machin collecting ...

Philatelist

2011-11-30T16:06:00.000-04:00

I began collecting machins as a student at McGill U in Montreal, QC ... business, and other interests intervened at times; but after absence, comes renewal ... rediscovering machins thru Robin Harris's fine project "GB Machins" rekindled my passion for collecting - and so the quest continues today.

the norvic site also yields some timely machin facts ...

what's new ...

2011-11-30T16:05:00.000-04:00

latest on 2011 ... royalpost shop offers

... read about royalpost privatization ... led by a canadian ceo moya greene.

I am currently reviewing the permanent value decimal machins graphically ...

you may translate easily with google/translate ... or, if chrome browser is installed, auto translate available... very fine feature. picasa3 is also excellent and free download from google.

machins and music ...

2011-11-21T14:42:00.000-04:00

machin study is enhanced with my playlist ...

HB4 evokes "goldberg variations"
matthews palette : debussy images ...

handling machin kiloware ... reviewed

2011-11-21T14:41:00.000-04:00

SAP "self-adhesive" security machins must be extracted from bundles or kiloware lots ... only heptane will remove them successfully from paper. neither water immersion nor philatelic hinge and gum removers have proven effective with 2009+ security cut machins... … from the machin forum this removal solution. I include a chemical analysis ... a.k.a. rubber cement thinner. ...my experience with the beaujard 2008-11 of france, I offer a methodology below. N.B. the TD-paper is better suited to machin SAP printing … very durable : DLR should consider it)

removal from paper : methodology

1. removal : the adhesives can be successfully removed from paper using heptane* ... depending on the quantity of objects, this process will take 5mins to 1 hour or more... so setup as follows.... a basin of size is filled with heptane, and the stamps are saturated. after 5 mins, start removal from paper - and place face down on a glass sheet. wait 5 mins for excess heptane to evaporate , soon the stamps will become tacky ...
2. replacement of adhesives : the glue will adhere to clear acetate but not vinyl sheets. as stock pages, I use binder photo album pages... the boards are covered by acetate sheets on 2 sides... within, I place a prepared 5x8 printed grid formed with StampCat9 reports. this acts a guide for placement of objects. the benefit, is the inserts can be varied - black sheet for scanning. the grid margins allow for inspection notes... I group by value and phosphor type ...
3. alternately, I have used stockcard covers (clear acetate). this allows reconstruction of the various booklets as the matrices are sourced (3x3, 2x4...) adhesives peel from acetate easily. album samples can be placed within stamp mounts, or first on cut-to-size clear acetate sheeting. stamp hinges do not adhere to vinyl, or acetate ... 3M 2-sided tape will work. Or, find a bottle of hinge mount adhesive.
- buy the 500ml can
separate no-cancel machins on piece first from the kiloware ... though scarce, these can be separated from paper using UHU PRINZ hinge remover solution, applied to reverse side ... the stamps can soon be lifted from paper and placed within a "magic drying book" with vinyl and blotter pages... this method preserves gum and full phosphor
the remaining used state machins can be separated best in a running water bath, with a overfllow topscreen ... the outflow eliminates transfer of soluable gum ( pvc or self-adhesive) and possible phosphor transfer to other machins ... place to dry in a "magic drying book" .... then, sort by face-value, prior to phosphor examination ...
there has been some question aired about loss of phosphor level and transfer of glue and phosphor to other machins during paper separation ....most used state stocks in dealer or collector hands have gone thru some water-immersion process ... some of these may demonstrate stronger or weaker phosphor reaction under inspection... but relative to modern printing methods, variations occur in phosphor application or absence thereof ... so classification of variant machins requires a list of all known possibilities as well as judgemental analysis of state of a machin's phosphor level ... even unused machins go thru this inspection ...
on average only 3-5 % of all postally used machins are collectable ... heavy cancel examples ... these I discard as uncollectable ... don't waste your time ... build a quality collection !

case of the SON 1£ ruby … testimonial of world renowned philatelist :

“I was delirious as to how to treat this SON SAP... machinmadness had struck me again !! before I discovered bestine, it was well stuck !! … after applying bestine, the problem was solved ...” - A.E.N

machin collecting ...

2011-11-21T14:40:00.000-04:00

Machin collecting …

2011 marks 40 years of decimal machins and design change – my focus. Living in a new techno-age - social networking, google, gadgetry take hold in one's life. As a pastime, philately started with the penny black. Stamp collectors have zilllions of issues to ponder, and philatelsts more difficult problems to unravel the complexity of todays security printings. Machin vars number in 1000s... To many, machins represent a dark void in space … “they are over there in a bag “ , “they are under the bed in a box “, “my wife won't let me look at them”, “I want to get rid of them” … “O machins, yuck !” … to machin aficionados, this borders on heresy – tho no one has been burned yet !

In this darwinian realm of philately, we seek guidance from machinmindermasts (code word used by masterminds) - Douglas Myall of HB4 (deegam.com), Robin Harris RPSC (adminware.ca) and Larry Rosenblum (machinmania.com). Great to have these guys around... no doubt a clear mind, patience and perseverance are required to master a machin collection at level3.

...the side effects - in canada,“machinmadness” was first coined by Robin at the launch of his machin site; Larry has america enthralled with “machinmania”. Regardless, we continue in problem solving. I prefer to maintain a strong element of humour. The modern oxford online dictionary defines acronym SAP as an “expleted philatelic object”, NVI as “not very interesting machin”

I hope you enjoy my posts ...

2011 machin trading ...

2011-11-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

my machin study : decimal machins 1971-2012.

now offering ...

pictorials and regional issues
nvi accumulations

I have posted some offers and wants ... search lots : 1st gold and 2nd blue ... letter and parcel types ... now available, a pdf offering report of level-1 machins ... stamps are fine or very fine used.

if sending lots ... the value and queen's face must be free of cancel ... damaged or heavily cancelled machins are of no use to me.

accumulations will be reviewed, and unwanted returned ... normally bulk lot yields 3-5% fine used.

DG10 stat perspective ...

2011-11-21T13:52:00.001-04:00

1p group is the largest of permanent value decimal machins

the distributions follow ...

note : many are highly rated in HB4 - obviously worth looking for ...

DG20 more stats ...

2011-11-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

the charts both assist page design

and search strategy ...

HB4 stats ...

2011-11-17T13:13:00.001-04:00

the first charts show decimal machins : total by year ... then basic phosphor groups

I have yet to register all screened values... (0=no phosphor)

the next charts show distributions by value ... the permanent value decimal machins

have the greatest complexity, and often bear high DV estimates.

before designing custom pages : charts offer item check...

StampCat V10 ...research tool

2011-10-27T14:16:00.000-03:00

... StampCat from Norway is the finest I have used to date ... allowing 9 images per record, with all group fields indexed and linked... making searches and reports very fast ... download the trialware ... as a research tool StampCat has no equal ... I use it for forensic forgery study also

... visit the StampCat forum

190 /w CB ...

2011-10-06T14:39:00.001-03:00

this is unique diagonal CB ... HB4 reports 1 SB, though this is shorter

70 paper flaw ...

2011-10-06T14:37:00.002-03:00

this is first machin paper flaw I have encountered.

in france, they are called "accordion"

item is /w gum - raised edge on reverse

250 BBR plus ... ex DP205

2011-10-06T14:35:00.000-03:00

new var ... the BBR is known. however the example above also bears a LB

part of BBR is weaker AY reaction

G1/2 coil DBF

2011-10-06T14:30:00.001-03:00

another press startup ...

examples of doctor blade flaw ... all missed the phosphor cylinder ...

125 new vars ...

2011-10-03T14:38:00.004-03:00

the above are new finds - not in HB4

250 DBF ...

2011-10-01T10:45:00.001-03:00

DBF or "doctor blade flaw" is repeated above - likely from same print startup. but, with different results.

row 1 and 2 images demonstrate the missing detail in the QE2 head ... again, R1 machin escaped the phosphor cylinder inking.

these errors are beyond HB4, so again StampCat allows custom album page.

specialised album pages ...

2011-09-09T16:04:00.000-03:00

the 9p group reflects "dry printing" or ink errors

using the deegam HB4 CD as reference, I group the phosphors by type ... LR, L, R, LCR or no phosphor ...

for each value study. a failure of HB4 focus, is that many plate errors are overlooked. to describe these on an album page or worksheet - stampCat V9 reports allow easy reports to be generated.

for years, much of my collection lay on the shelf - as I awaited a comprehensive specialised album, in pdf format. douglas myall attests no one can ever complete a machin collection - scarcity and price points.

however, we can enjoy our new finds on a custom generated worksheet, instantly.

2011 vars ...

2011-04-28T14:04:00.000-03:00

royalpost if offering both SAP and WA (water-activated) issues for some values. 2 DP or booklets have been issued to date.

A11 ... multi value machins

2011-04-11T13:58:00.000-03:00

the charts show distributions of coils, booklet and sheet issues . when sorting machins, do not separate pairs or blocks until full inspection is possible. otherwise, you will increase the workload.
many booklets were single value panes, most remain multi-value. so a block can be sourced to DP pane or sheet (cyl no). A11 is an appendix of HB4. Douglas has ingeniously speeded the sourcing of v/h pairs (se-tenants) and coil strips - by developing a key index.

today coil production is only single value rolls. when starting a machin session, keep your focus on only 1 value at a time ... less scrolling - and more direct contact with the issues

high values 2003-

2011-04-04T15:23:00.000-03:00

some dealers are reporting shade differences between cylinder date blocks ... HB4 offers listing of all reprints.
if anyone has comparitive colour scans, please contact me.

2010 HB4 Deegam ...

2011-03-31T16:04:00.000-03:00

next DGR due june, 2011

the deegam system is fine work of Douglas Myall of UK ... the deegam profiles are mount-sized labels providing all the properties and source of individual machins , including phosphors in colour...

HB4 DG profiles...

2011-03-28T14:27:00.018-03:00

.. reviewing my collection brought forward these stats... or distributions by year ... the profiles do not recognize cyl level. the DP or booklet profiles are the largest group ... with greatest vars compare chart 2 and 3... DP vars per year vs DP issued ... trends in vending, royalpost policy and SAPs have reduced the annual machin numbers. I will review NVI s next fall winter

colour key ...

2011-03-25T15:42:00.002-03:00

colour analysis of machins is often defined in SG shades, or other chart as the DG system ...

what the eye sees depends on light setting, object reflective or not, instruments and calibration.

visit the pantone site for an online colour matching system . also help for calibration of printers and screens.

machin album pages ...

2011-01-20T13:56:00.004-04:00

robin harris is now offering : pdf album pages ... basic to specialised

personally, I generate year set pages using StampCat 9.2 ... new issues and reprints - sheet, DP (booklet) or SAP (self adhesive products)

cartor of laloupe, france ...

2010-03-12T14:49:00.001-04:00

this is a flash site, that may require you update adobe flashplayer to view ... modern litho technology !

enjoy !!

security printers ...

2010-03-12T07:09:00.005-04:00

explore the complexities of today's stamp printing

Delarue is one of the oldest names in GB philately
enschede.nl

machin errors ...

2010-03-11T13:56:00.003-04:00

machin errors 3 types : constant plate positional variety, MISPERFS (ex booklet - DP) or MISCUTS ( ex SAP)... infrequently, dealers also mention or offer these for sale ... I have discovered a few during sorting activity... anyone willing to trade these items, please contact me ...

anything unusual is put aside ... if I find similar anomolies on subsequent items ... this points to a plate flaw.

Douglas Myall uses rigorous tests to determine aspects of new varieties ... several dealers and collectors report new finds ... some are discounted as not meeting these tests ... the varieties such as "blob on nose" etc are noted by SGS Vol4 ... the Deegam HB4 is still the most current source for specialised collectors ... simply amazing in quality and thoroughness ...

please send me your scans ...

LED magnifier

2009-04-24T13:54:00.000-03:00

best tool for the price ...

onscreen measurement ...

2009-04-11T14:44:00.000-03:00

here is a useful link ... for onscreen measurement device

deegam settings can be converted ... 1mm = 3.6 pixels
this clear-vue pixel ruler , is useful for 100% or scaled images ... for larger than normal scans, use ratio method.

optical devices ... new

2008-09-03T23:04:00.003-03:00

Carson Optical : zoom micro

theproscope is a digital camera designed for macro work... 50x lense, with accessories ... this is useful for screen separations and regional emblem detail, right of the stockcard ... searching for machin vars can create eyestrain ...when using a uv-lamp for phosphors, lay the machins on a cut square of black velvet material ... this allows tongs to freely travel and not endanger the perfs ; and it reduces extraneous uv glare. lastly, the Vista OS from Microsoft should reduce problems of colour production between devices ... "calibration"

stock keeping note ...

2007-12-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

as machins are sorted by phosphor group, I place these on a 5*5 grid of clear acetate, backed by coloured paper ... the backing colour emulates the phosphor shade as depicted in the deegam profiles ... yellow, green, blue... when scanned, they provide a visual uv-key ... or border to the image. this helps keeptrack of inventory as group images ... alternately, using hagner white sheets: 3M post-it notes or strips cut from coloured paper to match the phosphor shade are backgrounds

further, ez-image pro allows changing the border colour from images already scanned ... or collected from other sources, e.g. auction

relative scarcity of machins ...

2007-08-22T19:23:00.001-03:00

no record of "numbers printed" of each issue is in the public domain. ...this is unusual, as most national PO's maintain these as official record. certainly, the litho booklet issues are harder to assemble ... the "prestige booklets" are limited production aimed at philatelic sales and not generally distributed or applied to mail ... used booklet panes are not often found complete, so these are scarcer than mint ... if large blocks are found, verify if a booklet form exists ... if a booklet pane, the perfs will vary from sheet pattern ... straight cut lines follow dealer "out-of-stocks" lists ...
Douglas Myall has a rareity index as part of deegam system database. the kiloware pipeline is usually 2 years behind recent issues... assemble your own wantlist : the phosphor vars are tougher finds, so rely on machin dealers and collectors to complete value sets overtime ...

machin indicia ... hindsight and futuretense

2007-08-22T16:39:00.001-03:00

since machins appeared in 1967, collectors have seen many changes to OCR equipment and their required new phosphor patterns and colours : "remember the postcode" was the first slogan cancel, followed by advertising and special event plates... gone are the days of VF small town cancels applied by caring PO clerk with a few exceptions ...
depending on the face-value, I have found stamp usage attracts finer or lesser indicia : domestic post favours ALF wavy or straight-line forms... circular indicia are rubber or steel ring ... rubber daters appear on domestic or overseas small packet mailings, and steel indicia are usually found only on registered mail before the 2004 R form-labels were introduced ... my preference has always been steel or fine rubber circular daters, in fact, I collect only VF "south-east corner" forms, or unused copies that escape the eye of the ALF or postal clerk on small packet mail .... result : the cancel a face-value machin bears : is dependent on year, OCR equipment, class of mail, rural or urban PO... a steel indicia found on certain machins could in fact be quite rare ... by assembling a group of values for registered mail post ... note that this discussion does not cover special event or philatelic cancellations, another topic.

Royal Mail rates ...

2007-08-22T11:41:00.001-03:00

Postcomm reports Royal Mail rate increases .... 2000-2005 postal rate tables : Royal Mail .

this is a reference for machin cover collectors, but also demonstrates the increasing cost of stamp trading and auction buying today...this is why most traders : offer 100 unit lots as a base volume ...
when one considers "on-paper" lots, and the off-paper 3-5% realisation of VFU machins, international rates do add to item cost ... an accomodating trader or dealer will allow accumulation of lots to month-end /w consolidation ... further evolution of Royal Mail service can be read here ... the new forms that have replaced the high-value issues can be seen

Machin shades ...

2007-08-22T10:55:00.001-03:00

Robin Harris offers a colour key here

click on value, and hotlink will bring up more info ... Canadian Stamp News recently posted Robin's editorship of Unitrade Canada specialised catalog... he has authored many references on definitive subjects

40th anniversary releases ...

2006-05-31T22:48:00.001-03:00

very finely designed group to celebrate 40th years of machins .... news from Norvic stamps ...

Machin : artist of an icon ...

2006-04-19T13:57:00.000-03:00

this title certainly appeals to the machin enthusiast ... reissued in 2002, it offers an in depth outlook on Arnold Machin's life and work ... available thru Stanley Gibbons and other booksellers, about 35 GBP : ISBN : 1872914233 ... comments from readers welcomed ...

also read the archived note on the designer ...

Arnold Machin, designer

2006-04-17T22:21:00.002-03:00

QE2 portrait design ... view his artworks ; and finally his obituary

as philatelists we always appreciate the fine works of stamp designers, past and present... the intaglio 1999-2000 high values were his last design issues ... both these and the Slania gravure series of 2003 are discontinued from production ... electronic labels are used today for registered or heavy parcel mails as a rule ...

Czeslaw Slania, designer

2006-04-17T21:12:00.003-03:00

From StampTrader.ca

the high values machins (2003.7.1-2004.4.1) were gravures designed by Czeslaw Slania ... scarcity of these issues due to withdrawal by RoyalPost : designed for parcel usage, PO labels now replace all high values

articles devoted to his work ...
from the UK - a bionote ; from Artdaily ; and finally obituary

Portrait of HRH Queen Elizabeth ...

2006-04-16T22:33:00.000-03:00

an interesting article here... review process of queen's portrait : Robinson/Matthews

a philatelic dictionary ...

2006-04-05T23:04:00.001-03:00

Guy Maggay offers an online multilingual lexicon as well as a superb cancellation or "obliterations" study of France ... he touches on machin cancels briefly in the "marques postale etrangeres" section ... enjoy and be sure to return this site ... superbe !

Stanley Gibbons new website ...

2006-04-02T01:24:00.001-04:00

the new design is more elegant and faster loading ... well worth a visit ... the online catalog and imaging is superb ... the old "Stamp Cafe" is now harder to locate however ...

QE2 portrait ...

2006-03-01T11:17:00.001-04:00

an artists view created using machins ... certainly mainly hours of contemplation to complete

New Issues - WNS global

2005-06-27T02:00:00.002-03:00

for traders, this is great update site for new issues... WNS link here

Beguin dictionary of printing ...

2005-06-16T19:53:00.001-03:00

technical questions about printing may be searched here ... hosted by a commercial supply in the Netherlands. historical to modern...

British Stamps ... printers and articles of interest

2005-06-16T01:13:00.001-03:00

for those seeking some leisure time pieces... a series of articles listed here
the same site will provide a complete listing of all GB printers of philatelic interest

High Value Castles

2005-04-21T14:10:00.001-03:00

interestingly, a Royal designed these issues... fine writeup here

a Primer for GB Machins ...

2005-04-16T11:45:00.001-03:00

for machin aficionados - this site offers a grade A+ tutorial of machins.

Roy Simpson of UK is the webmaster ... Jeffery Matthews, designer of 2000 MS is reviewed...
hopefully Roy will update in time