Editing Artistamp (section)

==The artistamp creation process==
[[File:БЛОК МАРОК.jpg|thumb|300px|"Stamp Mint Sheet" by Aleksandr Zolotov, 2009]]

[[File:Post 1211 Mail Art Review Issue.jpg|thumb|200px|right|"Artistamp Book" Issue by mail artist Post 1211. The sheet was printed using a laser printer and was perforated using a "Whizbang" perforator.]]

Artistamps are created as one-off works of art, in [[Limited Edition Art Print|limited editions]], or as mass-produced product. Artistamps have been produced as multiples of one design per sheet; a multitude of designs per page; as [[miniature sheet]]s with a decorative or inclusive border; in booklets; or any combination/size/shape the artist chooses.

Techniques for the creation of artistamps may include perforating the paper to resemble a traditional perforated stamp, as well as applying [[Postage stamp gum|gum]] to the reverse side of the paper. [[Self-adhesive stamp|Self-adhesive]] paper is also used. The image represented on the stamp may be hand-drawn or painted, [[lithography|lithographed]] or [[offset printing|offset-printed]], [[photography|photographed]], [[photocopier|photocopied]], [[Etching|etched]], [[Engraving|engraved]], [[Serigraphy|silk-screened]], [[rubber stamp]]ed, or produced on a digital [[inkjet printer|inkjet]] or [[laser printer|laser]] printer. While the method of production is entirely the choice of the artist, creators who exclusively or primarily use rubber stamps are occasionally held in contempt by members of the artistamp community, some of whom refer to such producers as "bunny-stampers."

The [[personal computer]], personal printer and color photocopier have served to democratize the means of production of artistamps. It is no coincidence that the early 1980s explosion in artistamp creation paralleled the development and widespread use of color photocopiers, and that a similar surge followed the ubiquity of personal computers and inexpensive color printers. Still, the lack of workable, widely available, cheap and accessible perforators have limited the number of artists who can create convincing simulacra of traditional perforated stamps.

Makers of artistamps sometimes apply [[Cancellation (mail)|cancellation]]s to the stamps when affixing them to [[Cover (philately)|covers]];  [[first day of issue]] covers for artistamps also exist.

The rise of the [[Internet]] has seen the development of the concept of the so-called cyberstamp, a digital-only stamp-like image designed primarily to be viewed online and often sent with [[e-mail]]. Cyberstamps also allow the use of [[animation|animated imagery]]. Whether a digital image, however, can be considered a "stamp" at all is a matter of dispute.

Artists working in the stamp art medium often employ fixed-line perforators as part of the creation process. Most functional and sought-after of these machines are cast-iron, pedal-operated devices manufactured beginning in the 1880s by bindery equipment makers like F.P Rosback Co. and Latham Machinery Co. Rosback also produced table-top perforators, but surviving models are exceedingly rare. Other methods for perforating paper to resemble stamp sheets have generally proven unsatisfactory. Such alternative methods used include using sewing machines, sewing pounces, leather punches, modified veterinary needles, and speciality scissors. Some owners of pedal-operated or motorized perforators sell pre-perforated paper and offer perforating services for a fee.

In 2018, postage stamp designer and mail art aficionado Niko Courtelis launched The Portland Stamp Company with his partners in [[Plazm (magazine)|Plazm]]. Artists were enabled to purchase blank, perforated, lick-and-stick stamps or to have their artwork printed on custom stamps at larger scale. Writing in [[Print (magazine)|Print magazine]], design critic [[Steven Heller (design writer)|Steven Heller]] described The Portland Stamp Company's work as making stamps "the old-fashioned way - with perfs and glued backs."<ref name="Heller2020">{{cite web |last1=Heller |first1=Steven |title=The Daily Heller: Lick and Stick |url=https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-lick-and-stick?postId=5f47a963d32f1a0017b42ccc |website=Print magazine |publisher=Print magazine |accessdate=28 September 2020 |date=2 September 2020}}</ref>

In 2005 and 2006, a machinist operating under the name "Dr. Arcane" (Adrian West) manufactured and sold about 20 "Whizbang" perforators. These table-top devices worked well, but were reportedly fragile. In 2020, ten updated versions of the Whizbang perforator were offered by Dr. Arcane for sale on the International Union of Mail-Artists (IUOMA) forum. The new perforator has a solid metal frame that replaced the wooden frame designs of the 2005 and 2006 versions.
<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJzGE_NZaQQ&t=3s| title = TheWhizbang| last = West| first = Adrian| date = September 11, 2020| website = Youtube| access-date = June 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/DrArcane| title = The New Whizbang| last = West| first = Adrian| date = September 23, 2020| website = International Union of Mail-Artists| access-date = June 13, 2024}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

In 2004, the International Brotherhood of Perforator Workers (IBPW), an organization based in Washington, D.C., was established to represent the interests of artists owning and/or operating perforators in the creation of stamp art.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}