Sweden Scott 1278- 79 What Printing Process Was Used ?

Sweden

Scott 1278-1279

Europa 1979




At first glance you almost think theyre printed
2 colour engraving even though they dont really look like most Swedish
engraved stamps of that period
Scott says they are engraved, so does Michel.
Even the PFA Information sheet
states that the Printing process was Recess
It also mentions that they were printed at
The Bank of Finland Printing House not
at the Swedish Post Office Stamp Printing Works
No engraver was credited.



But see here what the Facit 2015 Special catalogue says.



G: (which stands for engraver or engraving method]
= Line-etched photogravure

Tr: (Printing process) = Comb. offset and recess

Scanning and enlarging the stamps shows both
have black engraving but the dark green and ocher
colours are not engraved.

Are they line etched photogravure or offset or
perhaps was the black printed direct recess and the other colours indirect recess ?



The blurry designers name certainly does not look engraved.
Photogravure or offset or?



What are those two faint black horizontal lines?

Because it is not specified in Facit's description, I am making an "educated" guess that the brown and green colors are printed by photogravure. This appears to be the case because the color work looks blurry. Technically, it doesn't make sense to me that the stamps were printed this way, because smooth precise lines are not the "forte" of photogravure; line photogravure borders on being an oxymoron. If the colors were subtle gradations, and not lines or stippling, photogravure would be a logical choice.

Perhaps there was a contract with printers in Finland that had to be fulfilled.

Thanks for the input Bob.
You're absolutely right about the lines.
Why use photogravure and then print lines
for a background instead of screening ?
Makes no sense.

The green background does kinda work since it
gives the appearance of a snow storm.

Perhaps the printer did use some type of etching.

I'm guessing again, but line-etched photogravure indicates to me that a photosensitive emulsion coats the printing plate and it is etched in this manner. So, it would be a shallow, mechanical etching rather than a screened photogravure process as it is normally seen... if this is correct.

Why not simply STIF?????

The Setelipaino [Finnish Banknote Printing] stopped using photogravure in the late 1960-ies with only a handful of stamps printed at all that way!

There is a previous thread about STIF here on SCF

https://goscf.com/t/37831