On April 22, 2008, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service™ will issue 42-cent, American Journalists commemorative stamps in five designs in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 462000). Designed by Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, the stamps go on sale nationwide April 22, 2008.
With these stamps, the Postal Service honors five distinguished journalists:
Working in radio, television, or print, the journalists reported — often at great personal sacrifice — some of the most important stories of the 20th century. They did their part to keep people informed about the world around them.
Art director Howard Paine worked with designer Fred Otnes of West Redding, Connecticut, to create the stamp art. The abstract backgrounds were meant to imply the “worldliness” of the subjects, without referring to explicit events; the fragments of text were meant to suggest headlines of articles by or about each journalist.
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® Web site 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:
AMERICAN JOURNALISTS STAMPS
POSTMASTER
SPECIAL CANCELLATIONS
WASHINGTON DC 20066-9998
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 June 21, 2008.
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
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014
There are three philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
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.
Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately 25 to 30 percent of their full standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (40,000 stamps).
SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of one-fourth their full standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute stamps to Post Offices before April 7, 2008.
Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisition Item 462000 from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional stamps must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.
For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the Chicago, New York, Memphis, and San Francisco APDs will each receive 1,120,000 additional stamps; the Denver APD will receive 360,000 additional stamps.
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.
Issue:
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American Journalists
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Item Number:
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462000
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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42-cent Commemorative
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Format:
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Pane of 20 (5 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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April 22, 2008, Washington, DC 20066
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Designer:
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Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
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Engraver:
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N/A
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Art Director:
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Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
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Typographer:
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Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
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Artist:
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Fred Otnes, West Redding, CT
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Modeler:
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Joseph Sheeran
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset
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Printer:
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Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
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Printed at:
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Williamsville, NY
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Press Type:
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Mueller Martini, A 76
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Stamps per Pane:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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30 million stamps
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Paper Type:
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Nonphosphored, Type III
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
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Colors:
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Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
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Stamp Orientation:
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Horizontal
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Image Area (w x h):
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1.42 x 1.085 in./36.068 x 27.559 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 1.225 in./39.624 x 31.115 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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7.24 x 7.286 in./183.896 x 185.064 mm
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Plate Size:
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180 stamps per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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“P” followed by four (4) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
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© 2007 USPS • Plate position diagram • Price • Four plate numbers • Header “American Journalists”
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Back:
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Biographical text • USPS logo • Two barcodes
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— Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-27-08