Beautiful and minimalist new postage stamp celebrating concrete in architecture uses cement pigment

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Originally published at: Beautiful and minimalist new postage stamp celebrating concrete in architecture uses cement pigment | Boing Boing

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Good job it’s Swiss Post and not Royal Mail.
Now would not be a good time to issue a concrete stamp in UK.

(Apologies if this is seen as a derail - not intended.)

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cement pigments?!
that must be hell on the printing plates, ink train, rollers - the whole goddamn press!
this old pressman says “yikes!”

ETA: “added to the ultra matte finish” points to it being an overprint varnish or other coating that could be applied on a screen press, much like a glitter UV coating.

still a cool stamp! would love to feel one.

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Hey, I used to set stuff up for printing presses. OMG what a PITA compared to digital POD. You had to tweak artworks positioning specific to the exact press it would be printed on.

It says it uses a pigment- but, like what is that made out of?

Ditto

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Helvetia 110? Is that the font they used?

(kidding. The Swiss call their country the Confederation of Helvetica)

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Brutal!

My school was closed down for a fair chunk of time while it was treated to repair its high alumina cement construction. This was back in the 70s. :older_man:

Maybe the concrete dust was mixed in to the glue on the back :stuck_out_tongue::confounded::nauseated_face:

Like the Brits call their country United Comic Sans?

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Someone licks the stamp: “Hm. Lovely glow of International Style, with hints of Bauhaus.”

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Thought that was a post by the Onion.

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110 is how many cents the stamp is worth.

Swiss minimalism, pour le win.

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Cents? Centimes, sure, but cents?

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tumblr_mdqdku9kwn1rhgyobo1_400

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Cents is English for centimes, in the same way that kilograms is Swiss for pounds.

(It pays to know your audience!)

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because “fuck you metric system!”

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Having flashbacks now to my printing career. The smell of MEK comes flooding back.

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ahh, the smell of methyl ethyl ketone in the morning [deep inhale].
smells like…
letterpress!

side note (to stay partly on topic): i actually do print non-postage postage stamps by engraving, etching and letterpress in my home studio.
not going to be using any cement in the process, however.

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Guys used to smoke while they cleaned the press with an MEK-soaked rag in the 1980’s.
Then they all died of cancer at 62. It was a mystery why.

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Methyl-Ethyl-Death

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Indiana Jones GIF

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