Stamp Announcement 11-10: Neon Celebrate!

Stamp Announcement 11-10: Neon Celebrate!

On March 25, 2011, in Cleveland, Ohio, the Postal Ser­vice™ will issue a Neon Celebrate! special stamp (Forever® priced at 44 cents), in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 576200). The stamp, designed by Phil Jordan, Falls Church, Virginia, will go on sale nationwide March 25, 2011.

Inspired by a visit to the Museum of Neon Art in Los Angeles, Art Director Phil Jordan began to think about the possibility of using neon to depict a stamp subject. He decided that a “Neon Celebrate!” stamp, with its imagery of vivid colors, fit the bill. The black background of the stamp is reminiscent of a night sky. Like a fireworks display on a summer evening, brilliantly colored images of swirls, cir­cles, and dashes in pink, blue, orange, yellow, and green seem to erupt from the ground to illuminate the darkness. Each letter of the word “Celebrate” and the exclamation point that is part of this stamp’s official title, are highlighted in bright white light.

The 2011 Neon Celebrate! stamp is Artist Michael Flecht­ner’s, Van Nuys, California, first project for the U.S. Postal Service®.

How to Order the First Day of Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ facility, at The Postal Store® website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Neon Celebrate! Stamp
2200 Orange Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44101-9998

 

Issue:

Neon Celebrate!

Item Number:

576200

Denomination & Type of Issue:

First-Class Mail® Forever Special

Format:

Pane of 20 (1 design)

Series:

N/A

Issue Date & City:

March 25, 2011, Cleveland, OH 44101 (Garfield-Perry Stamp Show)
(No Ceremony)

Designer:

Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA

Art Director:

Phil Jordan, Falls Church, VA

Typographer:

N/A

Artist:

Michael Flechtner, Van Nuys, CA

Modeler:

Donald Woo

Manufacturing Process:

Gravure

Engraver:

N/A

Printer:

American Packaging Corp./SSP

Printed at:

Columbus, WI

Press Type:

Cerutti

Stamps per Pane:

20

Print Quantity:

100 million stamps

Paper Type:

Phosphor Tagged, Overall

Adhesive Type:

Pressure-sensitive

Processed at:

Unique Binders, Fredericksburg, VA

Colors:

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, PMS 2577 (Purple), PMS 3395 (Green)

Stamp Orientation:

Horizontal

Image Area (w x h):

1.04 x 0.76 in./26.42 x 19.31 mm

Overall Size (w x h):

1.19 x 0.91 in./30.11 x 23.11 mm

Full Pane Size (w x h):

5.8125 x 5.460 in./147.64 x 138.69 mm

Plate Size:

80 stamps per revolution

Plate Numbers:

“S” followed by six (6) single digits

Marginal Markings:

Front:

Plate block numbers in four corners

Back:

© 2010 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (576200) in four corners

After applying the first day of issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by May 25, 2011.

How to Order First Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items post­marked with the official first day of issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are four philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

n 576261*, First Day Cover, $0.82.

n 576265*, Digital Color Postmark, $1.50.

n 576293*, First Day Cover Keepsake, $9.95.

n 576294, Note Cards, $12.95.

Items with an asterisk (*) will use the 128 barcode from Stamp Fulfillment Services. All other philatelic products will continue to use barcode series A, with the exception of the Yearbook and the Guide Book.

Distribution: Item 576200, First-Class Mail Neon Celebrate! (Forever priced at 44 cents), PSA Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) and stamp distribu­tion centers (SDCs) will receive approximately 50 percent of their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 40,000 stamps.

Initial Supply to Post Offices

SDOs/SDCs will make a subsequent automatic distribu­tion to Post Offices of 50 percent of their standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute this commemorative sheet to Post Offices before March 11, 2011.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional quantities of Item 576200 must requisition them from their designated SDO/SDC using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional com­memorative sheets must order them from the appropriate SDC or SDO using PS Form 17. For fulfilling supplemental orders from Post Offices, all of the SDOs and SDCs will receive additional commemorative sheets.

Sales Policy

All Post Offices must acquire and maintain a supply of each new commemorative stamp as long as customer demand exists, until inventory is depleted, or until the stamp is officially withdrawn from sale. If supplies run low, Post Offices must reorder additional quantities using their normal ordering procedures.

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