My Humble Suspicion: Technical Details

I am enjoying reading the discussions here reading paper inks, printing etc etc and (regarding Canadian stamps) (others?) the reluctance? disregard? stamp agency tradition of not notifying philatelists about start and change factors on stamp production.

In fact, as suggested here (and elsewhere) changes in paper and other factors are sorta kinda not even deemed worthy of mention by stamp production / printing operations. Do they not know these issues are important to collectors? If they knew, would they care? I'm just a-wondering.

I don't know much about Canadian stamp agencies but in the US it sounds pretty much the same. One reason is the PO's are in the shipping business, and the bottom line is their main concern. Stamp collectors are such a small segment of the PO's customers that anything besides them purchasing stamps printed by the PO that are primarily marketed to stamp collectors is unconceivable by most PO authorities.

Then, given the low population of modern stamp collectors, those collectors that actually delve a little deeper into different printed varieties of stamps is still yet even a smaller percentage of that. So small, that it doesn't seem to warrant any explanations from the authorities when they make printing changes midstream during any current production. This has been the norm for probably the entire time the PO has existed as they are selling a service and stamps are just a small portion of what they do.

This then puts the burden of discovery on the stamp collector, and is what makes the collectors world spin. Stamp varieties still turn up decades after issue because most collectors tend to gravitate to collecting mint stamps and only purchase a single sheet, plate blocks, FDC's, or single copy for their collection. They therefore don't notice any differences in stamps because they only have one for their collection to examine. Dealers on the other hand buy multiples of new issues for their stock and are more apt to make a discovery than a collector.

There are very few collectors left who will examine thousands of modern issue used stamps, where many discoveries in printing variations are still found by a very small minority of modern day collectors. Many other forms of entertainment now exist that weren't around in the 1930's when such activity by stamp collectors was the norm.

So, all boiled down, the PO doesn't really care, and the vast majority of collectors don't either. Welcome to the minority, and I hope you enjoy the search as much as the rest of us do!

I believe sharing this info would cost printers time and therefore money so not a priority to the printer to share this info.

Dan

The mission statement of most postal systems has nothing to do with stamps, it is about delivering mailing. Stamps were/are just a means of accounting for the service; not considered part of the basic purpose of a postal system.
The USPS mission statement


Don

Although it is dissapointing to say it I think Loupy has it exactly right.

AQ

Some technical data will be considered proprietary and confidential, the secrecy of which keeps the printers one step ahead of counterfeiters. For US stamps, USPS does release basics and Linn's reports it in announcing new US issues.