Category: Community US Stamp Album Pages

I fixed two pages in this supplement:

1. Page 1594
2. Page 1602

Both of these pages had booklet stamps with broken up se-tenants. Here is what I did:

The file can be found on my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5nZhycYzltRN2dwUXhZTzdWeUk?resourcekey=0-XeA_sv4AdbV5ZfynEkq4kQ&usp=sharing

Look for the file 2021 Retrofit Kit.7z

With me finishing the tweak to the Community US Stamp Album layout in my 2007 supplement, I now have to go back and edit all the previous supplements to make them match 2007. So, what’s different:

1. The year will appear on the top of each page
2. Stamps will appear in release order, layout permitting
3. I will no longer break up stamps into commemorative, special and definitive.
4. Definitives with similar designs will have differentiating text (perforation, color, etc.) above the stamp box

Redoing this supplement was a huge PITA. USPS issues a LOT of definitives, and collecting all the variation information was really a long process.

Then I spent a good chunk of today redoing the pages. I printed them out, only learn I forgot to include a sheet.

So, I needed to add the page and print them again.

Then my printer jammed.

Then for some reason all the odd pages printed doble sided.

Finally the pages were ready and I began to move stamps. Last page of stamps and every single mount split and I had to cut new mounts.

So, here we are, it’s 12:30 AM on Sunday morning and the sheets are done and I have remounted the stamps.

Here’s a pic of one of the new pages:

Pages can be found on my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973?usp=sharing

This one took longer than expected. Had to get stamps. Had to get mounts. Had to deal with definitives. But, it’s finally done. Here is a sample page:

I still don’t have a license to use Scott catalog numbers on my pages, so the PDFs in this 7-zip file don’t have them.

This time around I included an “ink-saver” PDF. Same exact pages, but no stamp images.

As usual, files are on my Google Drive here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973?usp=sharing

Changes Going Forward

This took longer than I wanted it to, but it’s finally done. This supplement has some changes in it, but this is the “final form” of the Community US Stamp album. All future supplements will use this layout. All previous supplements will be retrofitted and re-released when I find time.

First, I am no longer breaking up stamps into commemorative, definite, special and airmail stamps. Everything just goes in release order for the year.

Second, each stamp box has a smaller 20% gray box in it. This SHOULD BE the size of the mount. It’s there to help you center the stamp mount. 20% grey is light enough that it’s not noticeable if it sticks out from under the mount.

Third, for stamps with multiple Scott major numbers for the same design, the text explaining what’s different about each stamp will be above the stamp image and below the date.

I take all release dates from the US Postal Bulletin. If the Scott Catalog and the US Postal Bulletin are in conflict, I will always go for the US Postal Bulletin.

A Specific Note About This Supplement

2006 saw the release of the Wonders of America 40 stamp se-tenant sheet. One of my cardinal rules is to NEVER break up se-tenants. So, the page for this stamp has a 300 DPI image of the sheet, along with the name, date and description. The bottom of the page has a PDF form box that lets you type in the location of where the sheet is stored. For example, for my sheet, I typed in Full Sheet Album, Page 8.

Scott Numbers

Nothing has changed regarding Scott Numbers. I don’t have a license from Amos to use them, because they won’t grant me one. The entire supplement has Scott numbers in it, but before I release them, I make the Scott numbers white and then generate the PDF. If you want to use Scott numbers, you’ll need to learn a little Scribus and undo what I did.

And finally, here is a screenshot of the first page:

As usual, all files are on my Google Drive, which you can find here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973?usp=sharing

The Community US Stamp Album uses an open source font from Adobe called Source Sans Pro. Adobe renamed this font to Source Sans 3.

According to Adobe, this is a “breaking change,” meaning, if you have any documents that use Source Sans Pro, they will not automatically switch to Source Sans 3. You’ll get an error that the font is missing. If you’re using style sheets in your apps, you’ll just need to update the style sheets and your document will be fixed.

The change only really affects anyone who’s editing my Scribus files. I’m working on the 2006 supplement now, and needed to make the switch from Source Sans Pro to Source Sans 3.

The two fonts look IDENTICAL, since this is just a name change on Adobe’s part. Here’s hoping when version 4 of the font comes out, they don’t rename it to Source Sans 4.

Slowly trudging away on these supplements. Finished 2005 today. I spent way more time than I should have on this today. God bless my wife for putting up with me.

Here is a sample page:

As usual, I had to remove the Scott numbers, since Amos won’t license them to me. But there’s a way to get them back, if you poke around the Scribus file.

The 7zip file containing everything you need is on my Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973?usp=sharing

Well, it took some time to straighten out all the definitive varieties, but it’s finally done! The 2004 supplement is up on my Google Drive.

Here’s a screen shot:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973

Learned there is one small problem with the pages I just released. The copy I released has the Scott numbers hidden. Well, when you do that, then that leaves people REALLY confused when they look at 4 definitives that look exactly the same with no explanation of what each stamp is. So I did this:

I replaced the original file with this one. Same link downloads the new version.

Well, it’s been a VERY long time since I posted any new supplements in the Community Stamp Album. There have been some minor style changes. I will re-doing 2001 and 2002 to match the style of 2003. But I want to get 2004 out the door before I do that.

Most of them are minor:

1. The spacing of the Name, Date of Issue, Stamp Box, Catalog Number and Description are tighter now.
2. The top of every page now says the year and the stamp type: commemorative, definitive, semi-postal, airmail, etc.

Other than that, the page border, fonts, stamp border and everything else is the same.

Here is a screenshot of what the pages look like:

I know. I know. You’re looking at the page and saying, “But you said catalog numbers? Where are the catalog numbers?”

Well, I’m not legally allowed to use Scott catalog numbers, and they won’t license them to me. So I have them hidden. If you feel like hacking the Scribus file to turn the catalog numbers back on and then exporting your own PDF, I won’t stop you.

This supplement was a huge PITA to create. I had to use multiple sources to make sure I got every variety of definitive stamps that Scott assigned a major catalog number to. And once I had it done, I found out I missed a bunch. And then I found the USPS released a semi-postal stamp in 2003, so back for another revision.

Then, I had to wait for all the stamp mounts I needed to come in. The mounts for the Eagle definitives slowed me down a week, as I waited for those mounts to arrive.

But now it’s finally done. Feel free to print away.

I made a new Google Drive folder for the Community US Stamp album. It can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sz9OHKT-TfNWOnOr2bu4YZpUI38k_973?usp=sharing