United States Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Adhesive paper tapes

Adhesive paper tapes
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 * A postage meter can print a stamp only on whatever is lying on the plate beneath the print head. There is only enough space for something thin, an envelope or a card for example. The need to frank parcels and other large items motivated meter companies to offer attachments that would feed adhesive tape onto the plate so it could be franked and affixed to parcels.


 * The earliest meter stamps on gummed labels were experimental and came from sheets of perforated brown paper rather than rolls of tape. The sheets were hand-fed one at a time by the meter operator. The sheets came in pads prepared by Pitney Bowes in 1929. They were used by a small number of mailers for about a year until the first adhesive tape feeder attachments became available in 1930. Tapes made for these mechanized feeders had an underprint. Decades later, after-market companies began offering rolls of adhesive paper tape for these feeders. These tapes do not have underprints and are not cataloged here. Since the advent of digital postage meters nearly all meter tapes found are without underprint. Perhaps the meter companies have abandoned the adhesive tape market to office supply companies.


 * A very small number of oval meter stamps (Sub-group CA) exist printed on tape. The one pictured here may have come from the experimental brown sheets mentioned above and described as Type A below, but the size of the label is nonconforming. It is possible mailers under their own initiative hand fed adhesive-backed paper into Model M meters (ovals) as a way to get stamps they could affix to packages, but more likely these oddities are the products of imaginative and creative collectors. Regardless, the first meters offered with an adhesive tape feeder option are from the Pitney Bowes Model H line (Sub-group DB).

NOTE: The color illustrations of tapes in this section all have digitally enhanced color and contrast. Most of these underprints are too faint to reproduce under normal conditions.

Type A: Pitney Bowes experimental tape, no underprint


'''A1. Plain brown gummed paper'''


 * These labels came from 8½ by 11 inch pads. Sheets from the pad were hand-fed into the meter rather than fed from mechanical tape feeders. This was an experiment carried out by Pitney Bowes in 1929-1930 and was abandoned after the first tape feeding mechanisms came to the market in late 1930 for users of their Model H line of meters.


 * Each sheet in the pad was divided by horizontal rows of perforations into two inch tall strips. The bottom strip had a stub along the bottom which was usually discarded. This stub contained printed directions for how to use the sheets.


 * The top strip of the sheet had a straight edge at top. All the others had perforations at both top and bottom. The sheets apparently had a long narrow tab at left separated from the rest of the sheet by perforations. Some labels are found with perforations at left although most have the excess paper at left scissored off leaving a straight edge.

NOTE: Oddities exist. They include a label with straight line edges on all four sides. It has an early date (October 24, 1929) and may have been from a preliminary, pre-pad experiment.
 * It is likely that two different sheet formats were used, the first as described above and the second narrower than 8½ inches across which would be used for strips with frankings of three or fewer stamps. The wider labels were for franking of four or more stamps according to the directions on the stub of the label in the illustration above.
 * All these experimental labels are quite rare. Nearly all examples known are loose sheets. Pictured below is the only example known on piece.

Type B: Pitney Bowes tape, "METERED MAIL" underprint

 * This is the earliest tape design made for use in mechanical tape feeding attachments.
 * The underprint consists of "METERED MAIL" inside ellipses connected by vertical wavy lines.
 * The tape edges are serrated on all four sides.
 * First seen in 1930-1931.

'''B1. The lines connecting the ellipses slant from upper right to lower left.'''
 * The center "v" of the "M"s in M ETERED M AIL go only half way to the bottom of the letter.
 * A. Ellipses 23 x 10mm
 * B. Ellipses 25 x 11mm
 * Tape height: 32mm
 * Underprint color: shades of green (apple-, yellow-, olive-)
 * Paper color: yellowish



'''B2. As B1 but the lines connecting the ellipses curve left and right in alternating columns.'''
 * Ellipses 24 x 9mm
 * A. Tape height 32mm
 * B. Tape height 36mm
 * Underprint colors: pale pink, pale gray, pale green (hard to see)
 * Paper colors: white, off-white, yellowish


 * a. Tape with straight instead of serrated edges



'''B3. As B1 but the lines connecting the ellipses are closer together and have more curves.'''
 * Ellipses 21 x 9mm
 * A. Tape height 32mm
 * B. Tape height 36mm
 * Underprint colors are vivid: bright pink, bright green
 * Paper colors: white, off-white, yellowish



'''B4. The center "v" of the "M"s in M ETERED M AIL go all the way to the bottom of the letter.'''
 * The lines connecting the ellipses are straight in parts and slightly curved in others.
 * Ellipses 24½ x 10mm
 * Line weight medium.
 * Tape height 32mm
 * Underprint color: very pale gray (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white

'''B5. As B4 but the lines connecting the ellipses are very thick.'''
 * Ellipses 24 x 9mm
 * Tape height 32mm
 * Underprint colors: light pink, very pale gray (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white, off-white

Type C: Pitney Bowes tape, "Pitney-Bowes" underprint

 * This tape design came into use in the early 1940s.
 * The underprint consists of "Pitney-Bowes" or "PitneyBowes" alternating with the company's logo except for Type C5 which shows only the logo.

'''C1. "Pitney-Bowes" and vertical oval logo in staggered rows.'''
 * "Pitney-Bowes" is large, 42mm wide, in a font with serifs.
 * Tape height: 32mm


 * Tape edges serrated on all four sides
 * Underprint color: light pink (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white

'''C2. As C1 but "Pitney-Bowes" and logo are smaller.'''
 * "Pitney-Bowes" is 31mm wide.
 * Tape height: 32mm
 * Tape edges: straight on all four sides, serrated on all four sides, serrated on sides and straight on top and bottom
 * Underprint color: light pink, light beige, light gray white (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white, off-white

'''C3. As C2 but the alternating rows are inverted to each other.'''
 * "Pitney-Bowes" is slightly smaller than with C2, 30mm wide.
 * Tape height: 32mm
 * Tape edges: straight on all four sides, serrated on all four sides, serrated on sides and straight on top and bottom
 * Underprint color: light pink, light beige, light gray white (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white, off-white

'''C4. "PitneyBowes" sanserif, with cross logo in staggered rows.'''
 * "Pitney-Bowes" in solid letters. The cross logo is 8mm square.
 * Tape height: 32mm
 * Tape edges: straight on all four sides, serrated on all four sides, serrated on sides and straight on top and bottom
 * Underprint color: light pink, light beige, light gray white
 * Paper color: white, off-white, salmon-pink



'''C5. Cross logo only.'''
 * The cross logo is large, 12mm square.
 * Tape height: 35mm
 * Tape edges: straight on top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: grayish greene (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white

'''C6. As C4 but "PitneyBowes" in outline letters.'''
 * The cross logo has a complete outer edge. The text and logo have shadows.
 * Tape height: 32mm
 * Tape edges: straight on all four sides, serrated on all four sides, serrated on sides and straight on top and bottom
 * Underprint color: light pink, light beige, light gray white (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white, off-white

'''C7. As C4 but with much smaller logo and the alternating rows are inverted to each other.'''
 * Tape height: 40mm
 * Tape edges: straight on all four sides
 * Underprint color: grayish green (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white

Type D: National Postal Meter tape, "N.P.Mc o ." underprint
'''D1. Two rows of "N.P.Mc o ." alternating horizontally with a block of five wavy lines.'''


 * The rows are staggered with wavy line block above and at the sides of "N.P.Mc o ."


 * The underprint is centered on the tape with some blank space both above and below.
 * "N.P.Mc o ." with stop after "Co."


 * Tape height: 37mm


 * Tape edges: straight at top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: yellowish green
 * Paper color: buff to off-white

'''D2. As D1 but the underprint continues to the edges of the tape.'''
 * "N.P.Mc o " without stop after "Co".
 * Tape height: 37mm
 * Tape edges: straight at top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: green
 * Paper color: pale yellow



Type E: Commercial Controls tape, "COMMERCIAL CONTROLS CORPORATION" underprint
'''E1. Rectangles containing C OMMERCIAL/ ONTROLS/ CORPORATION connected by wavy lines.'''
 * Tape height: 37mm
 * Tape edges: straight at top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: yellowish green, green
 * Paper color: pale yellow, off-white



Type F: Tele-Norm Postalia tape, "TN POSTALIA" underprint
'''F1. Logo of overlapping diamonds containing superimposed letters "T" and "N" above "POSTALIA", the logos connected by wavy lines.'''
 * Tape height: 40mm
 * Tape edges: straight at top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: pink (hard to see)
 * Paper color: white

Type G: Postalia tape, "POSTALIA POSTAGE METERS" underprint


'''G1. Large "POSTALIA" above small "POSTAGE METERS", unframed in field of wavy lines.'''
 * Tape height: 36mm
 * Tape edges: straight edges on all sides
 * Underprint color: gray
 * Paper color: white

'''G2. As G1 but "POSTALIA" above small "POSTAGE METER SYSTEMS".'''
 * Tape height: 36mm
 * Tape edges: straight edges on all sides
 * Underprint color: gray
 * Paper color: white

Type H: Friden tape, "Friden" underprint
'''H1. "Friden" in rectangle with curved top or bottom connected by wavy lines.'''
 * "Friden" in a font with serifs.
 * Tape height: 37mm
 * Tape edges: straight at top and bottom, serrated on the sides
 * Underprint color: yellowish green
 * Paper color: pale yellow

'''H2. "Friden" in font with serifs, in rows.'''
 * No curved lines or any other ornaments.
 * Tape height: 34mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides
 * Underprint color: grayish green
 * Paper color: white



'''H3. As H2 but "Friden" heavier in sanserif font.'''
 * Tape height: 38mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides
 * Underprint color: grayish green
 * Paper color: pale pink, white



Type J: Singer tape, "SINGER" underprint
'''J1. Similar to H3 but with "SINGER".'''
 * Tape height: 34mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides, straight at top and bottom and serrated at the sides
 * Underprint color: grayish green
 * Paper color: pale pink, white



Type K: Hasler tape, "IMS" underprint
'''K1. Logo of four stacked dashes next to "IMS." in stacked syncopated rows.'''
 * Tape height: 41mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides
 * Underprint color: pale blue
 * Paper color: white



Type L: Hasler tape, "ascomHasler" underprint
'''L1. " ascom Hasler" in stacked syncopated rows.'''
 * Tape height: 41mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides
 * Underprint color: pale blue
 * Paper color: white



'''L2. As L1 but "ASCOM" is capitalized.'''
 * Tape height: 41mm
 * Tape edges: straight at all sides
 * Underprint color: pale blue
 * Paper color: white