in one box. The paper on the back of every fifth stamp has a control number on it.

Series

For specific topics, one or two stamps per year are created in the same format by the same designer.

Special-issue stamp with surcharge

On these stamps, two different face values are printed: the first one is the face value for postage purposes, and the second one goes to charities, for example for supporting philately or for helping flood victims.

Steel engraving

A positive image of plastic is made using the original steel plate (relief image), which is subsequently transferred as a negative image onto copper in an electroplating bath (incised image). Using this incised image, a relief image is transferred to nickel in an electroplating bath. Next, the plastic moulds required for the amount of stamps per sheet are manufactured, which are then welded together into sheets. Using the finished plastic moulds, a copper relief plate is produced in a copper bath. Impurities are eliminated by continuous supervision and adjustments. Nickel printing plates are made from the finished relief plates, which are then chromium-plated, making the plates harder and allowing for a higher amount of copies to be printed.

Engraver

Engravers are artists who, when producing artwork for combination printing and steel printing techniques, first draw all dots and lines on a large stencil plate, which is subsequently reduced in size and transferred to a steel plate. Then, the engraver etches the steel plate to perfect the image. Engravings can require as many as 300 hours of work.

First day of issue postmark

The first day of issue postmark features the date of the day of issue. It is usually created by stamp artists specifically for the respective issue.

Blackprint

These stamps are printed in greyscale to match the original stamp. Just like coloured stamps, these stamps are not perforated and do not have teeth. Blackprints have no postage value, but are considered a philatelic rarity of high value. Journalists used to use them for their publications.