Great Britain
Plate Proofs
A Plate Proof impression would be taken from the 'printing base' (i.e. the plate from which the stamps would be printed) after it had been constructed in order to check the layout, alignment and details of every individual impression. Often the plate did need some modifications or correction at this stage of production and these were often marked on the proofs, indicating the problems to be attended to. In the past, such proofs were retained in the printer's archives, but since these have been dispersed some are now more readily available, and are of considerable interest to specialists.