WO2002063595A2

WO2002063595A2 - Improvements relating to postage stamps

Info

Publication number: WO2002063595A2
Application number: PCT/GB2002/000474
Authority: WO
Inventors: Charles Edward Chatwin; Jonathan Brian Marx; Dereck Michael Wallace
Original assignee: De La Rue International Limited
Priority date: 2001-02-05
Filing date: 2002-02-04
Publication date: 2002-08-15
Also published as: WO2002063595A3; GB0102831D0

Abstract

A postage stamp base stock comprises a laminate construction in including a layer of transparent or translucent stamp paper (1) for carrying postage stamp indicia. A first adhesive layer (5) is provided for securing the stamp base stock to a surface. A release layer (2) secures the stamp paper to the first adhesive layer (5). Security indicia (3) are provided between the release layer and an adjacent layer.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO POSTAGE STAMPS

The invention relates to postage stamps, methods for printing postage stamps and postage stamp base stock. Postage stamps are traditionally produced by conventional printing processes such as gravure, flexo, offset litho, silk screen and their range, variety and value as well as precise scheduling of issue means that they must be produced well ahead of the proposed date of issue. In addition, stockists of the completed postal stamp need to hold large and valuable stocks of issues which would be the subject of criminal attempts at robbery, etc. It is, therefore, advantageous to be able to produce stamps on demand at any location which may not have such a high level of security as such places as Post Offices. This is especially so in relation to high value stamps and commemorative issues which can be made available at very short lead times.

It is already known to print postal indicia directly on to a document as described in US 5,801,944 and US-A- 5,819,240. However, this is inconvenient in traditional retail outlets for selling postage stamps since the user must bring the document which he wishes to post to the printer. Self-adhesive postage stamps are also known as are direct printing of specific construction of self-adhesive stamps, the printing occurring before final construction.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a postage stamp base stock comprises a laminate construction in including a layer of transparent or translucent stamp paper for carrying postage stamp indicia; a first adhesive layer for securing the stamp base stock to a surface; a release layer securing the stamp paper to the first adhesive layer; and security indicia provided between the release layer and an adjacent layer. Preferably, the release layer contacts the stamp paper layer and the first adhesive layer although one or more intermediate layers could be provided between them.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a postage stamp base stock comprises a laminate construction including a layer of stamp paper for carrying postage stamp indicia; a first adhesive layer for securing the stamp base stock to a surface, the first adhesive layer being secured to the stamp paper layer; a transparent cover layer bearing security indicia; and a second adhesive layer for securing the transparent cover layer to the stamp paper layer.

We have realised that in order to overcome the problems of the prior art, there is a need to be able to print postage stamps at local supply points such as Post Offices and other retailers, on demand. This enables such retailers to sell postage stamps as individual items without having to provide them on the documents which are to be sent. However, it is important that the postage stamps are provided in a secure manner such that they can only be used once and not re-used. We have therefore devised two base stock constructions as explained above, which achieve that aim.

In the first construction, any attempt to delaminate the base stock after a stamp has been adhered to a surface, will cause the layers to separate at the release layer and by providing security indicia at that point, any attempt to re-use at least the component which has been removed will be evident from an inspection since the security indicia will have been damaged.

In the case of the second construction, de-lamination will be very difficult since no release layer is provided and once again any attempt to de-laminate for the purposes or re-use will be immediately evident from damage to the security indicia.

Turning now to the base stock in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, preferably the security indicia are provided on an inwardly facing surface of the transparent cover layer, for example a clear lacquer. This protects the security indicia and makes it very difficult for it to be altered or removed. The base stock in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention could be manufactured in a complete form and supplied as a fully complete laminate for subsequent printing. However, there are some drawbacks in this approach since the printing needs to be on the outer surface of the laminate. In a preferred approach, therefore, the base stock is formed as two separate components, the first component comprising the layer of stamp paper and the first adhesive layer, and the second component comprising the transparent cover layer, security indicia and second adhesive layer. With this arrangement, the postage stamp indicia can be printed on the stamp paper, preferably in register with die cut base stock, and then the second component secured to the stamp paper using the second adhesive layer so that the postage indicia is embedded with the laminate.

In this case, conveniently the first component includes a release paper secured to the transparent cover layer since this aids handling of the first component. The first and second components can be supplied as separate stock, for example on separate reels.

The second adhesive layer can be any convenient adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive or pressure sensitive adhesive .

The first adhesive layer preferably directly contacts the stamp paper although one or more intermediate layers could be provided between them.

In all cases, the first adhesive layer is preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive since this enables the complete stamp to be self-adhesive. However, the invention also envisages the use of water or heat activatable adhesives . Typically, the security indicia will be visible to the naked eye although some or all of the indicia could be invisible .

Examples of suitable security indicia include guilloche, anti-copy, UV, fluorescent, magnetic, metameric, rainbow, phosphors, pearlescent, optically variable features, or other conventional features.

The security indicia may be provided using a conventional printing technique such as offset lithography, letterpress, gravure, flexography, and silk screen printing.

The stamp paper may have, in accordance with the second aspect of the invention, a conventional construction which is typically opaque white with a water soluble adhesive on its rear face although in the first aspect of the invention the paper is transparent or translucent. It should also be noted that the stamp paper need not be based on wood pulp or rag but could be a polymer plastic such as cellulose acetate or a biodegradable formulation. In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, a method of printing a postage stamp comprises providing base stock according to the first or second aspect of the invention; and printing a postage stamp image on the base stock. Preferably, the postage stamp image is printed in register with the security indicia so that the security indicia are not obscured. Typically, the image is in register with die cuts allowing the finished stamp to be detached from the release layer by the user. Typically, the postage stamp image will be printed on the stamp paper layer although in some cases, where a transparent cover layer is provided, it could be printed on the cover layer.

In the case of the two component construction, the method may comprise printing the postage stamp image on the stamp paper layer of the first component; and adhering the first and second components together with the second adhesive layer contacting the stamp paper layer.

Although the printing process could be carried out in a secure location such as where the base stock is manufactured, the invention is particularly suited for use in the remote printing of postage stamp images. Thus, in a preferred application, digital data defining the postage stamp image is supplied from a remote source, for example via the Internet . In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, we provide apparatus for printing a postage stamp image, the apparatus including a printer controlled by digital data defining the image; a system for supplying base stock to the printer; and a control system responsive to user instructions to operate the printer to print one or more postage stamp images on the base stock and to dispense the printed base stock.

Preferably, the control system is adapted to obtain the digital data from a remote source, for example via the Internet.

Typically, the apparatus will be housed in a secure casing to prevent unauthorised access.

In all cases, the base stock may be pre-perforated and/or die cut in register with both the security indicia and the postal indicia for convenience.

Some examples of base stock, methods and apparatus according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Figures 1A and IB illustrate a first example of base stock during its manufacture;

Figure 2 illustrates the base stock of Figure 1 following manufacture;

Figure 3 illustrates the base stock of Figure 2 after being printed with postage indicia and showing the results of an attempt to de-laminate it;

Figures 4A and 4B illustrate two components of a second example of base stock according to the invention; Figure 5 illustrates a first option for using the base stock shown in Figure 4 ;

Figure 6 illustrates a second option for using the base stock of Figure 4 ; Figure 7 illustrates the base stock of Figure 6 after printing with postage indicia;

Figure 8 illustrates schematically a system for communicating postage stamp indicia to remote printers; and, Figure 9 illustrates the construction of a remote printing device.

The postage stamp base stock shown in Figure 1 is initially formed in two components shown respectively in Figures 1A and IB. The first component (Figure IB) comprises a layer of transparent stamp paper 1 which can be in web or sheet form and on which a selectively printable release layer 2 is provided. Onto this release layer is printed security indicia 3. The security indicia may be visible and/or invisible and have any of the forms mentioned above. The release layer 2 can be chosen from a variety of suitable layers many of which are disclosed in US-A-6,074,747.

The second component of the base stock (Figure 1A) comprises a release paper 4 which is typically a silicon coated paper or silicone coated biaxially oriented polypropylene, for example a grade such as BB45 from Cotek Limited having a weight of 45 grams/m². This acts as a carrier for the total construction. A pressure sensitive adhesive 5 is coated on the release paper 4. The adhesive 5 is typically a water-based acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive .

The two components are brought together under the influence of heat and pressure with the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 5 contacting the release layer 2 so as to produce the full base stock shown in Figure 2. This base stock is supplied in either web or sheet form, die cut and/or perforated in house to the retailer or Post Office. As will be explained in more detail below, upon demand, the transparent stamp paper layer 1 is printed with postage stamp indicia 7 and the finally printed base stock is supplied to the customer. The security print 3 will typically be located in register with the postage stamp indicia such that neither is obscured by the other. Subsequently, when the stamp is to be adhered to a surface 6, the release paper is removed, the stamp is detached along its perforations and/or die cut lines from adjacent stamps and adhered to the surface using the pressure sensitive adhesive 5.

Following such adhesion, if an attempt is made to remove the stamp from the surface 6 (Figure 3) , the laminate will split at the release layer 2 with part of the release layer and security print remaining adhered to the surface 6 via the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 5 while the remainder of the security print and possibly some of the release layer will adhere to the stamp paper and be removed with it together with the postage stamp indicia 7. These two separated portions cannot be joined together again and so the stamp cannot be re-used.

Figure 4 illustrates a second example of two components which will be joined to make up a base stock. In this case, the first component (Figure 4B) comprises a standard stamp paper layer such as white stamp paper 10 coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive layer 11 similar to the layer 5 in the previous example, the adhesive layer 11 being covered by a release paper 12 similar to the release paper 4. The stamp paper 10 and part of the adhesive layer 11 may be die cut at 18.

The other component (Figure 4A) comprises a clear lacquer layer 13 coated on a release paper layer 14. An example of a suitable lacquer for the layer 13 is described in EP-A-0794466. Security indicia 15 are printed, wrong reading image as described in EP 0794466, preferably in register with the die cut base stock, on the clear lacquer layer 13 and covered by a hot melt or pressure sensitive adhesive layer 16.

The materials for the layers will be the same as described in connection with the example of Figure 1 except where otherwise stated.

The two components of Figure 4 can be utilized in two different ways. In the first option (Figure 5), the stamp paper layer 10 is first printed with postage stamp indicia 17. The two components are then brought together with the adhesive layer 16 contacting the stamp paper layer 10 and the release paper layer 14 is removed. The construction is then die cut or further die cut and/or provided with perforations as shown at 18. The resultant construction is secure and tamper evident and can be dispensed locally by retailers.

In the second option (Figures 6 and 7) , the two components are first brought together as shown in Figure 6 and die cut and/or provided with perforations 18. The clear lacquer layer 13 is then printed with postage stamp indicia 17.

Although the base stock could be printed centrally in a conventional manner, the invention is particularly applicable to the remote printing of base stock on demand. Figure 8 illustrates schematically the communication network involved in such a process. Centrally, as shown at

30, a number of different postage stamp images 31 are stored in digital form on a secure database. This database 30 can be accessed via the Internet 32 from a number of remote retail sites 33. For security, the sites 33 will communicate with the database 30 using any well known encryption technique so as to ensure that the digital data is transmitted only to authorised sites and in a secure manner.

At each site 33, a printing apparatus 40 as shown in Figure 9 will be located. This apparatus 40 comprises a secure casing 41 in which is mounted a printer 42 which may be a laser printer, ink jet, thermal transfer printer or the like. The printer 42 is controlled by a processor 43 coupled to a memory 44 for storing digital data defining postage stamp indicia and to a modem 45 to enable it to communicate via the Internet 32 with the central store 30. The processor 43 is also connected to a key pad 46 mounted externally on the casing 41.

The base stock is mounted on a reel 47, the stock being unwound past the printer 42 and to an exit aperture 48. In use, base stock, for example as constructed in accordance with Figure 2, is supplied in reel form and securely mounted within the casing 41 as shown at 47. When a particular postage stamp is requested, this request is passed to the processor 43 from the key pad 46 and the processor 43 will determine whether or not digital data defining the image of the postage stamp is already stored in the store 44. If it is not, the processor will output a suitable request via the modem 45 and the Internet 32 to the database 30 so as to obtain the digital data. This obtained digital data will then be stored in the store 44. The processor 43 will then download the digital data from the store 44 and use it to control the printer 42 while also causing the base stock 47 to be unwound from the reel 47 and fed to the exit 48. The printed base stock can then be torn off or otherwise severed from the unprinted base stock.

In the case where a two component base stock is provided as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the first component will be mounted on the reel 47 while the second component will be mounted on a further reel 49, the base stock 50 being fed into engagement with the printed stock from the reel 47, the release paper 14 being wound onto a take-up reel 51.

Claims

1. A postage stamp base stock comprising a laminate construction in including a layer of transparent or translucent stamp paper for carrying postage stamp indicia; a first adhesive layer for securing the stamp base stock to a surface; a release layer securing the stamp paper to the first adhesive layer; and security indicia provided between the release layer and an adjacent layer.

2. A base stock according to claim 1, wherein the release layer contacts the stamp paper layer and the first adhesive layer.

3. A postage stamp base stock comprising a laminate construction including a layer of stamp paper for carrying postage stamp indicia; a first adhesive layer for securing the stamp base stock to a surface, the first adhesive layer being secured to the stamp paper layer; a transparent cover layer bearing security indicia; and a second adhesive layer for securing the transparent cover layer to the stamp paper layer.

4. A base stock according to claim 3, wherein the security indicia are provided on an inwardly facing surface of the transparent cover layer, for example a clear lacquer.

5. A base stock according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the base stock is formed as two separate components, the first component comprising the layer of stamp paper and the first adhesive layer, and the second component comprising the transparent cover layer, security indicia and second adhesive layer.

6. A base stock according to claim 5, wherein the first component includes a release paper secured to the transparent cover layer.

7. A base stock according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the first and second components are supplied as separate stock, for example on separate reels.

8. A base stock according to any of claims 3 to 7 , wherein the second adhesive layer is a hot melt adhesive or pressure sensitive adhesive.

9. A base stock according to any of claims 3 to 8, wherein the first adhesive layer directly contacts the stamp paper.

10. A base stock according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive .

11. A base stock according to any of the preceding claims, wherein some or all of the security indicia are visible to the naked eye .

12. A base stock according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the security indicia are chosen from guilloche, anti-copy, UV, fluorescent, magnetic, metameric, rainbow, phosphors, pearlescent or other conventional features.

13. A postage stamp comprising a base stock according to any of the preceding claims, the base stock carrying a postage stamp image .

14. A method of printing a postage stamp comprising providing base stock according to any of claims 1 to 12, and printing a postage stamp image on the base stock.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the postage stamp image is printed in register with the security indicia so that the security indicia are not obscured.

16. A method according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the postage stamp image is printed on the stamp paper layer.

17. A method according to claim 16, for use with base stock according to at least claim 5, the method comprising printing the postage stamp image on the stamp paper layer of the first component; and adhering the first and second components together with the second adhesive layer contacting the stamp paper layer.

18. A method according to any of claims 14 to 17, wherein the digital data defining the postage stamp image is supplied from a remote source, for example via the Internet .

19. Apparatus for printing a postage stamp, the apparatus including a printer controlled by digital data defining the image; a system for supplying base stock to the printer; and a control system responsive to user instructions to operate the printer to print one or more postage stamp images on the base stock and to dispense the printed base stock.

20. Apparatus according to claim 19, the apparatus being loaded with base stock according to any of claims 1 to 12.

21. Apparatus according to claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the control system is adapted to obtain the digital data from a remote source, for example via the Internet.

22. Apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 21, the apparatus being housed in a secure casing.