Personalised stamp
Encyclopedia
A personalised stamp is a postage stamp
where a picture or photograph
can be added to the stamp by a member of the public, some non-governmental entity, or a governmental entity that is not in an official stamp-issuing capacity; it is obviously to be distinguished from personalised rubber stamp
s as well as "Postal Pal," a label with picture on which a regular postage-stamp can be placed. (In Austria the denomination
of personalised stamps can now be changed as well.) In addition to mere personal expression the designs of personalized stamps have served a number of other purposes such as the attempt to find missing person
s. Some stamp-issuing entities have in turn used their personalised stamp systems to issue "personalised" stamps personalised by the stamp issuing entity.
What is or possibly could be characterised as advocacy has also given rise to controversy; see below.
Australia
Australia Post has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining its stamps. They cost AU$19.95 per set.
Finland
Personalised stamps are available in Finland in sheets of 20 and eight-stamp booklets.
The Netherlands
Royal TGP Post has permitted personalisation of postage stamps.
Poland
Poczta Polska
has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining several types of Polish postage stamps.
United Kingdom
Royal Mail
has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining their stamps.
United Nations
The United Nations has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining its stamps.
United States
In the United States, personalized stamps – also known as customized postage – are technically a form of meter labels and are governed by the United States Postal Service. As meter labels, they are not supposed to be cancelled.
While consumers may find that customized postage is available in a number of retail and online outlets, the USPS has authorized different companies to handle select aspects of the program.
Providers, including Pitney Bowes
, Endicia and Stamps.com
, are authorized to generate, transmit and print the indicia barcodes, ensure that images conform to USPS standards, market and sell customized postage and fulfill customer orders.
Partners such as Zazzle can approve imagery, market, sell and fulfill orders, but they must be associated with an authorized provider who creates the indicia using an approved postage evidencing system.
Affiliates like Fuji
can market, sell and fulfill orders, but are not authorized to approve imagery or print postage and must be associated with an authorized provider who creates the indicia using an approved postage evidencing system.
Pitney Bowes
, Stamps.com, Zazzle.com and Fuji
offer United States Postal Service
-approved personalised postage via Stamp Expressions, PhotoStamps and ZazzleStamps and Yourstamps.com respectively.
Some customers order the postage online and it is mailed to the recipient at a premium over the cost of postage; there has been some criticism of how much this premium is. Somewhat different is PremierPostage.com, which offers licensed U.S. postage of a similar type (outside the regular U.S. stamp programme and with similar indica), but issued by the company, not personalised by the individual.
Consumers and businesses can also print their own postage using a small, specialized printer, such as the Pitney Bowes Stamp Expressions Printer. Recent innovations include postal kiosks, where consumers can download an image at their local convenience store.
While initially considered a consumer application, Pitney Bowes offers a Customized Postage Partnership Program that provides corporations and small business owners with an opportunity to take advantage of this business opportunity. Commercial applications include:
Although most postal regulations permit the exclusion of "objectionable" pictures on the stamps, The Smoking Gun
in its investigation managed to create American postage stamps featuring the Rosenbergs, Jimmy Hoffa
, Ted Kaczynski, Monica Lewinsky's dress, Slobodan Milošević
and Nicolae Ceauşescu
.
Within a few weeks of the article detailing this abuse, PhotoStamps revised its policies, and as of September 2004 the company no longer accepted images that included adults or teenagers. They have since allowed these images again, under more stringent terms of service
.
At least some Yourstamps sheets come with a bonus of free sticker
s.
Humane Society of the United States
REACT Consulting Group filed a lawsuit against Zazzle for allowing Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) ZazzleStamps it alleged promoted or could promote an anti-hunting agenda while rejecting designs claiming "sportsmen" were conservationists. Some of the HSUS ZazzleStamps were later removed from sale (on August 31, 2006), an action preceded by calls from SuperVegan blog to "BUY TONS NOW!". However, there have been questions about why stamps which appear to promote hunting have been permitted.
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
where a picture or photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
can be added to the stamp by a member of the public, some non-governmental entity, or a governmental entity that is not in an official stamp-issuing capacity; it is obviously to be distinguished from personalised rubber stamp
Rubber stamp
Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved or vulcanized, onto a sheet of rubber. The rubber is often mounted onto a more stable object such as a wood, brick or an...
s as well as "Postal Pal," a label with picture on which a regular postage-stamp can be placed. (In Austria the denomination
Denomination (postage stamp)
:This article deals with the price of a postage stamp. For other meanings of the word 'denomination' see Denomination .In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp"...
of personalised stamps can now be changed as well.) In addition to mere personal expression the designs of personalized stamps have served a number of other purposes such as the attempt to find missing person
Missing person
A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made....
s. Some stamp-issuing entities have in turn used their personalised stamp systems to issue "personalised" stamps personalised by the stamp issuing entity.
What is or possibly could be characterised as advocacy has also given rise to controversy; see below.
Dispensing methods
Personalised stamps can be obtained by the public or would-be purchasers or designers in a number of ways.AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Australia Post has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining its stamps. They cost AU$19.95 per set.FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Personalised stamps are available in Finland in sheets of 20 and eight-stamp booklets.Malaysia
Malaysia Post offers personalised stamps, though apparently purchasing is restricted to certain entities.The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Royal TGP Post has permitted personalisation of postage stamps.PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Poczta PolskaPoczta Polska
Poczta Polska is the Polish public post service.- History :Before the postal system was established, correspondence was delivered by messengers. In the Middle Ages, such services were available only to the privileged classes - monarchs, rich merchants and some of the organised communities, like...
has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining several types of Polish postage stamps.
United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining their stamps.
United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
The United Nations has permitted personalisation of labels adjoining its stamps.United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
In the United States, personalized stamps – also known as customized postage – are technically a form of meter labels and are governed by the United States Postal Service. As meter labels, they are not supposed to be cancelled.While consumers may find that customized postage is available in a number of retail and online outlets, the USPS has authorized different companies to handle select aspects of the program.
Providers, including Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
, Endicia and Stamps.com
Stamps.com
Stamps.com is a Los Angeles, California-based company that provides Internet-based mailing and shipping services. Stamps.com is a public company and trades on the NYSE exchange under the symbol STMP.- History :On April 13, 1998, the U.S...
, are authorized to generate, transmit and print the indicia barcodes, ensure that images conform to USPS standards, market and sell customized postage and fulfill customer orders.
Partners such as Zazzle can approve imagery, market, sell and fulfill orders, but they must be associated with an authorized provider who creates the indicia using an approved postage evidencing system.
Affiliates like Fuji
Fuji
-People:* Mr. Fuji, ring name of wrestling and manager Harry Fujiwara* Keiko Fuji, a Japanese singer of the 1960s and 1970s, and mother of Hikaru Utada* Sumiko Fuji, a Japanese actressFictional characters* Fuji , a character in the Stormwatch series...
can market, sell and fulfill orders, but are not authorized to approve imagery or print postage and must be associated with an authorized provider who creates the indicia using an approved postage evidencing system.
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
, Stamps.com, Zazzle.com and Fuji
Fuji
-People:* Mr. Fuji, ring name of wrestling and manager Harry Fujiwara* Keiko Fuji, a Japanese singer of the 1960s and 1970s, and mother of Hikaru Utada* Sumiko Fuji, a Japanese actressFictional characters* Fuji , a character in the Stormwatch series...
offer United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
-approved personalised postage via Stamp Expressions, PhotoStamps and ZazzleStamps and Yourstamps.com respectively.
Some customers order the postage online and it is mailed to the recipient at a premium over the cost of postage; there has been some criticism of how much this premium is. Somewhat different is PremierPostage.com, which offers licensed U.S. postage of a similar type (outside the regular U.S. stamp programme and with similar indica), but issued by the company, not personalised by the individual.
Consumers and businesses can also print their own postage using a small, specialized printer, such as the Pitney Bowes Stamp Expressions Printer. Recent innovations include postal kiosks, where consumers can download an image at their local convenience store.
While initially considered a consumer application, Pitney Bowes offers a Customized Postage Partnership Program that provides corporations and small business owners with an opportunity to take advantage of this business opportunity. Commercial applications include:
- Merchandising, where companies can promote sales and market collectibles, either in postage format or as a framed premium.
- Photographers and Greeting Card companies can sell customized postage to customers to commemorate special moments or upcoming events.
- Nonprofit Organizations and Universities use customized postage to capture the attention of potential and existing donors.
- Marketers and advertising agencies can add customized postage to envelopes to boost brand and image awareness for their clients.
Although most postal regulations permit the exclusion of "objectionable" pictures on the stamps, The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is damning, shocking, outrageous, or amazing, yet also somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources...
in its investigation managed to create American postage stamps featuring the Rosenbergs, Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, Ted Kaczynski, Monica Lewinsky's dress, Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
and Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
.
Within a few weeks of the article detailing this abuse, PhotoStamps revised its policies, and as of September 2004 the company no longer accepted images that included adults or teenagers. They have since allowed these images again, under more stringent terms of service
Terms of service
Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Unless in violation of consumer protection laws, such terms are usually legally binding...
.
At least some Yourstamps sheets come with a bonus of free sticker
Sticker
A sticker is a type of a piece of paper or plastic, adhesive, sticky on one side, and usually with a design on the other. They can be used for decoration, depending on the situation. They can come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and are put on things such as lunchboxes, in children's...
s.
