• Postage Hq
• Everything you need to know about postage
• The Facts About Us Postage
• Postage Stamp Art - Beautiful And Historical
• The Current Rates For Postage
• The Facts About Postage Stamps
• Benefits Of Internet Postage
• Rates For Us Postage
• Using Postal Meters
• Can You Get A Postage Discount?
• The Postage Meter: Saving Money And Time
• Postage Stamp Supplies
• Benefits Of Buying Rebuilt Mailing Equipment
• A Stamp For Every Holiday
• History And How-tos Of A Postage Stamp Collection
• The Philatelist And His Stamps
• Everything you need to know about postage
• The Increase In Postage Price
• The Facts About Postage Stamps
• Us Postage Stamps, A Necessary Part Of Our Society
• Why Stamp Collecting Is Perfect For Kids
• Finding The Best Postage Scales
• The Benefits Of Using Mailing Equipment
• The Facts About Postage Meters
• Valuable Postage Stamps
• The Fun Of Personalized Postage Stamps

The Fun Of Personalized Postage Stamps

First there were personalized license plates, and now personalized postage stamps. Also known as photo stamps, these are real stamps, with real postage, and authorized by the United States Postal Service. The only difference is these stamps can bear the picture of a consumer's family, pets or hobby on them. Two different websites were instrumental in the creation of the version seen today.

Originally introduced in 2004, personalized postage stamps became the first personalized postage item. The website, thesmokinggun.com, always on the search for illegal processes of people and/or items, tried creating their own set of stamps using objectionable people such as Jimmy Hoffa, Ted Kaczinksi, and Monica Lewinsky, which was supposed to be not allowed by this new service. Astonishingly, they were successful.

Shortly after The Smoking Gun published this information, the rules were changed and photos of adults and teenagers were banished from use on the photo stamps, in the hopes of avoiding any potential problems.. Eventually stamps.com sorted everything out, and allowed pictures of adults and teenagers again. However, they decided to not allow any photo representations of celebrities or politicians. There has been no report of trouble since.

Within the laws of printing personalized postage stamps, a picture of a newborn baby can be used on a stamp to mail out birth announcements. A photo of a newly married couple on their wedding day can be printed on stamps and used for their thank you notes. A family photo can be imprinted on stamps and used to mail out Christmas cards. Flowers in bloom can be used to commemorate the beginning of spring at someone's home. Even the family dog can be put on a postage stamp just for fun.

The process of printing photo stamps is quite easy. First a photo needs to be uploaded to the database of the stamps.com website. This can be from either a favorite photo scanned in, or also from a digital camera source. The photos may then be manipulated by changing the size and/or adding a border. After a rate is chosen, and the order placed, the customer should receive the order in one to five days, depending on shipping options.

Now that all the kinks have been worked out of the process, printing personalized postage stamps can be quick and easy. The next time you receive a card or a letter, you never know whose face might be smiling up at you.