Product Description
23 August 2010 - Imperforate Golden Machin Horizon Label first day coverEarly in 2002 after successfully installing computer terminals in all post office branches, Royal Mail followed the lead set by postal authorities elsewhere, by producing at the post office counters labels to be used instead of stamps. These are known as 'Horizon Labels' after the name of the Post Office counter computer system.
An unannounced new Horizon Label, bearing theMachin Head and with die-cut 'perforations', was trialled only at the Branch Post Office at Camden High Street, in London, from Monday 8th June 2009. The new labels were available only for the inland £4.95 Special Delivery service.
These 59 x 65mm labels were printed by De La Rue in lithography, in sheets of 2 tete-beche, as all the Horizon label sheets are fed into the Epson printers on the short side.
Due to problems with the printers caused by the perforations on the original labels, a new imperforate label was introduced, starting at Old Street Post Office London EC1. This was forecast but no specific first day was announced.
This is a plain first day cover which has passed through the post, hence the orange bar-codes, and it has the Old Street counter date stamp for 23 AU 10
Read more about the system and see more pictures here.
