In philately

Philately

Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

 a pull is created when an impression of a handstamp or die is made.

The wording or design of a handstamp or die appears in reverse when viewing the original so it is necessary to make a pull on to paper to view the image as it will appear in use.

Pulls are made of die proofs

Die proof (philately)

In philately a Die Proof is a printed image pulled directly from the master die for an engraved stamp.As a stamp is engraved it is necessary to check progress and a series of proofs are printed or 'pulled' from the die. These are known as progressive or contemporary die proofs.Progressive proofs...

in order to check progress when engraving a stamp.