Printing process of "Canine" stamp

On March 19, 2006, the State Post Bureau will issue a set of 4 special stamps entitled "Dog", which are Beijing Dog, Pug Dog, Chow Chow and Tibetan Mastiff.

This set of stamps is all in the simple white background, skillfully set off the dog's shape and their different characteristics. Beijing dogs are noble and dignified; Pug dogs are honest and honest; Chow Chow can be embarrassing; Tibetan mastiffs are dignified and majestic. In order to vividly reproduce the different characteristics of various dogs between squares, after repeated research, it was decided to use a three-color carving + four-color offset printing.

The so-called three-color engraving printing refers to that three different colors of ink are transferred to the printing plate through different transfer rollers on the same engraving plate. The three color inks are partially mixed and transferred to the stamp paper to achieve Three different engraving colors on the same pattern perfectly reproduce the purpose of the picture.

"Canines" are all printed by the Stamp Printing Bureau. This is another new result of the full exploration of the potential of the equipment and the introduction of the technology after the monochromatic carving of “On the River in the Qingming River” and the “two-color carving” of the "Taiwanese monuments." However, the improvement of process technology is not easy. On the one hand, although the four-glue and three-sculpture printing press imported from Switzerland has the function of three-color engraving and printing, it has never been used. Can it be tested successfully in a limited period of time? No one has absolute certainty; on the other hand, 》The stamp artwork is a hand-painted draft. The lines are clear and structured, and the color lines of the engraving are combined very closely. The accuracy of overprinting is very high. It is rare to have such a difficult carving stamp. In order to guarantee the issuance on schedule, the Printing Bureau has set up a dedicated research team to go all out. They seized the "difficulty of accurately transferring three different colors of sculpting inks onto printing plates." The difficulty in printing the entire set of stamps was the main direction of attack. After a series of tests, the relationship between the three transfer rollers and the relationship between ink and ink The overprint relationship between the roll and the printing plate was repeatedly tested and tried to overcome the difficulties.

The difference between "Canine" and other multi-colored rubber sculpture stamps is that the color and color of the "Canine" engraving are very close to each other and are adjacent to each other. This is reflected in "Dogs," a map, two maps, four maps. Taking the "Dog" mini-plate as an example, in the space of only 7cm in length and width, there are tightly staggered lines of three colors of black, gray, red and brown; and in the same stamp, the lines of different colors are engraved. It is the "pass". For example, the eyes, nose, and mouth of the "Beijing Dog" are black sculptured lines, and the gray sculpted lines are next to them; the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears of the "Chow Chow" are black sculptures, and the surroundings are red-brown. Engraving, and the sculpted lines of each color are very fine, the connection is very natural and accurate.

This is the first time that China Post has used the "multi-color wiring" technology to produce four-color offset three-color carved stamps. The meticulous carving and accurate overprinting reflect the ever-increasing level of printing technology in China's stamps, and dedicated a set of quality stamps for the philatelic lovers.


Author: Ju Ying Source: Yunnan postal network