New print (philately)

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A new print is a reprint of a postage stamp with the use of the original printing plate, which is no longer provided for sale at the post office counter and for postage purposes. An exact definition varies in practice according to each collecting field. In philately the difference between new print and reprint is, that the reprint is not printed with the original material. The reprint has always to be put on a level with forgery. New prints often are arranged by the postal administrations themselves, in order to keep records of the counter sheets or to give them to other postal administrations. New prints also can be postally correctly used, reprints always are forgeries.

In the broader sense official and private new prints are distinguished. According to today's ideas private new prints are to be put on a level with reprints. This especially applies to prints, where not all of the components of the printing material are original. For example those are re-entries for the intaglio or the replacement of relief print types that are no longer available in original.

In the narrower sense new prints are issued by national postal administrations and made from original printing plates after the expiration of postage validity. This definition can also be found in the introduction of current Michel catalogues. In the Michel catalogue Germany the official new prints from 1866 and 1867 of Baden's first issues from 1850 are referred to as new prints, although the original stamps were valid until December 31, 1871. New prints of Thurn und Taxis stamps from 1909 are referred to as new prints, although the postal administration never was governmental. Also two values, which were printed from new plates, are listed as new prints.