Portal:Philately/Selected article archive/9

Postage stamp separation describes methods for making postage stamps easily detachable from each other in the sheet or pane they were originally printed on. The three most often encountered methods of separation are perforation (cutting rows and columns of small holes), rouletting (small horizontal and vertical cuts) and diecutting (cut paper to shape using a metal die) - frequently used for self-adhesive stamps.

With the introduction of the Penny Black in 1840 and until the 1850s all stamps were imperforate and had to be cut from the sheet with scissors or knife. This was both time-consuming and error-prone.