Background
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Background to Rotary Recess Printing The introduction of Hoe rotary recess presses at the Stamp Printing Office in 1934 foreshadowed the replacement of all other methods of stamp production. Little wonder. Rotary presses were capable of producing 1200 printsheets per hour. In 1927, standard letter rate consumption was around 2.5 million stamps daily. Output from any flat plate press was approximately 30 ‘sheets’ per hour. This only tells part of the difference. The printsheets used for rotary presses were nearly 5 times larger than flat recess, holding some 640 subjects. By its nature, the rotary press used 2 curved plates for printing. This necessitated the modest change of recess-plate production from flat to curved steel while still using the same die and transfer roller techniques. From 1934, to the introduction of the zoological series in 1937, various refinements were made in the methods used for and on the rotary presses. Viz.
waterlow essays This design was to appear on the 1d, 1½d, 2d, 3d and 1/4d. Dies and plates having been completed. One sheet was presented to the Governor of Victoria, Baron Huntingfield before the abdication during a visit to the printing works. He removed this block and returned the rest for destruction. The new series was intended for 1936 but was abandoned due to the death of KGV on Jan 20th 1936. Again, the series was redesigned for issue in 1937, but for the abdication of KE VIII on December 10, the same year. The series was redesigned a third time and issued appropriately at the coronation of KGVI in May 1937. The series was intended to replace all permanent issues. Specifically typograph issues, specifically KGV and Roo. Thus all current denominations were replaced, with the exception of the £2 Roo value that was deemed no further use, and the 2/- Roo continued. There is some irony in these two values as the initial £2 Roo was designed and printed in error. J.B.. Cooke misread a request for a 2/6d roo as £2! The replacement series comprised of
Only two different image sizes were employed for the series. Medium format - high value (1/6d and beyond) were 32 x 22mm all others were a not-seen-before small, coil format 17 x 22mm. The small format was no doubt influenced by Britain’s coil design. It matters not that the design-image is horizontal or vertical in these issues there are only two formats ever used. The small format persisted throughout the use of the rotary presses into decimal currency. By convention, this series is separated into small (Zoo) and medium (Robes) format. The small format is referred to as zoological rather than KGVI because of the dominant presence of Australian flora and fauna.
‘Series’ Meaning a collection of generally different denominations, of ten of different designs, and not necessarily issued at the same time, but making up a grouped issue of stamps. Steel plate engravings where the surface of the steel is recessed with the ink part of the design. The raised metal of the plate forms the white impressed part of the paper.) Typography, or surface printing, was the most economic method of reproducing ‘plates’ for large volumes of stamps. The alternative method used in Australia was flat recess plates that while producing far superior images were restricted to limited issues such as commemoratives. The difference between Typography and Flat Recess in this instance was the ability to quickly reproduce ‘electros’ as the typographed ‘plates’ wore out. ‘Printsheet’ is a term that declares a full-size printing sheet on the press. This was generally 4 times larger than sheets issued to post offices (after guillotining). See related terms 640 on, millsheet and po sheet. Rosenblum page 197. Die. The general term for the original stamp sized image that is subsequently transferred multiple times onto a printing plate, directly, or otherwise. ‘transfer roller’ Generally, the original die is not used for direct impressions onto a plate. Instead, the die is impressed into a circular steel roller, which contained one or many impressions of that die. The roller subsequently was used to ‘roll in’ the impression into a steel plate (or other medium). This method had the practical benefit of speed and preservation of the original die from excessive wear. Because the transfer roller was rolled down the plate, making successive impressions, varieties on plates can be categorised as being in ‘repeating strips’ (being on singular roller positions), or unique plate flaws ( flaw inherent on the plate rather than the roller). Naturally, unique die flaws do not exist when only one die/ transfer roller is used on a plate, as whatever inherent ‘faults’ are in the die design are present on all units!Chalk Surface’ Chalk or Enamel coated paper was initially used as a pre-requisite of the new ‘fast drying’ inks, that didn't require dampened paper. The ‘chalk’ being there to soak up the ink before it left the presses.. Subsequent improvements to the fast drying inks were found not to require chalk paper.‘Dry ink printing’ First introduced specifically for the rotary presses, this process allowed pre-gummed paper to be used. All previous issues (typo and recess) were ‘damp printed’. This meant that gumming had to be performed as a 2nd operation (generally by hand) after printing. The repercussions were significant. Dry ink printing was subsequently extended to the final (1935) flat-recess printings of the 1/- lyre, 3d airmail, and probably the 1934 printing of the KS 6d Airmail (distinctive dark Grey brown). This resulted in these specific printings of these particular issues being somewhat larger in design, having no shrinkage. Eg to the usual Type A/B airmail and horizontal / vertical mesh of the 1/- Lyre must be added the overall larger stamp! Copper Electros. The jubilee issue saw the change from curved steel to copper electros. This partly because of the poorer dry ink adherence to the steel plates in the earlier 1d Die 1 Macarthur issue, and mostly because of a desire to add the benefits and experience in manufacture of electros (in typography) to quickly produce ‘plates’. It should be remembered that in the early part of the century, Australia was a front runner in innovation. It did not have the manufacturing base to produce quality machinery and consequently purchased from England, but in all other aspects, technology was transferred back to the ‘mother country’. This and all other innovations, leading up to the zoo series were purely Australian in origin. ‘Nickel-plated electros’ The experimental use of copper electros on the Jubilee was a disaster, with the largest quantity of varieties of any Australian issue before or since. For reasons unknown the subsequent 1936 Tasmanian Cable issue didn't suffer. However the next issue of SA Centenary introduced, again experimental, nickel plating on the copper electros. Again, due to the new technique, there are many varieties.
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Unissued KE8th 2d.
