#42 Unitrade "Printed In Front /And Back" Of The Stamp

I just received this #42 gray Large Queen won on an auction.

Picture worth a thousand words so here they are.
There are prints on the back of the stamps that look repetitive. We can see the main one on center-right and the second one on the left side.

How many of those "à la queue-leu-leu" ? meaning, one after the other

The print is the same as the one in front of the stamp but it is not at the same level, there is no miror effect.

The question is, how could that happened?

Assumption : Could it be possible that the printer was running almost out of ink while the paper kept being punch/marked with dry ink leaving a print on the paper?

Could it be possible that the operator after refueling the missing ink, decided to re-use the same sheet and continue the printing on the verso of the sheet?

Curious to read your comments

Another assumption : The perforation is done once the printing is done.
Do we have here a partial imperf pair on the back of the stamp and a normal/regular stamp in front?

...just askin...

Possible ink transfer when the sheet was put onto a just printed sheet under it. I have a 1cent first decimal with same thing on the back. If the image was not reversed on the back then I believe it's something cool. Yours is still an awesome exsample though.

Here's my exsample

Called an offset. From wet ink when sheets are put one on top of the other. I have many examples of this

That is quite common on the small queens. I have a few on the 3c.

Printed on both sides requires both images to be right-directioned. You say that the image is not reversed, but I see it as backwards. If it is reversed, as in the example you show, it is known as an offset print. This results from the sheets being stacked while the ink is still wet. Think about it this way - if you put the back of the stamp you had on top of another example of the same denomination, you'd be able to line up the back print from this one with the front print of the other.

The stamps were printed, stacked, dried, then gummed and perforated.

Nice, but not of the value that a printed on both sides example would have.
(and your description of how a printed on both sides copy would exist is essentially spot on)

Look at this example from a Siegel auction:
http://www.siegelauctions.com/2009/968/79.jpg
Although off center, both images are in the correct direction.

Hi Koala

I think what you have with your 5 cents SQ is an example of an 'offset'.

This occurs when one sheet is placed on top of the other at the time of printing when they have not dried enough.

Chimo

Bujutsu

FIOUOUOU!
So it's a normal "offset"... I can drink my coffe now and relaxe

Thanks for the answers... I thought I had a $6,000.00 stamp

superb example chipg...and I keep learning...