FRONTLINE: Postage Stamps That Rock and Roll

Lowe-Martin Group, Ottawa, ON, printed four Canada Post postage stamps (shown) using the MetalFx process and spot metallic color system, commemorating Canadian music icons Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot.

The system allows millions of metallic colors to be printed by adding one MetalFX base silver ink to the usual CMYK mix.

MetalFx incorporates metallic color palettes and plug-in software that has been integrated into mainstream software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Artpro, InDesign, PageMaker, Macromedia Freehand and QuarkXPress.

“The result gives a lustrous sheet to the artists' portraits and lends a 'platinum album' feel to the shiny, disc-shaped stamp booklets and souvenir sheet,” says Robert Peters, president, Circle Design, Winnipeg, the firm that designed the stamps.