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Describing colour has always presented problems when it comes to description and classification. A host of variables can come into play from how any one individual perceives colour, daylight / artificial light,etc.
All Machin stamps printed in (photo)gravure have used Spot Colours i.e. the ink is specifically formulated for the desired colour (process colours (the four colour process) use a combination of Yellow, Magenta, Cyan (lightish blue) and Key (Black) to produce the illusion of a desired colour - this method is used for many multicolour printings - typically Special Issues printed in Litho).
In the case of the Machin stamp, the Queen's Head is set on one of two background types - a solid dark background or a gradated / light background. In turn, the ink mix used can range from dark to light. These factors and others (compression used by the press, doctor blade wiping, etc) can make it difficult to classify colours in a consistent way. Ideally, using areas that have one hundred percent inking such as the Jubilee Lines give the best chance for classifying a colour. The following blocks show Solid (Head B) and Gradated (Head C) background Machins etched on the same cylinder and printed in a single colour - one block in a lightish dull blue colour and the other in a lightish dull mauve colour. These demonstrate how colour perception is challenged by the amount of ink used for differing background types.- the solid background images have a deeper etch resulting in the ink cells being flooded with ink whereas in the case of the gradated background images the ink cells can be very shallow (on the right hand side of the Queens head) resulting in a lot less ink being picked up by the cell.
With the transition from photogravure cylinders (acid etched) to gravure (directly engraved image) cylinders, a further variable was introduced as can be seen from the following two 43p printings. In the case of the acid etched method, the etch depth was the result of exposing the cylinder to varying combinations of acid for varying amounts of time - this being controlled by the expert eye of the skilled craftsman, whereas in the case of the directly engraved image cylinders (for any given colour) it should be possible to produce cylinders of a consistent and precise quality if unchanged engraving parameters are used.
Other components that can effect the colour perception include - overprints such as phosphor bands, varnish coating, iriodin inks and iridescent inks (gives dirty impression).
Photogravure / Gravure inks are liquid / fluid inks and are different from those used for Litho which are paste / greasy inks and this adds a further variable when trying to produce consistent colours.
Some colours seem to produce a greater range of variations than others - as an example the 9p Deep Violet (this colour was also used for the 18p and 28p values with the same Head Type). When this was the prevailing first class tariff rate (13th June 1977 to 19th August 1979) a raft of printings where issued and these gave many colour variations which could range from Bluish Violet to almost Grey.
The 1p Crimson and 2p Green values have been in use from the outset of the decimal period in 1971 (40 years plus) with both values retaining the same notional colour throughout. Again, a range of colour variations exist, some subtle others quite marked. Royal Mail now call the 1p Maroon and the 2p Dark Green.
The colour names used are those designated in Stanley Gibbons - Specialised Stamp Catalogue Volume 4 : Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Definitive Issues. They use the convention of specific colours with qualifiers such as dark, light, etc, whereas Royal Mail, in certain cases, use more ambiguous terms such as Rhododendron, Rust, Sea Green, etc. Clearly, some of the colour names allocated by SG are problematically - Violet (5½p is equated to 24p, 27p and 97p). Colours in square brackets are the Royal Mail names that appear as Colour Imprints on counter sheets.