---
title: "What is a Postage stamp made of?"
description: "Coated paper with phosphor bands, printed in security inks, on either water-activated gum or a self-adhesive. Every component, the material it uses, and the constrai"
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/postage-stamp/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Postage stamp made of?

**What is a Postage stamp made of?: Coated paper with phosphor bands, printed in security inks, on either water-activated gum or a self-adhesive.**

The switch to self-adhesives broke a century of philatelic practice. Collectors traditionally soaked used stamps off envelopes in warm water, which dissolves dextrin gum and leaves the stamp clean; acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive does not dissolve, and soaking a modern stamp usually ruins it. The workaround is to cut the paper around the stamp and keep it on backing paper, or to use a citrus-based solvent. Perforations themselves were a Victorian invention — before 1854 clerks cut stamps apart with scissors — and the gauge of the perforations, measured in holes per two centimetres, is still one of the main ways a stamp is identified.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| paper | coated wood-free paper, sometimes with fluorescent fibres | A hard, coated surface takes the very fine engraved and gravure printing that makes a stamp hard to copy. |
| phosphor | phosphorescent bands printed over or under the design | Sorting machines find and orient the letter by these bands, and the number of bands used to encode the postage rate. |
| gum (traditional) | dextrin or gum arabic | Both are water-soluble starch or plant gums that stay inert dry and become tacky with a lick — and both are edible. |
| gum (modern) | pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive on a silicone-coated release liner | Self-adhesives survive humidity that would make a licked stamp curl and stick to itself in the sheet. |
| security features | die-cut simulated perforations, iridescent overprints, microtext | A stamp is a bearer instrument worth real money, so it is printed with the same thinking as a banknote at a fraction of the budget. |

## Other stationery and paper objects

- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/) — Graphite mixed with clay and fired, glued inside two grooved halves of softwood. No lead, ever.
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/) — Cellulose fibres from wood pulp, plus up to a third mineral filler, sizing and brightener.
- [Ballpoint pen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/ballpoint-pen/) — A tungsten carbide ball a millimetre across, rolling in a brass socket, fed by thick oil-based ink.
- [Glitter](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glitter/) — Aluminium-coated polyester film, colour-coated and chopped into fragments — by definition a microplastic.
- [Crayon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/crayon/) — Paraffin wax with pigment stirred in, poured hot into a mould and cooled. Almost nothing else.
- [Cardboard](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cardboard/) — Two flat kraft paper liners glued either side of a fluted paper medium — the flutes do all the work.
- [Eraser](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/eraser/) — Either natural rubber with fine abrasive and oil, or plasticised PVC — two different ways of lifting graphite.
- [Blackboard chalk](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chalk/) — Mostly calcium sulfate — plaster of Paris — rather than the calcium carbonate the name suggests.
- [Playing card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/playing-card/) — Two sheets of paper laminated around a black glue core, then coated in plastic — or solid PVC.

## Common questions

### What is a Postage stamp made of?

Coated paper with phosphor bands, printed in security inks, on either water-activated gum or a self-adhesive.

### What is the paper of a Postage stamp made of?

Coated wood-free paper, sometimes with fluorescent fibres. A hard, coated surface takes the very fine engraved and gravure printing that makes a stamp hard to copy.

### What is the phosphor of a Postage stamp made of?

Phosphorescent bands printed over or under the design. Sorting machines find and orient the letter by these bands, and the number of bands used to encode the postage rate.

## Related pages

- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Ballpoint pen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/ballpoint-pen/)
- [Glitter](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glitter/)
- [Crayon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/crayon/)
- [Cardboard](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cardboard/)
- [Eraser](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/eraser/)
- [Blackboard chalk](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chalk/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)
- [Soccer ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soccer-ball/)
- [Marshmallow](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/marshmallow/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)