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A message from Douglas: I tried to post the following on your blog re the Morris book but I don't think I managed it.-----------
Douglas continues "Royal Mail announced in its March Key News that the printer was Walsall and in gravure. I can confirm this. As far as I know, Cartor do not have a gravure press.
The stamps in the book have the usual Walsall inverted direction of print, as do any on privately produced FDCs. The stamps on the official FDCs are from coils and have sideways right direction. They were printed without the stubs."
Thanks Douglas, this is very informative. Please re check the direction of print for the booklet pane on this issue. According to Deegam Report 88 -6 these self adhesive panes are described as Pane SAP 105 (DP 442) with a direction of print to the left from booklets or right for the panes produced on first day covers.
Another question: From Douglas. "Look at the security cuts and compare the top curve with the bottom one. What type shall we call this?My thoughts:
It appears that the top cut is wider than the bottom cut.
Is this a third type of security cut? Or just a variation of the previous types that have been classified? It has been suggested that these are type 2. If they are new I guess it must be type 4 or type 2C.
I now await my copy the June Deegam Report with anticipation.
Once again I thank Richard and Ian Billings for the image.
4 comments:
The gaps on the pane from the books I have are wider at the top than the bottom and those on the official FDC are narrower at the top than those at the bottom.
Slight variations in the width happen all the time (especially at Walsall) but they still remain Type 2 slits (gap above 0.2mm).
We cannot invent a sub-type every time there is a small variation or the system will rapidly become unmanageable. For the present, these T2 slits are easily distinguishable from the DLR T2a versions with barely imperceptible bridges. Let's not make it any more complicated until something radically new occurs.
In any case, there is already a Type 3 - it occurred on some panes in the George V prestige book where the slit at the top had no gap at all (as on T1 slits) and the one at the bottom had a wide gap (as on T2 slits).
Interested to her that Douglas said 'usual Walsall inverted direction of print' when the only previous gravure SA prestige pane was Left according to Deegam Report No 88.
A fellow collector had saved my previous contribution to the debate which the blog company had deleted in error, so I can now re-upload in case it is of interest....
Sheet-fed litho production is centred on Cartor, with gravure and litho reel-fed production at Walsall. This was a conscious business decision according to Paul White, MD at WSP, when I interviewed him 18 months back.
He told me: "Until recently, work was allocated between plants on the basis of capacity, whereas now Cartor will undertake sheet-fed litho work (the smaller print runs), and WSP the web-fed gravure and web litho orders. A reallocation of presses reflects this strategic change within the Group."
So, unless Cartor / Walsall has re-allocated presses between factories again in the past few months*, which seems highly unlikely, Cartor does not have any gravure printing capability on-site. It could not, therefore, have printed the PSB panes, unless by litho.
The uncertainty as to the process used goes to prove how superb litho printing has become, for only a short while back the difference would have been visually obvious.
*Cartor's plant list as of last October comprised only litho presses according to Ian Brigham, MD at Cartor, when asked the question at a stamp printing seminar held by RPSL in London.
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