Stamp Announcement 08-08: Tropical Fruit

Tropical Fruit stamps

On April 25, 2008, in Burlingame, California, the Postal Service™ will issue 27-cent, Tropical Fruit definitive stamps in five designs. Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamps go on sale nationwide April 25, 2008.

The stamps will be available in the following formats:

Illustrator Sergio Baradat of New York, New York, created art that visually slices or halves five tropical fruits:

How to Order 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® 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:

Tropical Fruit Stamps
Postmaster
1630 South Delaware St
San Mateo CA 94402-9998

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 24, 2008.

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 postmark. 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

Philatelic Products

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.

Distribution: Item 105100, 27-cent Tropical Fruit, PSA Pane of 20

Initially, stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately 200 percent of their standard automatic dis­tribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. SDO distributions will begin shipment April 3, 2008, and complete shipment May 8, 2008. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (40,000 stamps).

Initial Supply to Post Offices

SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of their full standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs may distribute stamps to Post Offices immediately upon receipt, but not before April 18, 2007.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisi­tion Item 105100 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.

 

 

Issue:

Tropical Fruit

Item Number:

105100

Denomination &
Type of Issue:


27-cent Definitive

Format:

Pane of 20 (5 designs)

Series:

N/A

Issue Date & City:

April 25, 2008, Burlingame, CA

 

(WESTPEX Stamp Show-No
ceremony)

Designer:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Art Director:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Typographer:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Artist:

Sergio Badarat, New York, NY

Modeler:

Joseph Sheeran

Manufacturing Process:

Offset

Engraver:

N/A

Printer:

Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)

Printed at:

Williamsville, NY

Press Type:

Stevens, Vari-size Security Press

Stamps per pane:

20

Print Quantity:

200 million stamps

Paper Type:

Nonphosphored, Type III

Adhesive Type:

Pressure-sensitive

Processed at:

Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)

Stamp Orientation:

Vertical

Image Area (w x h):

0.73 x 0.84 in./18.542 x 21.336 mm

Overall Size (w x h):

0.87 x 0.98 in./22.098 x 24.892 mm

Full Pane Size (w x h):

5.35 x 4.93 in./135.890 x
125.222 mm

Colors:

Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow

Plate Size:

240 stamps per revolution

Plate Numbers:

“P” followed by four (4) single digits

Marginal Markings:

 

Front:

© 2008 USPS • Price • Plate
position diagram • Plate
numbers in four corners of pane

Back:

Barcodes “105100” in two positions
• USPS logo

For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the Mem­phis, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco APDs will each receive 8,000,000 additional stamps; the Denver APD will receive 2,880,000 additional stamps. The Kansas City Stamp Services Center (SSC) will receive 8,640,000 addi­tional stamps for fulfilling supplemental orders from APDs.

Additional quantities of this definitive stamp will also be made available to SDOs via future automatic distributions, shipped directly from the supplier to the SDOs.

Distribution: Item 786300, $27.00 Tropical Fruit, PSA Coil of 100

All SDOs will receive automatic distributions of $27.00 Tropical Fruit, PSA coil of 100. Distributions will be in mul­tiple waves. Wave 1 shipments, which began March 25, 2008, will be completed by April 9, 2008. Wave 2 ship­ments, which begin April 21, 2008, will be completed by May 28, 2008. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (800 coils).

Initial Supply for Post Offices

SDOs will not make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices. All Post Offices requiring quantities of Item 786300 must order them from their designated SDO using a separate PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute coils to Post Offices before April 18, 2008.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional coils must requisition Item 786300 from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional coils must order them from the appropriate APD using PS Form 17.

Following the second automatic distribution to SDOs, the New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Memphis, APDs will each receive 57,600 additional coils; the Denver APD will receive 19,200 additional coils for fulfilling supple­mental orders from the SDOs. The Kansas City SSC will receive 153,600 additional coils for fulfilling supplemental orders from APDs.

Additional quantities of this definitive stamp will also be made available to SDOs via future automatic distributions, shipped directly from the supplier to the SDOs.

 

 

Issue:

Tropical Fruit

Item Number:

786300

Denomination &
Type of Issue:


27-cent Definitive

Format:

Coil of 100 (5 designs)

Series:

N/A

Issue Date & City:

April 25, 2008, Burlingame, CA

 

(WESTPEX Stamp Show-No
ceremony)

Designer:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Art Director:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Typographer:

Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD

Artist:

Sergio Badarat, New York, NY

Modeler:

Avery Dennison, SPD

Manufacturing Process:

Gravure

Engraver:

WRE ColorTech

Printer:

Avery Dennison, (AVR)

Printed at:

AVR, Clinton, SC

Press Type:

Dia Nippon Kiko (DNK)

Stamps per Coil:

100

Print Quantity:

500 million stamps

Paper Type:

Prephosphored, Type II

Adhesive Type:

Pressure-sensitive

Processed at:

AVR, Clinton, SC

Stamp Orientation:

Vertical

Image Area (w x h):

0.730 x 0.840 in./18.54 x 21.336 mm

Overall Size (w x h):

0.870 x 0.982 in./22.098 x 24.942 mm

Colors:

Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Black,
PMS 7418 (Red), PMS 5473
(Teal), PMS 390 (Light Green)

Full Pane Size (w x h):

N/A

Plate Size:

480 stamps per revolution

Plate Numbers:

“V” followed by seven (7) single
digits

Marginal Markings:

Plate numbers on every 40th stamp
around coil