TurulBélyeg : base de connaissances

Printing Plate Flaws

In the world of stamps, plate flaws form a small universe of their own: they are exciting, important from a collector's perspective, and in certain cases can even mean a significant increase in value. At the same time, not every minor deviation counts as a rarity. Collectors often encounter flaws that are actually natural printing phenomena and do not increase the stamp's value. This is why it is important to know when we are talking about a genuine, sought-after plate flaw and when it is merely a common, mass-produced deviation.

A plate flaw becomes valuable if it is rare, clearly identifiable, and consistent in nature. Permanent plate flaws are printing errors or damage that always appear in the same way at a specific position on the printing plate. These are recorded separately by collectors, listed in catalogues, and in many cases command a premium. The best-known examples include breaks, cracks, missing lines, or characteristic dots that appear in the same place on every impression.

A flaw that occurs randomly, only on a single sheet or a few copies, is not considered valuable. These can include ink splatters, slight misregistrations, weak inking, or minor paper irregularities. The literature calls these „occasional flaws,” and because they do not recur consistently, they are not considered genuine plate flaws. Most collectors do not value them at a premium, as they lack the permanence that collectors seek.

The value of a plate flaw is also determined by how visible it is. A barely noticeable dot or hairline-thin line variation rarely attracts much interest, even if it is constant. By contrast, a clearly visible, characteristic flaw – such as a broken letter, a missing decorative element, or a prominent line defect – is much more sought after, because it is easy to recognise and gives the stamp „character” from a collector's point of view.

Another important factor is how well documented the flaw is. Plate flaws listed in catalogues or expert publications generally command higher prices because they are known and sought after by a broad community of collectors. A rare but undocumented flaw can also be valuable, but in such cases the collector circle is smaller and the value is more uncertain.

Overall, a plate flaw is valuable if it is rare, permanent, clearly recognisable and documented. Random, weak, or mass-produced flaws do not increase the stamp's value, even if they appear interesting at first glance. Collecting plate flaws is therefore not just an aesthetic experience but also a professional challenge: the collector must know the printing processes, the catalogues, and the characteristics of the series in order to identify truly valuable pieces.

Watermark Cylinder Flaws

In the case of the Turul series, however, flaws did not only occur on the printing plate. The watermark cylinder could also carry damage, scratches, or irregularities, which appeared as recurring patterns in the paper's watermark. Since the watermark is embedded in the paper during the papermaking process, these flaws are visible on all stamps made from the same paper strip. Watermark cylinder flaws are therefore not part of the stamp image but are permanent phenomena in the paper structure that can occur across all Turul issues.

Watermark cylinder flaws are particularly interesting because, due to the longitudinal repetition of the paper roll, the flaw recurs systematically. The Turul stamps were produced in sheets of 4×100, meaning a full printing sheet contained 400 stamps. If a watermark cylinder flaw appeared at a specific position on the paper, that flaw repeated on every sheet where the paper passed under the cylinder in the same position. This means that a watermark cylinder flaw could appear on the same position on every 400‑stamp sheet, so for example, it could occur on every 400th stamp.

In practice, this means that a watermark cylinder flaw could appear on hundreds or even thousands of copies, depending on how large the paper roll was and how many sheets were printed from it. For this reason, watermark cylinder flaws are generally not considered rarities, even if they are visually striking. At the same time, they play an important role in identifying stamps and distinguishing paper types, as watermark cylinder flaws can help determine which paper shipment a stamp came from.

Overall, watermark cylinder flaws can occur across all issues of the Turul series and represent an important technical characteristic. For collectors, these flaws are more curiosities that help understand the papermaking and stamp printing processes, and contribute to more precise identification of stamps. In certain cases they do command a premium. I will also post a separate table on the site listing the known watermark flaws.