DKPA : FREE Perforation Gauge

What is a perforation gauge? The earliest stamps did not have holes or perforations on them so that you could tear out the stamp before sticking them to the envelope. These stamps are called imperforate. They were cut with scissors or blade. The Irishmen Henry Archer is considered to be the inventor of perforation. He sold his patent to the British Ministry of Finance. The number of perforations in a 2 cm length of stamp is called the perforation number or Perf. They are a good way of identifying stamps. If you sit and measure the perforation number, by counting the holes in 2 cm, for all your stamps, you will give up philately in a day.

Perforation gauges are used to measure the perforation number of a stamp. There are two types of perf gauges (i) a line type and (ii) spot type ( see tools and tips ). This perf gauge I have designed has the advantage of being FREE :) and the advantages of the line type (basically accuracy) and the spot type (basically ease of use). Try it out !

Download the PDF format Perforation Gauge. You require the Adobe Acrobat reader to print this file. You can download the reader from the Adobe site ( Download Adobe Acrobat Reader ) if you do not have one already installed on your PC.

Using the Perf Gauge is easy. Align the stamp such that the perforation on the extreme left is aligned with the 0.0 vertical line. Move the stamp up or down till all the perforation lines coincide with the perforations of the stamp as shown below. Observe the extreme right hand side perforations. Read out the perforation Number from the right hand side. Easy ?

No? If you still have doubts don't hesitate to email me.

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