A Printing Mistake Just Sold for More Than $2 Million

Meet the ‘Inverted Jenny.’

The Inverted Jenny was a misprint of a stamp created in 1918 to commemorate the start of regular airmail service. In the early 1900’s printing was done one color at a time and in a rush to print the stamps before the inaugural flight the printer made a batch with the ‘Jenny” biplane flying upside down.

Once the Post Office discovered the mistake, they stopped circulation of nearly all the misprints, except for a sheet of 100 that was sold to the public. In the last 200 years, those stamps have become the most famous and sought after treasure in the stamp world.

Printing mistakes happen all the time.

If you realize that you have made a mistake on a printed job – call the printer and ask for suggestions. We are always willing to reprint a portion of the job or reprint the job at a discount.

Any printer who tells you – “too bad, you signed the proof” will not be in business very long. Having a long relationship with the person who made a mistake is the goal in offering a solution. Years ago, one of the designers at HNTB made a mistake on a big brochure because she didn’t run spell check – we fixed it at no cost, and I have now enjoyed a 25-year relationship with that company.

But sometimes it’s just not possible. Sometimes the cost is too high, and the customer too irate for any kind of recovery. It happens.

One final word of advice: Always run spell check. Always.