EME in use since 1982 and still unknown to most of us...

[Rein]

In Germany the first stamp with ElectroMechanical Engraving was issued about 20 years ago in 1993!

Ever since then hardlhy any stamp in photogravure will have been etched any more! All computer-aided engraving with a diamond needle using a Hell Helio Klischograph or a similar apparatus.

The very first EME stamps were issued in Belgium in 1982 - engraved by Ets. de Schutter. It took almost 10 years before the next stamps could by found with EME. The Dutch Joh. Enschedé Security Stamp Printers introduced this for their UK Machins ...
The Bundesdruckerei in Berlin started using EME in 1993:









Characteristic are the rhomboid screen dots. At least as they are used for cyan and blue. The yellow dots are almost square and rather rough, the black are usually a lot more refined and also more or less square!

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[Rein]

The various colours have different screen angles:




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[Rein]

For the various colours different screen angles have been used!




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[Rein]

Black is screenless!



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[Rein]

Not everyone realizes that this is a relatively new printing method and may be confused with other, older methods!

As the specialized catalogue for Germany says - the Michel Spezial-Katalog 2011 - Odr = Offset-druck = offset-litho!!!







to be continued ....

[Rein]

Not everyone realizes that this is a relatively new printing method and may be confused with other, older methods!

As the specialized catalogue for Germany says - the Michel Spezial-Katalog 2011 - Odr = Offset-druck = offset-litho!!!







to be continued ....

[Rein]

The Bundesdruckerei stopped using photogravure since 2003 for commemoratives. Only for the ATM - slot-machine stamps.

http://www.post-und-telekommunikation.d ... ndruck.php

According to the Head of the printing house Hans Zerbel!

The last stamp was issued on 12.06.2003 on the occasion of 50 years Uprising in the GDR (17.06.1953). After some time the press was demolished in 2005.




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[Rein]

The editors of the Michel catalogue asked for their explanation of why Michel had offset-litho whereas it was obvious to me the stamps were in EME photogravure, Heinz Adler replied:

Hallo Reintjedevos,
wir bitten schon um Entschuldigung, aber wir Redakteure genießen auch mal das Wochenende und tummeln uns nicht im Forum. Maren hat an dieser Stelle außerdem schon öfter geschrieben, dass wir aus Zeitgründen auch nicht immer sofort reagieren können.
Aber nun zu den beiden Marken: ich habe sie mir angesehen und bin auch der Meinung, es handelt sich um einen Rastertiefdruck. In den damaligen Ankündigungen der Post war vom Offsetdruck die Rede.
Ich habe mich mit dem damals zuständigen Verantwortlichen der Bundesdruckerei in Verbindung gesetzt, er wird in den Unterlagen noch mal nachsehen. Sollten Sie an dieser Stelle nichts mehr von mir hören, ist es RaTdr. und die Katalogangaben werden berichtigt.

Heinz agreed with me that the stamps were in photogravure, but the official Post Office statements then referred to the stamps being printed in offset-litho.

He promised me to contact the Bundesdruckerei, the State Printing House. Should I here or read nothing anymore, the catalogue text will get adapted for the next edition...

Sounds great! And a "chapeau" for the quick reaction of the Michel editors!

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[Rein]

Indeed a quick response! And the next reaction came within 2 hours! Heinz Adler again:

Hallo in die Runde! So kann man sich täuschen! Soeben erhielt ich einen Anruf vom damals zuständigen Verantwortlichen der Bundesdruckerei. Diese Marken wurden doch im Offsetdruck hergestellt!. Aus Kosten- und Schnelligkeitsgründen wurden bestimmte Bildsegmente aufgerastert, völlig untypisch für Odr. Ein Zweifel ist ausgeschlossen, in den Unterlagen ist die Maschinen-Nr. vermerkt, eine reine Offsetdruck-Maschine, RaTdr. wäre auf dieser Maschine nicht möglich gewesen. Man lernt halt doch nie aus!

Hello everybody! How easy it is to get it wrong! I got a call from the responsible person in the Printing House. Yet the stamps got printed in offset-litho! Due to cost and speed considerations some parts of the image got screened which is unusual for offset-litho! There is no doubt as in the archive documents the offset-litho press is mentioned explicitely with its machine-code. It would not have been possible to print in photogravure on this machine! We will never stop learning!

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[Rein]

My reaction was rather harsh!

Heinz,

Alas, this is all wrong!!!

The folks in Berlin do not have their documentation in order!

Which part of the image got screened? Screened images are common practice for offset-litho printing!

I am curious as to what the former Head of the Bundesdruckerei Hans Zerbel will tell us....

to be continued