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Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2002
Stamp Release #02-068
Postal Service To Offer New Dispenser For Easy-To-Use 'Tape Stamps'
WASHINGTON - Business and residential mailers will soon find a convenient new office helper available at major U.S. Postal Service retail outlets.The new 37-cent Holiday Snowmen stamps scheduled to be issued Oct. 28 will be offered in linerless, self-adhesive coils of 100 stamps, and a limited quantity will be packaged with a newly developed dispenser. The dispenser makes the "Tape Stamps" more convenient than ever.
"The Postal Service is always looking for ways to make life a little bit easier for our customers," said Cathy Caggiano, executive director of Stamp Services. "We've worked very closely with the printer to ensure that these stamps are easy to use yet still meet our quality control standards."
The official first day of issue ceremony for the Holiday Snowmen stamps will take place in Houghton, Mich. Twenty-stamp pane and booklet versions will be available in Houghton starting Oct. 28 and at post offices nationwide beginning the following day.
Three million coils of the Holiday Snowmen Tape Stamps (100 stamps per coil) will be distributed to larger post offices starting Oct. 29. Quantities available at each post office will be determined by prior sales history of coil stamps. Some post offices will also offer the Tape Stamp dispensers.
Postal Stores, which feature open merchandising displays, will offer Tape Stamps in two packaging formats: single coil of 100 stamps (Item No. 781201-$37) and single coil of 100 stamps with reusable dispenser (Item No. 781202-$38).
Packaging for both products will include a customer opinion survey that will help the Postal Service gauge customer interest in the products. The results of the survey will determine future production and distribution plans for the Tape Stamps and dispenser.
Preliminary testing revealed the Tape Stamps are cost effective, environmentally friendly (no extra waste caused by peel-off backing paper) and easy to use. Surveys showed customers liked the new format because coils of Tape Stamps can also be placed into standard one-inch tape dispensers and used like tape. Improvements made since the earlier introduction of linerless coil stamps included making the stamps easier to remove from the coil and the development of the dispenser.
To see the Holiday Snowmen stamps and other 2002 designs, visit the Collector's Corner in the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop and refer to the Release Schedule.
Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by calling 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available at the online Postal Store.
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Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 137 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $65 billion, it is the world's leading provider of postal services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 207 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves 7 million customers each day at its 40,000 retail locations nationwide.
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