The color selection is the next stage of the of the stamp production process. Since the 1950's, most issues of France and its former colonies have been printed in a combination of three colors; since the 1960's, some issues have contained as many as six colors. Trial Color Plate Proofs are prepared to enable the French Postal Administration to choose among a number of colors in various combinations.
Trial Color Plate Proofs are printed in full sheets. The arrangement for a stamp printed in sheets of 25 will usually be as follows:
•The first three rows are unicolor; each row is a different color.
•The fourth row shows a repetition of one color.
•The fifth row shows various combinations of the three colors.
Because of this arrangement, many collectors prefer these proofs in strips of five; containing one stamp from each row. A full sheet of Trial Color Plate Proofs is the jewel of any collection.
The ink colors used are usually described on one side of the sheet in pencil codes. Trial Color Plate Proofs exist solely for engraved issues. Only about four hundred to seven hundred Trial Color Plate Proofs are released and distributed to high government officials.
