High-resolution images of the stamps are available for media use only by emailing mark.r.saunders@usps.gov

ORLANDO, FL — The U.S. Postal Service issued four elegant Waves of Color stamps today in four denominations:  $1, $2, $5 and $10. Designed as a customer convenience, the stamps lend a contemporary appearance to packages, large envelopes and other mailings.

Customers may order the stamps by clicking the stamp dollar values above or by phoning 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724). The stamp dedication ceremony took place in Orlando at the Florida State Stamp Show on the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

Printed using offset lithography and intaglio processes, the stamp denominations are embossed. Each stamp denomination will be available in sheets of 10.

The $10 Wave stamp shows variously colored undulating lines against a white background. A portion of the right side of the stamp provides white space to display the numeral 10. The stamp also includes its denomination written out as Ten Dollars. In order to suggest its status as a high-denomination issue, this stamp benefits from a highly detailed printing process that creates patterns similar to an engraved bank currency.

The other three stamps feature similar designs with different color palettes and are denominated at $1, $2 and $5. As the denominations increase, the stamp sizes grow larger.

Art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, and designer Michael Dyer of Brooklyn, NY, created these unusual stamps.

Other stamps can be purchased at usps.com/stamps. Customers may view the Waves of Color stamps, as well as many of next year’s other stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, on Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2013-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

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, at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/stamps 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:

Waves of Color Stamp Cancellation
Postmaster
PO Box 620045
Orlando, FL 32862-0045

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 Feb. 1, 2013.

How to Order First-Day Covers

The Postal Service 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, online at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. Cus­tomers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are 12 philatelic products available:

• 115561, $1 First-Day Cover, $1.44
• 115565, $1 Digital Color Postmark, $2.15
• 115599, $1 Keepsake, $12.95
• 115661, $2 First-Day Cover, $2.44
• 115665, $2 Digital Color Postmark, $3.15
• 115699, $2 Keepsake, $23.95
• 115761, $5 First-Day Cover, $5.44
• 115765, $5 Digital Color Postmark, $6.15
• 115799, $5 Keepsake, $56.95
• 115861, $10 First-Day Cover, $10.44
• 115865, $10 Digital Color Postmark, $11.15
• 115899, $10 Keepsake, $111.95

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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