The Admiral Stamps of Canada

Flaws

Introduction

A flaw is an imperfection on a stamp that is caused by some unintentional action or circumstance during the production of the plates used in the manufacture of the stamps, or in the printing process itself. There are two main categories of flaws: recurring and non-recurring.

A recurring flaw is one that appears in the same position of each sheet of an entire issue, resulting from some damage or defect in the plate used as the basis for printing the stamps. For this reason, recurring flaws are sometimes referred to as plate flaws.

Non-recurring flaws are those that happen in an irregular manner and are usually found in more limited quantities than recurring flaws. They stem from circumstances, such as the presence of dust, minute pieces of free floating bits of paper, and other unwanted foreign material that cause blemishes or albino spots to appear in parts of the printed design.

Numerous flaws in the form of extraneous dots, dashes, lines, and small discolourations may be found in almost every value of the Admiral Issue.

The Admiral Flaws, by Hans Reiche, is recommended reading for those who are searching for a more detailed description of this area of study.