GREETINGS DEFINITIVES - 4 October 2005

In response to public demand, Royal Mail Smilers stamps are being reduced in size to accommodate a larger label for personalisation. However, there appear to be no plans at present to issue these stamps in a generic Smilers sheet, but these 1st class stamps are being issued in self-adhesive books:

Quite correctly, Royal Mail are regarding this as a new issue, and official first day of issue postmarks are available, but there will be no special first day cover.

Technical details:
The booklets stamps are printed in lithography by Walsall Security Print. The Smilers sheets (see below) are printed by Walsall's French subsidiary, Cartor.
CORRECTION! - Royal Mail have confirmed that "due to technical difficulties at the time of printing" the booklets were printed by Walsall in gravure. The personalised sheet stamps are printed by lithography so these are totally different stamps. The most obvious difference is in the phosphor bands which are more solid on the sheet stamps.

All images except FDCs are taken from Royal Mail's Philatelic Bulletin and Postmark Bulletin and are Copyright 2005 by Royal Mail.

Personalised 'Smilers' sheets

The personalised Smilers sheets contain 20 copies of one design, and are self-adhesive, but they are collectably different. Smilers stamps are not separately listed in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue, although the generic sheets are listed: personalised sheets are not. But other catalogues and some pre-printed albums do recognise these as different stamps especially as they are printed by a different process. As there is no generic sheet the only way to get these Cartor stamps is from Personalised Smilers.

Norvic Exclusive First Day Covers

We will produce exclusive covers for this issue. The cover for the booklet stamps is shown below. The cover as shown with the advertisement and colour strip will has postmark M9790. We have also produced the same cover but without the advertisement and colour strip which has allowed the stamps to be more widely spaced. This cover will have postmark M9789. Either cover is priced £5.95.
There is no cylinder number on this printing of these booklets.

All prices exclude postage & packing. To order or for prices in foreign currencies - please email us.

Day of issue postmarks. These postmarks were available for the date of issue:

Ref FD537 Philatelic Bureau Official Postmark	Ref FD538 Official Postmark, Windsor	Ref FD538n Non-pictorial postmark Windsor	Ref N9797 First Pictorial Definitive Booklet, York	Ref N9798 Teddy bears' Picnic Bearpark, Durham	Ref M9791 Greetham, Oakham
Ref N9796 Garden Village, Hull	Ref M9788 Greet, Cheltenham	Ref L9782 Lovington, Castle Cary	Ref N9795 Flagg, Buxton	Ref M9787 Bearwood, Leominster	Ref M9789 Birdwood, Gloucester
	<<<< Ref M9790 Bearwood, Birmingham