December's slogan postmarks already started in November with the early appearance of the Shop Early slogan. We didn't expect more but see below for a surprise late use.
All slogan postmarks will be shown here for December; please check for latest updates before spending your time scanning, but if you have something new or another format, then please do send it in for publication. And look out for anything from machines brought out of reserve instead of from an ink-jet machine!
UPDATE 9 November: This comment from 'Mudgie' is worth repeating here, because it covers both 'Universal' and ink-jet working.
If I’m correct in thinking that the Universal machines are what Royal Mail refers to as Stamp Cancelling Machines, SCMs, then there shouldn’t be any in use now.
I’ve just found Royal Mail’s instructions to their Mail Centres about a ‘Stamp Cancellation Process Change’ and it includes “Tests
have shown that if the barcode is over printed with a cancellation mark
it may renders (sic) it unreadable, which will have an impact on future
initiatives”
“From Mid-October, the cancellation zone, quality mark
& slogan will be moved to the left on IMPs and iLSMs, the wavy lines
will be reduced to 3 and the ‘delivered by RM’ messaging will be
removed”.
“Barcoded Stamps must not be put through a Stamp Cancelling
Machine (SCM) as this will place a cancellation mark over the barcode. A
decision has been made to cease all use of SCMs and instead items are
to be manually hand stamped until a long tem solution can be found”.
We still don’t know what “future initiatives” means but surely “tests” should have been carried out before not after the barcoded stamps were introduced and seeking “a long term solution now” at this stage is incredible.
“Items are to be manually hand stamped” will only occur very rarely, especially during the Christmas Pressure, and it’ll probably be about half and half pencancelled and uncancelled.
From 12 November. Royal Mail started the 'Post Early'
campaign two weeks earlier than last year, but repeating the same
slogan.
Shop Early,
Send Early this
Christmas
send.royalmail.com
Used at Croydon Mail Centre 1-12-2021, thanks to for RW for this one.
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| Shop Early, Send Early slogan Croydon Mail Centre 01-12-2021 |
Update: PC has sent an example of the other layout from Tyneside NE/SR Mail Centre also on 01/12/2021
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| Shop Early, Send Early slogan Tyneside Mail Centre 01-12-2021 |
UPDATE 9 December: Square envelopes often receive a variation on the usual slogans, especially if processed sideways through the machines. This year's offering from Sheffield Mail Centre on 08/12/2021 is reversed as expected, and without the 'Delivered by' segment. However the three wavy lines are not spaced as they should be and would be in the regular format*. (Delivered on 9 December.)
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| 'Shop Early' slogan in reverse format on square envelope processed sideways, showing the three wavy lines close-spaced rather than wide as should be the case*. Sheffield Mail Centre 08/12/2021 |
*UPDATE 10 December: I've been told that the spacing of the wavy lines on square envelopes processed sideways is deliberate to keep the lines away from the barcode.
North & West Yorkshire's impression is similarly laid out but this image shows two impressions, one each on 7 & 8 December. The only hint of a second slogan is a doubled 'S' at the start of the second line, but I may be mistaken. Thanks to AJ for this one.
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| 'Shop Early' slogan in reverse format on square envelope processed sideways, showing the three wavy lines close-spaced rather than wide as should be the case. Two impressions, one possibly with no slogan North & West Yorkshire Mail Centre 07 & 08/12/2021 |
At a time when the Mail Centres are busier than ever it seems that there are a lot of envelopes being cancelled twice in different locations. RW sent this picture showing both of the Shop Early layouts, from Exeter and Manchester Mail Centres.
UPDATE 17 December: My thanks to JN for this three-line version from Norwich Mail Centre on 13-12-2021 on a c5 envelope.
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| Shop Early, Send Early slogan, 3 line version from Norwich 13-12-2021 |
UPDATE 13 December: These should be in the 'other postmarks' section because they show what happens when you don't get a slogan. I believe this format of cancellation is supposed to be used when the machinery
cannot determine whether the stamp is 'good', ie on the Stamp Image
Database (clearly not the case here). When the shallow ink-jet cancellation is used, only two wavy lines now appear, as a result of the changes to accommodate datamatrix stamps. If I am right these two show both IMP and ILSM output.
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| Two wavy lines, North & West Yorkshire 07/12/2021 |
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| Two wavy lines, Norwich 09-12-2021 |
UPDATE 16 December: KD has sent this picture of a double-cancelled Christmas stamp. The Shop Early slogan used at Peterborough on 14 December is straightforward, but there is a new one GET BOOSTED NOW at Nottingham Mail Centre on 16/12/2021.
GET BOOSTED NOW
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New GET BOOSTED NOW slogan at Nottingham 16/12/2021 overprinting a Shop Early slogan at Peterborough on 14-12-2021. |
UPDATE 17 December: JonE on Stampboards.com has posted this earlier one from Peterborough Mail centre on 15-12-2021
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| Get Boosted slogan from Peterborough 15-12-2021 |
UPDATE 4 January: At last a chance to go through our own incoming mail and find some more examples. Firstly a clean example of the Nottingham layout shown above, from Manchester Mail Centre on 18/12/2021.
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| Get Boosted Now slogan from Manchester Mail Centre 18/12/2021 |
Next, two examples of the reverse layout on square envelopes processed on the wrong side. As explained earlier these have the three wavy lines close-spaced on the left so as to hit the stamp but not the barcode. Of course if the positioning of either the stamp or the postmark is wrong, the effect is lost.
1. Almost correct from Gatwick Mail Centre 17/12/2021; 2. postmark placed too far left from Nottingham Mail Centre 18/12/2021, and whilst the Boosted slogan's size meant that the barcode is clear, that wouldn't apply to most slogans, including the Action for Health default.
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| Get Boosted Now slogan from Gatwick Mail Centre 17/12/2021, reversed and tightly positioned. |
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| Get Boosted Now slogan from Nottingham Mail Centre 18/12/2021, reversed and misplaced. |
UPDATE 31 December: Thank you for a number of contributions immediately before and over Christmas. As we have, I think, realised, sometimes the slogan is added in a second pass through the machines - or not, as this one from KC shows. Plymouth and Cornwall 22/12/2021 inkjet with no slogan and no wavy lines: a minimalist approach?
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| Plymouth and Cornwall Mail Centre 22/12/2021 with no slogan or wavy lines! |
UPDATE 5 January: I suggested that the Booster campaign might be replaced by the Action for Children default slogan for the start of 2022 and indeed it started on 31 December for delivery early in the new year. So this picture qualifies here as well as on a new January Slogans post - because it shows usage from South Midlands Mail Centre on 31-12-2021 and Bristol (BA BS GL TA) Mail Centre 02/01/2012. Thanks to PC for this.
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| Default 'Action for Children' slogan used at South Midlands Mail Centre on 31-12-2021 and Bristol (BA BS GL TA) Mail Centre 02/01/2012 |
GBCC on the Stampboards forum reports this late use of October's Breast Cancer Awareness slogan used in SE Wales on 01/12/2021,
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| Late use of Breast Cancer Awareness slogan at SE Wales on 01/12/2021 |
MG points out that this reversion includes the 7 lines instead of 3, and the Royal Mail logo at the left. I expect that it will soon be corrected so if you have another date, please let us know.
Although I don't normally show anything other than Royal Mail slogans, I thought this one from Jersey that RW sent recently was worthwhile - for the postmark and the cover. Happy Christmas Bouan Noué from Jersey Post.
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| Jersey Post Happy Christmas slogan 01.12.21 with Norimont Tower Post & Go stamp. |
'UNIVERSALS' usage. 4 December 2021. My thanks to JN for sending this example of Peterborough SCM10 dated 2021 on this year's 2nd class stamp, thus qualifying as the first example of a 'Universal' postmark pressed into service this year.
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| Peterborough SCM10 'Universal' type postmark used 2021, reported 4 December. |
UPDATE 9 December: My thanks to MM for sending this image of a Darlington MLO4[?] usage used recently.
[JE writes: This die has been used in recent years at Tyneside Mail Centre (Gateshead), which took on the Darlington and Teesside (Middlesbrough) Mail Centre areas in 2013. Tyneside has also used a Teesside die year-round.]
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| Darlington MLO4[?] used during December 2021. |
UPDATE 13 December: This one arrived here today; the sender of the card may be in the Newcastle area, but without the date die, and the central wavy lines (others are upright) we can't be sure where it comes from. All we know is that it is 2021 using an old stamp.
UPDATE 11 December: JE has sent this example from North & West Yorkshire (Leeds) die 4, used on 9 DEC 2021, with a clear snowman slogan, 'Happy Christmas' Please Post Early.
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| North & West Yorkshire die 4 (Leeds) 'Happy Christmas' snowman slogan 9 DEC 2021. |
UPDATE 19 December: I'm assured this one from MM is from Tyneside, but who would know. I can;t remember when I last saw a new use of the October census diamond - though doubtless one of you will remind me!
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| 2021 usage, apparently in Tyneside of the wavy lines and a mail census diamond! |
UPDATE 31 December: GF has sent this one which is presumed to be used at Belfast (as the addressee is in Northern Ireland) on 23 DEC 2021, 11 days after the stamps were missed by the machine in Zwolle, Netherlands.
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| Probably Belfast use of a Universal machine on 23 December 2021. |
UPDATE 5 January: Thanks to JG for these Peterborough -A- (undated) and Lerwick ( 8 XII 2021) examples. This is a different Peterborough die to that shown earlier. It does make you wonder why they need so many extra machines when the volume of social mail is said to be falling so much.
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| Confirmed from Lerwick, Universal machine used 8 XII 2021 |
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| Peterborough -A- die in Universal machine December 2021. |
UPDATE 4 January: Our postbag also included some non-standard sizes/shapes which were cancelled with packet handstamps. One from Norwich Mail Centre NR1 1AA postmarked 14 DEC 2021 but apparently that date is an overstamp of the date only, as there is an another one which seems to be 12th. The other is from Sheffield Mail Centre S9 2XX postmarked 20 DEC 202.
Remember, all postmarks appearing in December will be added to this post, so check here before you spend time scanning and emailing. I'll try to add new ones as quickly as possible.
And get ready for the back-up use of Universals during the Christmas posting season!
Thanks for your contributions - more from Christmas etc will be welcome. And let's start collecting for January 2022!
If I’m correct in thinking that the Universal machines are what Royal Mail refers to as Stamp Cancelling Machines, SCMs, then there shouldn’t be any in use now.
ReplyDeleteI’ve just found Royal Mail’s instructions to their Mail Centres about a ‘Stamp Cancellation Process Change’ and it includes
“Tests have shown that if the barcode is over printed with a cancellation mark it may renders (sic) it unreadable, which will have an impact on future initiatives”
“From Mid-October, the cancellation zone, quality mark & slogan will be moved to the left on IMPs and iLSMs, the wavy lines will be reduced to 3 and the ‘delivered by RM’ messaging will be removed”
“Barcoded Stamps must not be put through a Stamp Cancelling Machine (SCM) as this will place a cancellation mark over the barcode. A decision has been made to cease all use of SCMs and instead items are to be manually hand stamped until a long tem solution can be found”.
We still don’t know what “future initiatives” means but surely “tests” should have been carried out before not after the barcoded stamps were introduced and seeking “a long term solution now” at this stage is incredible.
“Items are to be manually hand stamped” will only occur very rarely, especially during the Christmas Pressure, and it’ll probably be about half and half pencancelled and uncancelled.