U.S. Postal Service stamp printer Sennett Security Products comes under new ownership

By Michael Baadke

The United States Postal Service still has two stamp printing firms under contract, but the ownership of one firm has changed.

USPS spokesman Mark Saunders told Linn’s Stamp News that CCL Label of Clinton, S.C., has purchased longtime stamp printer Sennett Security Products and its Banknote Corporation of America operation.

As a result, stamps printed from this merger “will carry the BCA mark,” according to the Postal Service.

There is no change for the other USPS contract printer, Ashton Potter of Williamsville, N.Y.

Banknote Corporation for Sennett Security Products is listed as the printer of the Quilled Paper Heart forever stamp to be issued Jan. 12.

The name CCL Label is relatively new in the U.S. stamp printing arena. After obtaining the Avery Dennison stamp printing division in 2013, CCL (with plate numbers beginning with the prefix “C”), printed the set of five nondenominated (10¢) Snowflakes presorted standard coil stamps issued Oct. 1, 2013 (Scott 4808-4812).

After the Forever Hearts set of two nondenominated (49¢) forever stamps were issued this year on Jan. 22 (Scott 4955-4956), Linn’s reported that after the printing contracts expired, the Postal Service chose to use just two security printers instead of three, and the new contracts continued the USPS relationship with Sennett and Ashton Potter only.

Banknote Corporation of Browns Summit, N.C., has been consistently listed as the printer and processor of stamps for Sennett over the past few years.

This new merger keeps the number of contract printers at two, but reintroduces CCL in the stamp printing picture, though it appears the stamps not printed by Ashton Potter will continue to be printed by Banknote Corporation.