Seeing Behind Heavy Cancellations....

Hi guy

If you have ever had a stamp with a heavy cancellation on it and ever wondered what was behind it...???

Here is a trick for those who are interested and for those who are not, I understand.

It is not the best for colour control, but it works...It is one I use and is FREE, and is available for Windows users also.

See picture below

OK Wert, you have erased the mark but you have also erased what was behind, no?

koala...It is not perfect, but I removed the black and as you can see, probably 90% of what is behind is still in tact.

Like I said..Some will like it and others won't..Just an idea I use.

Here is the same affect on an American stamp..You tell me if it looks like a lot of detail is lost...???

You are not using a some kind of per-lin-pin-pin magical powder do you??
How do you do that??? Peroxide bath?

No, it's being changed through software.

It's actually a useful tool. More than once I've run into the problem of a cancel partially obscuring an important identifying feature for stamp/plate variety. The human eye tends to do "smoothing", so even partially obscured things can seem hopelessly lost. So removing as much of the black helps your eye/mind to focus (i.e., not get distracted or bleed the black cancel into something wider).

Likewise, by doing the opposite, sometimes you can spot a faded/removed cancel.

Any chance you can share what program you are using?

That is a very cool trick wert. I came across a stamp that I had a hard time Identifying because of the heavy cancellation.

Dianne

OK Wert, how much for your secret??

Please explain - which program and how to. Consider a good % of us are windows users.

Hi guys

I guess I have to give up my secrets (ha,ha)...The program is called "Shotwell Photo Manager"

I would right click on a picture (stamp) and say open with the above program...There is a menu called "Adjust"...Open that and have fun...Nice thing about Open Source software...It's FREE.

Another picture minipulation program I use that equals "PhotoShop" is a program called "GIMP"...Also FREE

HERE is the first screen...





HERE is the adjust menu

And I thought you were going to make us answer this first, what is 9+7?

Thanks, Wert! I was aware of Gimp, but hadn't seen Shotwell before.

k

He made me do it! Thanks Robert.

khj...I should have done it as a quiz (9+7)...ha,ha

Hope it helps (everyone).

I also use a program called "Shutter"...It is what I use to bring a picture down to below 100kb and it has other uses to...FREE,FREE,FREE (open source)..I believe it has a Windows version.


Sorry..Forgot to mention that "GIMP" also has a measuring part of it that is something like "BeeSee" uses with AutoCad...But maybe not as good...You be the judge.

Just an update guys

Not only does it remove 95%+, but make the stamp look like it might have been when it was first printed..Look at this Unitrade # 15 stamp.

Just for your enjoyment.

Wert, this is one of the most interesting topic I have seen here...thanks

thanks Gilles le timbre

This could open up a better way to work with stamps that could not be worked with before...i.e. - Heavy cancellation, pen marks, etc.

Hope there are smarter people out there than me that could imagine even more uses for it.