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Stamp collectors need to distinguish the different printing methods used to produce stamps. The words typography, lithography, engraved and photolithography meant nothing to me at first. Considering I was new at this, I was prepared for a long drawn out technical explanation of each, but to my surprise it was rather simple. In less than an hour I was identifying the major types of printing. Some were a little more difficult than others and I still make mistakes, but I'm getting better all the time.

Here's a quick primer:

Engraved is perhaps the easiest to identify. The ink lies on top of the paper, by sliding your finger lightly across the stamp, you can feel the ridges of the ink. Ridges can clearly be seen using a 10 power magnifying glass. The ink is so high on some stamps that you can easily feel it with your fingernail.

Typography is just the opposite of engraving. The ink is pressed into the paper, similar to a typewriter. With a 10 power magnifying glass you can see that the paper rises above the ink. The color seems below the surface of the paper.

Lithography and photo-lithography are a little more difficult to determine. These stamps usually are of the poorest printing quality. They often lack fine detail, being made up of lines of various lengths and thickness. The simplest way to describe it is to first look for the darkest part of the stamp. You'll find the color is made up of tiny dots instead of being solid. It's not hard to see the little dots using a magnifying glass.

There are many other ways stamps are printed, but I think for the novice collector, the above four printing methods cover the greatest number of stamps.

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