Personalized roll stamps PostNL

What are roll stamps?
Since 2010 it is in the Netherlands possible to order personalized stamps on a roll. Each roll contains 100 pieces of self-adhesive stamps. Roll stamps are usually used by companies to send their corporate mail.
In 2010, the gray personal stamp frame used by then was also used for the roll stamps. In 2018, PostNL came with a new, blue/gray frame designed for the personal stamps.

Soaking problems
During the course of 2020, the composition of the gum layer of the carrier paper to be printed was changed, making it almost impossible to remove the stamps by soaking.
At the beginning of 2022, PostNL started using a new machine for the production of the personalized roll stamps. The commissioning of the new machine has resulted in less material being used, making it more sustainable.
New carrier paper was also purchased in mid-2022, so the roll stamps can currently be removed again by soaking in water.

The printing of the roll stamps has also been adapted to the new machine in 2022. A print file now consists of 10 stamps that are repeating, but the last "page" has twice the order number, so that you can always see the number during inspection and after packaging when the roll is in the box, see this image:

How to recognise the various versions?
The commissioning of the new machine has also led to visual differences compared to older roll stamps.

First in the image of the order numbers placed between the roll stamps. The next image shows the various printings. The stamps from before april 2018 (left) are of course recognisable on the old gray stamp frame.

On the first stamps with the blue/gray frame, still printed on the old machine (middle), the order number is printed in fairly large numbers, and the zeros are without a slash. There is a few millimeters of white space between the bottom of the stamp and the number.
For the stamps printed after the new machine was put into use on April 22, 2020, the numbers are clearly smaller and there is a slash through the zeros. In addition, the number is directly below the stamp.

Furthermore, there are now bars and cutting lines on the back of the roll stamp carrier paper. These are for better positioning in the printer, so that printing can be done more precisely.
The result is that there are now roll stamps with a white back, but also coil stamps with a black bar of 1.3 millimeters on the back.

This article is based on newsletter 32/2023 of the VPPV (Dutch Association of Personalized Stamp Collectors) by Peter Oomes

Top   -   Back to former page   -   Home