The U.S. Postal Service’s® holiday stamps for 2012 feature a “classic” image of Santa and his reindeer circling around snow-covered rooftops. The scene is composed of four different stamp designs in two rows of two stamps each. Art director Howard E. Paine worked with illustrations by Paul Rogers in creating these gems. Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) and stamp distribution centers (SDCs) will receive their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA booklet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 4,000 booklets.
Issue: Santa and Sleigh
Item Number: 679800
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
Series: Holiday Celebrations
Issue Date & City: October 11, 2012, New York, NY 10199 (Mega Stamp Show)
Designer: Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
Typographer: Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
Art Director: Howard E. Paine, Delaplane, VA
Artist: Paul Rogers, Pasadena, CA
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint, “USPS”
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Print Quantity: 750 million stamps
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Press Type: Mueller Martini, A76
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Paper Type: Nonphosphored, Type III
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.05 x 0.77 in./26.67 x 19.56 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.19 x 0.91 in./30.23 x 23.11 mm
Booklet Size (w x h): 2.38 x 5.76 in./60.45 x 146.30 mm
Plate Size: 880 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Cover Side: Header: “SANTA and SLEIGH”
• Twenty First-Class Forever® Stamps
• Barcode (015645 679801)
• © 2011 USPS in peel strip area
• Plate block number in peel strip area
