Portugal (2008)
ATM issues - 50 Anniversary of the Portuguese Blood Institute |
|
 |
The second series of Portuguese ATM issues for 2008 is dedicated to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Portuguese Blood Institute (50 Anos Instituto Português do Sangue, IP).
These issues continue with the series of themes related to different social causes, spread through the annual issues of 'etiquetas de franqueamento'. And following on for 2009, Correios de Portugal plans new issues dedicated to promoting recycling and healthy eating and physical activity.
The Instituto Nacional de Sangue - INS (National Blood Institute) was created on January 2nd 1958, as an organization accountable to the former Ministério do Interior – Direcção Geral da Assistência. This first body, dedicated to blood transfusions in Portugal, eventually became the Instituto Português do Sangue - the IPS (Portuguese Blood Institute), a part of the Ministério da Saúde (Ministry of Health). The IPS was established in 1990 as a public institution with legal powers, and is technically, administratively and financially autonomous.
Since 2007, the mission of the IPS is to regulate the activity of the transfusion service in Portugal, and to ensure the availability and accessibility of safe, effective and timely blood products and services.
More information on the website of the Instituto Português do Sangue, IP
|
 |
As with previous issues, the rolls of 900 labels were manufactured by the French La Poste, on self-adhesive paper and printed by offset. 2 different label sizes were manufactured which are either the smaller self-adhesive labels (approx 54 x 30 mm.) to be used in the Amiel, SMD and NewVision Epost automatic vending machines, or rolls, with larger labels (80 x 30 mm.), for the Crouzet distributors. The design, by Vera Pinto Coelho, is identical for both issues, and depicts the logo of the anniversary.
As a new interesting feature, the Philatelic Bureau decided, that on this issue, for both security and control purposes, to print a number on the back of each label, preprinted onto the backing paper itself. So when an ATM is issued, this number indicates the number of labels remaining on the roll.
Originally scheduled for October 9th, this issue was delayed until October 31st 2008. Despite a series of instructions, sent to post offices, which began with the previous issue, to standardise the colour printing of all distributors to black, on the date of issue there were still a number of ATM vending machines, of the 4 models, using purple printing.
On August 1st 2008 there was a change in postal rates, so the new values programmed into the Amiel, SMD and NewVision machines on the date of issue were: 0.31, 0.55, 0.57, 0.67 and 0.80 EUR, CORREIO AZUL 0.47 and 1.85 EUR.
| |
Sets Correio Normal |
Correio Azul |
| Issue (31.10.2008) |
0.31 - 0.55 - 0.57 - 0.67 - 0.80 |
0.47 - 1.85 |
| 0.31 - 0.60 - 0.57 - 0.67 - 0.80 * |
* Some machines have the second button which issues the value 0.60 EUR instead of 0.55 (see tariffs), programmed for domestic shipments up to 100 g.
 |
 |
ATMs with the first values of Correio Normal (Normal - priority mail) and Correio Azul (Express post) issued by the AMIEL vending machine, black printing. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
ATMs issued by the AMIEL vending machine, special purple printing. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
ATMs with the first values of Correio Normal and Correio Azul issued by the NEWVISION vending machine, black printing. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
ATMs issued by the NEWVISION vending machine, special purple printing. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
ATMs with the first values of Correio Normal and Correio Azul issued by the SMD vending machine, black printing. |
|
|
|
 |
| Official illustrated first day cover, with the 5-values set of Correio Normal issued by a NewVision vending machine - black printing, and commemorative postmarks |
The self-adhesive labels for the Crouzet distributors have the same design. Most of the Crouzet machines print the face value in black, although a few do not conform with the official instructions, and print normally in purple ...
 |
 |
| Correio Normal and Correio Azul ATMs sold by a distributor CROUZET, impression in black |
 |
|
| Receipt of the first day of issue, black printing |
 |
 |
| Correio Normal and Correio Azul ATMs sold by a distributor CROUZET, impression in purple |
In these types of issues it is normal to find minimally important misprints on the labels, because of the printing process. Usually these are cyclical small colour spots; minor variations in colour; the background colour; displacements or lack of colours ... and these errors which affect only a small part of the production, are usually of little interest.
| But on this issue there is an interesting printing error that is repeated, cyclically, over the entire production run, and appears on both sizes of labels. One label has 19 black optical-scan bars (central picture), instead of the normal 20 (left picture), appearing on every 18th label. In addition, and only in some cases, the label prior to the one with 19 bars, has a partial printing of the lowest horizontal bar (right picture). This type of cyclical error, located at the ends of the printing plate, appears with different variations on most issues of labels printed by the French La Poste, and is well documented in other articles. |
 |
 |
 |
| Postal rates programmed in the ATM vending machines Amiel, NewVision and SMD (EUR) |
| , |
Correio normal |
Correio Azul |
| Change of postal rates |
Domestic,
up to 20 g.
normalized |
Domestic,
up to
100 g. |
Spain,
up to 20 g. |
Europe,
except Spain,
up to 20 g. |
Rest of the world,
up to 20 g. |
Domestic,
up to 20 g.
normalized |
International
up to 20 g. |
| 1.1.2002 |
0.27 |
0.45 |
0.46 |
0.54 |
0.70 |
0.43 |
1.75 |
| 1.1.2003 |
0.30 |
0.46 |
0.47 |
0.55 |
0.70 |
0.43 |
1.75 |
| |
Domestic,
up to 20 g.
normalized |
Domestic,
from 20 to 50 g.
normalized |
Domestic,
up to
100 g. * |
Spain,
up to 20 g. |
Europe,
except Spain,
up to 20 g. |
Rest of the world,
up to 20 g. |
Domestic,
up to 20 g.
normalized |
International
up to 20 g. |
| 1.1.2004 |
0.30 |
0.45 |
0.48 |
0.48 |
0.56 |
0.72 |
0.45 |
1.75 |
| 1.1.2005 |
0.30 |
0.46 |
0.49 |
0.48 |
0.57 |
0.74 |
0.45 |
1.75 |
| 1.5.2006 |
0.30 |
0.48 |
0.50 |
0.52 |
0.60 |
0.75 |
0.45 |
1.80 |
| 1.1.2007 |
0.30 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.52 |
0.61 |
0.75 |
0.45 |
1.85 |
| 1.8.2008 |
0.31 |
0.55 |
0.60 |
0.57 |
0.67 |
0.80 |
0.47 |
1.85 |
| * This value appears from 2005 programmed in some of the Amiel, NewVision and SMD ATM vending machines, instead of the value of Domestic Correio normal (inland normal mail) between 20 and 50 g. |
ATM Web - Spain and Latin American Postal Services: http://www.ateeme.net
© J. Jove - M. Sans. ATEEME. Variable value stamps study group. All rights reserved
This page was created in December 2008 and last updated:
30.04.09
. English edition rewritten by S. Goodman (12.12.2008)
|
