This pair of coil stamps clearly shows the pattern of perforation holes; also, on the left side of the pair, the stamp was torn, while on the right the perforations were cut with scissors or knife.

For postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x565, 190 KB) United States 2c coil stamp of 1954, scanned September 2005 by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Postage stamp separation Coil stamp User:Stan Shebs/Gallery/Philately ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x565, 190 KB) United States 2c coil stamp of 1954, scanned September 2005 by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Postage stamp separation Coil stamp User:Stan Shebs/Gallery/Philately ... This 1974 stamp from Japan depicts a Class 8620 steam locomotive. ...

Methods of separation include:

1. perforation - cutting rows and columns of small holes
2. rouletting - small horizontal and vertical cuts
3. diecutting - cut paper to shape using a metal die - used for self-adhesive stamps.

A perforation is a hole made by puncturing a surface. ... Penny Black This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

In the early years

, from 1840 to the 1850s, all stamps were imperforate, and had to be cut from the sheet with scissors or knife. This was time-consuming and error-prone (as mangled stamps of the era attest). Once reliable separation equipment became available, nations switched rapidly. Imperforate stamps have been issued occasionally since then, either because separation equipment was temporarily unavailable (in newborn nations for instance), or to makers of automatic stamp vending equipment (the United States did this in the 1900s and 1910s), as novelties for stamp collectors (particularly when stamps are issued in souvenir sheets), or as errors. 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Events and Trends Technology Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Science Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution... // Events and Trends Technology Lawrence Hargrave makes the first stable wing design for a heavier-than-air aircraft Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first documented flight in a powered heavier-than-air aircraft Mass production of automobile Wide popularity of home phonograph Panama Canal is built by the United... // Events and trends Technology Gideon Sundback patents the first modern zipper Harry Brearley invents stainless steel Charles P. Strite invents first pop-up bread toaster Science Einsteins theory of general relativity Max von Laue discovers the diffraction of x-rays by crystals Alfred Wegener puts forward his theory of... Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as envelopes (cover)s. ... In philately, errors, freaks, and oddities or EFO is a blanket term referring to all the kinds of things that can go wrong when producing postage stamps. ...

In 1848, Henry Archer patented a "stroke process" for the perforation of stamps, and in 1854 a "rotary process" was patented by William Bemrose and Henry Howe Bemrose. The common aspect of the two processes was the use of rows of small round pins ("combs") to punch out the holes. The processes have been refined since then, but are basically still the ones in use in the 21st century. The key decision for the perforator is the spacing of the holes; if too far apart, the stamps will not separate easily, and the stamps will be likely to tear and be ruined, but if too close, the stamps will tend to come apart in normal handling, causing its own problems. 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... In calendars based on the Christian Era or Common Era, such as the Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the current century, as of this writing. ...

In a few cases the size of the holes has been a factor. In the case of certain stamps produced by Australia for sale in rolls rather than sheets (coil stamps) a pattern can be seen on the stamp's short side of two small, ten large and two small holes.

The standard for describing perforation is the number of holes (or the "teeth" or perfs of an individual stamp) in a 2-centimeter span. The finest gauge ever used is 18 on stamps of the Malay States in the early 1950s, and the coarsest is 2, seen on the 1891 stamps of Bhopal. Modern stamp perforations tend to range from perf 11 to 13 or so. 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Bhopal, marked in red, lies in central India. ...

Serrate perforation on an Epirus stamp of 1914

Stamps that are perforated on one pair of opposite sides and imperforate on the other have most often been produced in coils instead of sheets, but they can sometimes come from booklet panes. Booklet panes can be associated with any combination of one, two or three imperforate sides. Sheet edges can produce any one imperforate side or two adjacent imperforate sides when the stamp comes from the corner of the sheet. Download high resolution version (500x661, 95 KB)Epirus 1-drachma stamp of 1914, scanned by User:Stan Shebs This image of a postage stamp has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (500x661, 95 KB)Epirus 1-drachma stamp of 1914, scanned by User:Stan Shebs This image of a postage stamp has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Variations include syncopated perforations which are uneven, either skipping a hole or by making some holes larger. In the 1990s, Great Britain began adding large elliptical holes to the perforations on each side, as an anti-counterfeiting measure. // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ...

A rouletted revenue stamp, US 1898

Rouletting uses small cuts in the paper instead of holes. It was used by a number of countries, but is rarely if ever seen on modern stamps. Varieties include straight cuts, arc, sawtooth, and the serpentine roulettes used by the early stamps of Finland. Image File history File links Stamp_US_1898_0. ... Image File history File links Stamp_US_1898_0. ...

A few types of stamps have combined rouletting and perforation, for instance South Africa in 1942. This article is about the year. ...

The first self-adhesive stamp was issued by Sierra Leone in 1964, and by the 1990s these stamps came into wide use. These are inevitably diecut, meaning that the stamps themselves are cut entirely apart, held together only by the backing paper. At first the backing paper was itself solid, but in a repeat of history, is now slightly rouletted so as to facilitate tearing off blocks of stamps without having to remove them from the backing. Since the diecut goes all the way through the stamp, any shape will work, and the original self-adhesives were straight-edged. However, the tradition of perforation is so strong that more recent self-adhesives have a wavy diecut simulating the perforation. It can be recognized by studying the edge of the stamp closely; true perforations will have torn paper fibers on each tooth, while simulated perforations are smooth. 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ...

For the stamp collector, perforations matter, not only as a way to distinguish different stamps (a perf 10 may be rarer and more valuable than a perf 11 of the same design), but also as part of the condition of stamps. Short or "nibbed" perfs are undesirable and reduce value, as are bent or creased perfs.

As is inevitable for a mechanical process like perforation, many things can go wrong. Blind perfs are common, occurring when a hole is not completely punched out, as are offcenter perfs that cut into the design of the stamp, sometimes very badly. Occasionally pairs or larger groups of stamps may be imperforate between meaning that they are not separated on all sides. Although it is very common to have different gauges of perforation horizontally and vertically, in rare circumstances a stamp may have different perforations on opposite sides; in the case of US stamps only a handful of these are known to exist. The various types of perforation errors are collectively known as misperfs. (See Errors, freaks, and oddities for a discussion of other types of errors.) ... In philately, errors, freaks, and oddities or EFO is a blanket term referring to all the kinds of things that can go wrong when producing postage stamps. ...

Besides stamps, Perforated edges are also found in notebooks, coloring books, and other forms of workbook for easy tearing out of the pages with a clean line. Notebook paper torn out of a spiral notebook without perforated edges are said to have libits on the side. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... A coloring book is a type of book containing line art for a reader to add color to, with crayons, colored pencils, or similar implements. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

External Links

Photos of misperfs and other errors, freaks and oddities.