Printing Inks Used On The 1967-1973 Centennial Issue - Part Two of Eight

Today's post continues with where I left off last week: the shades of the low value centennial stamps as they appear in ordinary light. Last week I dealt with the 1c, 2c, 3c and 4c values. This week, I will look at the 5c through 7c values.

5c Blue - Fishing Village

Of the four stamps I am examining today, this one exhibits the widest range of shades, ranging from deep violet blue, all the way to a deep bright blue. The range does not seem to be confined to either the dex gum or PVA gum stamps showing similar ranges of colour. However, I have not seen the deep indigo shade on the PVA gum stamps. The BABN booklet stamps do not show a range however, with all the booklet stamps I have come across being more or less the same shade. For this stamp, I find the best parts of the design to focus on in comparing shades is either the Queen's hair or the lower left corner.

Dex Gum Stamps - All CBN

Of all the stamps printed of this value, it is the sheet stamps with dex gum that show the widest possible range of shades. On the top row are the very deep blue shades, while the second row shows brighter shades of blue.

In terms of a match to the Gibbons color key, the stamp on the top left is almost an exact match to Gibbons's deep violet blue. The gum on that printing is the satin cream type 5 that I identified in my post dealing with gum. The stamp on the top right, which also has the same gum, is just a bit lighter and brighter, although it is also closest to deep violet blue. The top middle stamp, which is printed on strongly ribbed vertical wove hibrite paper, with streaky type 1 gum, is also closest to deep violet blue, but it is much brighter than the other two. I would call this a deep bright violet blue.

Moving down to the second row, the stamp on the left is closest to Gibbons' deep blue, but is much brighter. So I would say that it is a deep bright blue. This stamp is printed on vertical wove paper, with no distinct mesh and type 1 streaky dex gum. The second stamp from the left is closest to Gibbons's steel blue, but is just a touch lighter and brighter. This stamp is printed on vertical wove paper with horizontal mesh and high gloss type 3 dex gum. The third stamp from the left, which has the same paper and gum characteristics as the left and right stamps from the top row, like them, is also closest to Gibbons's deep violet blue. However, the shade high is again lighter and slightly brighter. The stamp on the right is almost the same as the second stamp from the left on this row, except that the shade is list a touch duller and lighter. However, it is a variant of steel blue.

So it would seem that the sheet stamps with dex gum are all variations of either deep violet blue, steel blue, or deep bright blue.

PVA Gum Stamps - All CBN

These three stamps are all the same Unitrade listing, being the PVA gum stamp with the Winnipeg centre bar tag. However, the first two stamps from the left are all on vertical wove paper with the matte PVA gum, while the stamp on the right has the slightly shiner eggshell PVA. The stamp on the left is closest to the deep bright blue stamp on hibrite paper, but is just a touch lighter. The middle stamp is closest to Gibbons's deep blue. Finally the stamp on the right is also closest to deep blue, but it is just slightly brighter than the middle stamp. 

Thus, it would appear that the vast majority, if not all of the PVA gum stamps are either shades of deep blue, or deep bright blue. 

Dex Gum Coil Stamps - All CBN

The coil stamps surprisingly show some range of shades, although it is quite a bit narrower than the corresponding sheet stamps. The stamp on the left is the deepest shade and is almost an exact match to the Gibbons's deep blue. The middle stamp is an exact match to the deep bright blue sheet stamp shown at the left of the first row above. Then the stamp on the right is very close in shade to the middle stamp, but is duller. In fact it is the middle shade between these first two. All three stamps are printed on vertical wove paper, with type 2 smooth dex gum. 

Booklet Stamps - CBN and BABN

There were only 2 booklets in which a 5c stamp appered:

1. The 25c booklets printed by the CBN, which contained a singe pane of 5 stamps plus label, and,
2. The $1 booklets of 20 printed by the BABN and first issued in 1968. 

The BABN booklet stamp is a fairly uniform shade, which is closest to Gibbons's steel blue, though it is quite a bit brighter than the pure steel blue. These booklet stamps are generally found on horizontal wove paper with vertical mesh, and type 2 dex gum. The CBN booklet stamps generally display the same range of shades as the corresponding sheet stamps, with the stamp shown here being almost an exact match of the deep bright violet blue stamp shown in the middle of the very top row above. These booklet stamps are generally printed on horizontal wove paper, with clear, light vertical ribbing that is visible on the gum, with this example having the type 4 smooth light cream dex gum. 

6c Orange - Transportation

This is one of those stamps that has a surprisingly larger range of shades than one would expect. The coil stamps are a distinctly different orange shade that lacks the red of the shades found on the other stamps. As you will see, the booklet stamps display much the same range of shades as the sheet stamps. All of the 6c orange stamps have dex gum. In comparing shades, I prefer to focus on the Queen's hair, as this is where the differences are most pronounced, I find.

Perf. 10 Sheet Stamps - All BABN

The basic shade of the stamps is a deep bright orange red, which varies in its brightness, with some stamps being bright, and other stamps being quite dull. The third stamp from the left is closest to Gibbons's orange red, but is a bit deeper and brighter. It is printed on horizontal wove paper with visible vertical mesh and the type 1 high gloss dex gum. The first stamp on the left is similar to this shade, but the colour is a bit brighter, with more orange in the mix than red. It is printed on vertical wove paper with no visible mesh, and type 3 crackly dex gum. The stamp on the right is again similar in shade, but it is slightly brighter than Gibbons's orange-red. It is printed on horizontal wove paper with no visible mesh and type 2 glossy dex gum. Finally, the precancelled stamp that is second from left is the brightest shade of the lot, containing less red than any of the others. It is closest to Gibbons's red-orange, but again, much brighter. This stamp is printed on horizontal wove paper, with no visible mesh and type 2 glossy dex gum.


Perf. 10 Booklet Stamps - All BABN

The booklet stamps printed by BABN came in two different booklets:

1. The 25c booklets that consisted of four 6c stamps and a 1c stamp that were issued in 1968, and,
2. The $1.50 booklets that consisted of a pane of 25 stamps. 

The two stamps shown above come from the first type of booklet. Unfortunately I do not have a single from the $1.50 booklets, but the shades are largely the same as those found on the stamps from the 25c booklets. 

The stamp on the right is almost an exact match for Gibbon's orange-red, and is printed on horizontal wove paper showing no mesh, and with the type 3 crackly PVA gum. The stamp on the left is similar in shade, but just a bit deeper and brighter. It is printed on horizontal wove, hibrite paper with the glossy type 1 dex gum. 

Perf. 12.5 x 12 Sheet Stamps - All BABN

The perf. 12.5 x 12 sheet stamps that were issued in 1969 all have the general characteristic of being printed in duller and redder shades than the perf. 10 stamps. The only exception to this seems to be the hibrite paper, which is basically the same colour as the perf. 10 booklet stamp on hibrite paper. 

The left stamp on the top row is almost an exact match to Gibbons's orange-red, but is a bit lighter. The second stamp is a deep bright version of Gibbons's orange red, which is printed on horizontal wove hibrite paper with light vertical ribbing and glossy type 1 dex gum. The right stamp is very close to Gibbons's orange-red, but is slightly duller. This stamp is Winnipeg tagged and printed on horizontal wove paper with type 2 dex gum. 

Moving on to the second row, the left stamp, which is also Winnipeg tagged, is very similar to the right stamp above - a dull version of the orange red, but this one has a bit less red. This stamp is printed on horizontal wove paper, with no visible mesh and type 2 dex gum. The stamp on the right, which is also Winnipeg Tagged, is a similar shade, but again slightly duller. This stamp is printed on vertical wove paper with no mesh and type 2 dex gum as well. 

So, in summary, the perf. 12.5 x 12 stamps are generally dull versions of Gibbons's orange red. 

Coil Stamps - All CBN

The above scan shows examples of the two main shades that I have encountered on the coil stamps printed by CBN. What is striking about these is the complete absence of red in the colour. The stamp on the right is slightly deeper than the one on the left, but both are closest to Gibbons's red-orange. They are both printed on vertical wove paper, showing faint horizontal mesh, and type 2 dex gum.

6c Black - Transportation

The 6c black is a stamp for which you would think there were no shades at all. It is true that I have yet to see shade varieties for any particular printing, but when all printings of the stamp are taken as a whole, it becomes quite clear that there are differences in the black colour. I do not have the black swatches in my Gibbons colour key, so I cannot describe the shades with reference to that. However, my layperson descriptions of the shades should be adequate. Generally, the black varies from a charcoal-black on the die 1a BABN sheet and booklet stamps to a deep grey black on the die II's, to a deep silvery black on the CBN sheet stamps and finally a jet black on the coil stamps.

BABN Sheet Stamps - All With Dex Gum

The die 1a stamps, of which an example is shown on the left, are printed in a shade of charcoal black, while the two die 2 stamps are in a deeper shade of charcoal black. The stamp on the extreme right, which is tagged with a Winnipeg centre bar, is just the tiniest bit lighter than the centre stamp. The left stamp is printed on an off-white, horizontal wove paper with no visible mesh and type 1 dex gum, while the other two stamps are printed on the same type of paper, but with the type 2 dex gum.


CBN Sheet Stamps - All With PVA Gum

The black shade of the CBN stamps is a grey-black, with a silver undertone. The intensity varies slightly with the untagged precancelled stamp on the right, being a bit darker, than the Ottawa general tagged stamp on the left. Both are printed on vertical wove paper, but the stamp on the left has the matte PVA gum, while the stamp on the right has the shinier eggshell PVA gum. 

BABN Booklet Stamps 

The shades of the booklet stamps closely mirror the other sheet stamps printed by the BABN, with all the above stamps being generally grey-black and deep grey black. There were many booklets issued that contained a 6c black stamp, but the stamps above came from the following booklets:

1. The top left stamp comes from the $1.50 booklets of 25 that were first issued with perf. 10 in early 1970. 
2. The top right stamp comes from a 25c booklet pane of 4 that was issued in 1970.
3. The bottom left stamp comes from either the 25c booklets or $1 booklets issued in 1971-1972. 
4. The bottom right stamp comes from a 25c booklet with PVA gum that was issued in 1971 before the postage rate change from 6c to 7c. 

The first booklet stamp is printed on off-white horizontal wove paper with no clear mesh and type 2 dex gum. The second booklet stamp at the top right is also printed on horizontal wove paper that is slightly whiter in appearance, with type 2 dex gum. The third booklet stamp at bottom left is printed on creamy vertical wove paper, with light vertical ribbing, and creamy satin PVA gum, while the fourth stamp at bottom right is printed on a whiter horizontal wove paper, with a creamy satin PVA gum as well. 

CBN Coil Stamp

The coil stamp printed by the CBN tends to be found in a shade of jet-black, lacking the greyish or silvery tone of the CBN sheet stamps, or the bluish charcoal tone of the BABN stamps. They are nearly always printed on vertical wove paper, showing horizontal mesh and are found with either the types 1 or 2 dex gum.

7c Emerald - Transportation

This stamp is described in Unitrade as being emerald green, although a footnote in the catalogue does mention that the booklet stamps can be found in two shades. In reality, there is a small, but marked range of shades from myrtle green to deep grey-green. I have found that the range of shades found on the sheet stamps and booklet stamps generally match, but the coil stamp seems to only exist in the deep emerald shade. The sheet stamps and the booklet stamps were only printed by BABN, while the coil stamps were only printed by CBN.

Sheet Stamps - All BABN

The stamp on the right is in the shade most commonly described as the emerald green, but is actually closest to Gibbons's myrtle green, but with a bluish undertone. This stamp is printed on horizontal white wove paper with type 2 dex gum. The second stamp from the right is an exact match to Gibbons's deep grey-green. It is Winnipeg tagged and printed on horizontal wove paper with the glossy type 1 dex gum. The second stamp from the left is almost exactly the same shade, but it is just a touch darker. It is printed on the exact same paper: white horizontal wove with glossy type 1 dex gum. The stamp on the left is almost the same shade as the Winnipeg tagged stamp, but is just a tough brighter. It is printed on the same paper as all the other stamps. 

Booklet Stamps - All BABN

The booklet stamps were all printed by BABN. The stamps shown here are all PVA gum examples that came from the 25c booklets issued in 1971. The shades closely follow those of the sheet stamps. The stamp on the left is a slightly more bluish version of the myrtle-green, just like the stamp at the top right of the sheet stamps. This stamp is printed on a creamy vertical wove paper with a cream satin PVA gum. The middle stamp is an almost exact match to the Gibbons myrtle-green. It is printed on a cream horizontal wove paper with cream coloured satin PVA gum. The stamp on the right is a perfect match to the bottle green swatch on the Gibbons colour key. This stamp is printed on an entirely different paper: a white vertical wove, that has a white PVA gum with a satin sheen.


Coil Stamp - CBN

The coil stamps that I have seen all seem to be printed in the same shade, which is almost a complete match to Gibbons's myrtle-green shade. They are always printed on vertical wove paper with clear horizontal mesh, and usually have either type 1 or type 2 dex gum.

This concludes my discussion of the shades of these four values of the set. Again, it is important for me to emphasize that this may not be complete, as a detailed study of the low values could turn up more subtle shade variations that are not shown here. However, I feel that the above covers at least 90-95% of the stamps that you would be sorting.

Next week, I will look at the 8c library, and then start the high values with the 8c-15c values. These four stamps, and especially the 10c and 15c will prove to be very rewarding to the shade enthusiast.