Flat Press Issues

Printer’s also contributed their initials to many of the Washington Franklins.  Each time a plate was used to print stamps, the printer would add a dash (-) followed by initials in the left margin of the plate.  Unlike the siderographers and plate finishers, however, the printers only entered their first and last initial, making identification of the individual difficult.

This provided for long strings of initials extending the length of the plate, and, in some cases, a second string was started once the bottom of the plate was reached with the first string.

As with the siderographers and plate finishers, sometimes the initials strayed from where they were supposed to be placed.  Printers initials can also be found in the bottom margin and the right margin.

This practice ended in 1911 or 1912.

Offset Press Issues

With plate 11329 (Scott #528), initials again began to appear on the Washington Franklins.  However, they took a different form.  Otto A. Myers (OAM) inscribed his initials directly above the upper left top plate number.

From May through July, 1920, various printer’s initials were intermittently inscribed on at least thirty (30) different plates, producing Scott #528 and #528A.  In most cases, the initials appeared near the UL plate number.  However, they can also be found in the right margin near the plate number and the UL corner margin.

Plate 11639 (Scott #528A) was the final plate on which printers initials are known to be inscribed.

Printer's Initials - a marginal marking   consisting of printer’s initials, punched into an engraved plate by printers each time a printer printed from a plate.  The practice probably began in 1894.  It ended in 1911 or 1912.  Printer’s initials were again used briefly in 1920 on some Washington-Franklin offset plates.