Black print (philately)

In philately, black print is the name given to the offprint of a postage stamp in shades of gray, which is usually not perforated and not perforated , whereby there are perforated black prints of small sheets. Original printing forms are used for production, it is printed in black color in original size. Such an issue has no face value , but is an interesting area for collecting stamps, either alone or in combination with the respective stamps. They can be found particularly in yearbooks , which is why many collectors can combine them with postage stamps.
In the past, such black prints were used for prior publications in the press, today they are mainly printed for collectors. They are also given away to personalities, especially politicians, especially those on explanatory sheets.

Austrian black prints

Since the St. Stephen's Cathedral series in 1946, there have been black prints of all postage stamps in Austria, even if initially only intaglio stamps and shortly thereafter squeegee stamps . They are available loose or, especially at a later date, in small numbers on explanatory sheets. They are printed on the original printing blocks of the stamp issues. The print run at that time was around 500 to 800 copies.
Until 1991, black prints were glued to light yellow, so-called Japan document paper in the format about 210 × 295 mm (like DIN A4), alternatively to yellowish tinted art sheets. At that time there was a risk of confusion with explanatory sheets that were available at the collector's counters, but were made of white paper. From 1992 the black prints appeared on white paper on explanatory sheets. In 2002 the format was changed to A5 and an additional, enlarged color illustration was added. English was added to the description in German, and in 2004 also French. The black prints now appeared on double sheets. In 2005, the range of black prints was expanded: They are now available as single stamps, pads and miniature sheets.