Championship Stamp Supply Definitions of Philatelic Terms

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Illegal Use	Any intentional or unintentional unauthorized, inappropriate, or other use of a stamp for any purpose for which it was not intended. Examples of illegal uses include stamps that have been demonetized, revenue stamps used as postage, postal stationery stamps (the printed stamps on stamped envelopes and postal cards) cut out and glued to envelopes, reuse of previously used stamps, taped stamps, non-postal labels used as stamps, and short-paid mail. To postal history collectors, the most desirable illegal uses are those that were detected and either assessed postage due or returned to sender with explanatory auxiliary markings applied. Non-stamps, such as Christmas or Wildlife seals used as postage, also fall into the illegal use category. Postally used covers showing such illegal uses are generally prized by specialists.
Imperf Between Stamps	Stamps generally considered pairs or larger multiples of stamps with no perforations in one direction, but with perforations on all other sides. Pairs or multiples may be either horizontal or vertical; thus, a horizontal pair of stamps may be missing vertical perforations (vertically imperf between) or a vertical pair may be missing horizontal perforations (horizontal imperf between). It also is possible for a single row of perforations to be missing from a pane, leaving, for example, an imperf-between multiple of three or larger with perforations around. Imperf-between stamps are regarded as major errors and frequently command premium prices.
Imperforate	Refers to any postage or revenue stamp that occurs with no perforations. These are most commonly found in the first-issue series of revenues. When used to describe a pair or multiple, imperforate means completely lacking perforations between stamps and on all sides. Stamps lacking die cuts may also be referred to as "die cut omitted." Imperforates may be intentional, such as the Penny Black or the first revenue issues of the United States, or they may be major errors. Although imperforates are collected as singles, pairs and larger multiples serve as absolute proof that perforations were not trimmed from normal stamps to make them more valuable.
Imperforate Coils	Stamps in a coil formed without perforations, intentionally or unintentionally. Early in the 20th century, imperforate coils were created by the U.S. Post Office Department for the use of private companies that perforated the coils to meet the requirements of their own equipment. Some types of affixing equipment didn't require specific types of perforations, and imperf coils were used as is. Thus, it is possible to find coil strips of intentional imperforate coils, as well as uses on cover. Unintentional imperf coils are major errors where perforations have been omitted. Some imperf coil errors are quite inexpensive, while others sell for thousands of dollars.
Imperforate Margins	Occasionally, stamps occur with perforations omitted between the design and the margin. They should not be confused with stamps issued with natural straight edges.
Impression	An imprint of a stamp or stamps, taken from a die, plate, or other printing base.
Imprint Block	A multiple of stamps, usually four or more, with a printed selvage attached. This printed information may include printers' initials, plate information, slogans, illustrations, or other forms of data. Like plate blocks, imprint blocks are considered premium position pieces, but they generally are less in demand.
Inconstant	A variety that occurs at random, such as an inking or printing flaw. Such varieties, even when similar in appearance, are never alike.
India Paper	A form of paper frequently used for pulling die proofs. India paper is a thin, tough, translucent paper that is highly flexible and able to print very fine details. Although India paper is now classified more by texture and characteristics, true India paper was made from bamboo fibers.
Indirect Printing	Any form of printing where the printing plate does not come in direct contact with the substrate, or paper.
Inflation Issue	Stamps released by different countries during periods of high financial instability to pay swiftly rising postal rates. Many inflation stamps bear very high denominations and were in use for only short periods of time. Others are normal stamps with surcharges applied to reflect the higher denominations needed.
Inking Flaw	One of many different types of freak varieties that can occur on stamps. Printed by any technique. An inking flaw may range from a small blob of extraneous ink to huge smears or uninked areas. After a line-engraved printing plate has been inked, it is wiped clean, removing all ink that is not in the recessed lines of the plate. Sometimes, either through improper inking or overzealous wiping, too little ink remains in the printing plate to produce a suitable printed image. Such varieties, which are very desirable to collectors, are considered to be defective stamps by the printers and are usually removed and destroyed prior to distribution. As a result, these varieties have additional value to collectors, the value being determined by how significantly the flaw affects the appearance.
Ink-jet Cancel	A recent form of postal marking that is applied by an ink-jet printer. The markings can be informational, slogan, straight line, or many other types. Although used by some countries to cancel stamps, U.S. ink-jet markings are intended to correct stale meter dates or record specific mail processing information.
Ink-jet Markings	Postal markings introduced in the late 1980s to date the receipt of metered mail by the Postal Service and now used much more widely to code commercial mail for delivery. Ink-jet dated markings or cancellations applied across the top of an envelope typically encode the date, post office name, state, and ZIP code, and may contain slogans as well. Ink-jet sorting marks across the bottom of an envelope encode the ZIP code in machine-readable form to speed up mail sorting at large mail-handling facilities.
Inscription	The integral design elements on a stamp that include the lettering and wording. An inscription may also refer to wording, lettering, or markings that appear in the marginal paper on a pane.
Inscription Block	A block of four or more stamps, with the selvage attached, that bears an inscription. Some types of inscription blocks sell for premiums over their normal counterparts. Example of an "Inscription Block"
Insured	A form of mail service, available for a fee, which indemnifies the contents against theft or damage. Frequently, covers bearing insured markings and the appropriate postage are prized by postal history collectors.
Intaglio	The most commonly used form of printing on early stamps and also the most secure. Also known as recess printing, engraved, and line-engraving, intaglio is a form of recess printing; that is, the design is etched into the printing plate, below the surface. When the original design is engraved in reverse into the die, the image is reproduced in relief on the transfer roll. The transfer roll then is used to rock the design in reverse into softened steel plates, which are hardened upon completion of the process. When printing begins, ink is applied to the plate and the surface is wiped clean, leaving ink only in the incised lines. When the moistened paper is applied to the inked plate under pressure, it picks up the ink from the grooves, leaving the final printed (and slightly raised) image.
Interleaves	The translucent sheets of glassine paper spaced between pages in a stamp booklet or album to prevent stamp abrasion and adhesion. Although interleaving is desirable in most albums, it is necessary for those with printing on both sides of each page.
Interrupted Mail	Any form of mail that was not delivered as planned, due to war, disease, famine, or mishap. The most common use of the term deals with mail that has been salvaged from wrecked vehicles. (See also Crash Cover)
Interrupted Perforations	Although the term is fairly synonymous with syncopated perforations, interrupted perforations are slightly different. To provide additional strength, interrupted perforations are missing selected perforation holes, leaving a larger-sized bridge than normal. U.S. privately perforated stamps of the Washington-Franklin series featured interrupted perforations. (See also Syncopated Perforations)
Interverted	This arcane term describes either a pair of stamps or a stamp with attached label or counterfoil that has been either printed, cut, or separated in the improper sequence.
Invalidated	A postage stamp no longer valid for postage. During the Civil War, all U.S. stamp issues prior to 1861 were invalidated to prevent Confederate resale or use.
Invert	Describes any one of a number of bi-colored stamps from all over the world with the center vignette upside down in relation to the frame. Early bi-colored stamps required two passes through the printing press, making such errors possible if a printing sheet was picked up after the first color was printed, examined, and laid back down improperly. Technically, the frame is usually inverted, because the vignette is printed first, but such stamps are more striking when shown with the vignette upside-down. Inversions also occur with watermarks, perforation patterns, and other stamp elements.
Irregular Perforations	Perforations on any stamp where the holes aren't evenly aligned, are different gauges or sizes, are misplaced, or are in any way abnormal.
Issue	The process of releasing a stamp. The term also applies to the actual released stamp.
Ivory Head	A characteristic of the paper of many early stamps of Great Britain, which were bluish-tinged. Such stamps were printed by Perkins Bacon. When soaked, the reverse side of the stamp frequently showed an ivory-colored cameo-like portrait of Queen Victoria, surrounded by the characteristic bluish tinge. There are several possible causes, but most likely the effect has to do with a chemical interaction between the printing ink and the paper.

J

Joint line (or Join Line)	This is the point at which two curved printing plates are joined to create a single printing cylinder. ON intaglio stamps, this is the point where ink collects in the seam and prints out on the stamps. Joint lines are found on only older rotary press stamps (mid 1980s and before.) Newer presses create continuous sleeves without lines. Joint lines are collected primarily as line pairs or strips of four with the line centered. (See also Line Pair) Example of a "Joint Line" pair
Journal Stamps	A form of postage stamp used to pay the bulk fees (and sometimes taxes) on mailings of newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals.
Jubilee	A jubilee (typically a British term) marks a 25th (silver), 50th (gold), or 75th (diamond) anniversary of a ruler's reign, a royal wedding, or of a country's independence. In many cases, a stamp or set of stamps is released to mark the event, called Jubilee issues. Some Jubilee issues are released as parts of larger, multiple-country sets called omnibus issues.

K

Key Plate	One of two parts of special bicolored stamp designs produced for multiple uses. These design elements include the key plate and the duty plate. Many postal entities, such as various French Colonies, use the same stamp designs for different colonies. Others, such as the United States bicolored postage due series of 1959, use the same basic design, with changing denominations. The key plate is the basic stamp design or background patter with unchanging design elements. The duty plate prints the changing part, such as the denomination or country name.
Keytype	An identical stamp design used by several different colonies or entities. Generally, the key plate provides the basic design, while the duty plate provides the country or entity name. Keytype stamps are also created by overprinting printed stamps with the country or colony name.
Killer	The portion of a cancel that defaces the stamp and makes it invalid for postage. For most of the stamp period in the United States, it was forbidden to cancel a stamp with the CDS alone. The vast majority of fancy cancels were the killer portions of cancellation devices.
Kiloware	Any form of mixture on paper that is sold to dealers or collectors by the kilogram (about 2? lbs). Such mixtures may be hospital, mission, charity, post office, parcel card, or any other form of mixture. Essentially, kiloware represents on-paper stamps torn from card or cover, sold by weight.

L

L perforator	Perforating equipment that perforates in only one direction at a time. L perforators are so named because they are shaped like an "L." (See also Line Perforations)
Label	Adhesive or self-adhesive paper attached to mail to fulfill a special purpose (for example, a customs form) or to indicate special treatment or provision of special postal service (as in the case of an airmail label).
Lacquer Bars	A form of early security device used primarily by Austria. Diagonal lines or bars of lacquer were applied to sheets of stamps (on the face side) to make it difficult to fraudulently remove postal cancellations for illegal reuse. Varieties of these bars exist.
Laid Paper	One of several different types of paper used to print stamps. Unlike wove paper, laid paper is characterized by closely spaced parallel lines running through the paper. These lines are created during the papermaking process. These lines may run vertically or horizontally, depending upon how the paper traveled through the press.
Last-Day Cancellation	A postmark from a post office dated the last day the office is in operation. IN 1997-98, the term was also used by the USPS to describe special cancellations it applied to stamps on the final day they were available from the post office.
Late Fee Stamps	A special class of stamp used by some countries to pay the additional postage necessary when items are mailed after normal postal hours.
Lettersheet	A piece of paper with a stamp already printed on it so the user can simply fold the letter and send it on its way. Most countries that have a postal stationery have released at least one lettersheet. The most well-known of these is the first: the British Mulready of 1840.
Line Engraving	See Intaglio.
Line Pair (Joint Line Pairs)	Any pair of stamps with a printed line of ink between them. Such stamps were long saved as pairs to preserve and display the line. Lines appear for two main reasons. One is as a cutting guide, intended more for sheet stamps than coils. The second deals with printing technology. When rotary presses were first used in printing stamps, two flat printing plates had to be curved to form a single printing cylinder. The space where the plates met gathered ink, which was then transferred to the printed stamps. Thus the stamps on either side of the line are created from different plates. Line pairs are considered premium positions, as plate blocks are for sheet stamps. With the end of the use of Cottrell presses in the 1980's, coil lines on U.S. stamps came to an end.
Line Perforations	Line perforations are produced by rotary perforating wheels that perforate in only one direction at a time. The perforations created by these wheels leave ragged intersections where perforations meet in blocks.
Lithography	A form of direct surface printing that works on the principal that oil and water do not mix. The traditional lithographic plate is a litho stone (a form of limestone from Germany). The design is drawn in reverse with a form of grease pencil. The stone is then moistened and inked while wet. The printing ink, which contains oils, is attracted to the grease-penciled area and repelled form the wet, blank stone. The inked design is then transferred to the paper. (See also Offset Printing)
Local Post	This term has two meanings. First, it refers to any privately operated postal service that works independently of the government-authorized mail service. During the 19th century, many different local posts were in business in the United States, and many had their own stamps. These were closed down by the federal Private Express Statutes, which gave the monopoly on handing letter mail to the U.S. Post Office Department. The term also refers to modern-day local posts, which do not typically carry mail (other than in a souvenir capacity), but issue stamp-like labels or markings for collectors.
Local Precancel	A stamp that has had its precancel marking applied by a local post office. The printing quality of the cancels on these stamps (often applied by hand) is usually not as clear or as distinct as on bureau precancels.
Local Revenue Stamps	Revenues issued at the county, city, or municipal level. These stamps may be used in conjunction with federal and/or state revenues or may be used alone.
Local Stamps	Frequently confused with carriers' stamps, local stamps were privately produced stamps to pay for private postal service fees that either supplemented or competed with official postal service. Such stamps, called locals because of their limited range of validity, were released by numerous companies in the United States and other countries. Each was valid only within a limited district, route, or city. With the establishment of the Private Express Statutes of 1861, local posts in the United States were abolished, as was any service that directly competed with the post office. U.S. locals, including those produced for the Pony Express, flourished from 1844-45 (when they were technically outlawed), on a limited basis from 1845-61. Only two, Boyd's and Hussey's, continued about 20 years after that point.
Lock Seals	Stamp-like items that were inserted in what was called seal locks to prevent tampering. This helped the Internal Revenue Service ensure that taxes were paid by distilleries for all that was owed. When a key was inserted into a lock, it would first punch through the lock seal. If done under proper supervision, this was normal. If, however, a tax agent found the broken seal in a lock, he knew that tampering had taken place.
Loose Letter	Although mail pieces are now seldom found with this marking, a loose letter is one that arrives at the destination post office with no cancel or mark of origin. Most loose letters years ago were received form incoming ship. Modern-day loose letters are called skips.
Luminescence	A catchall term that refers to all stamps and markings that glow. Luminescence encompasses both long-wave and short-wave ultraviolet light characteristics, as well as phosphorescence and fluorescence.

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Definitions taken from © Copyright All About Stamps, written by Wayne L. Youngblood, used with permission. Championship Stamp Supply wishes to thank Wayne L. Youngblood and Krause Publications for their kind support and permission in using © Copyright All About Stamps for our online definitions of philatelic terms.