Derrick Prasad collects stamps. Derrick Prasad downloads images. Derrick Prasad prints them. This feels authentic. Derrick Prasad organizes by color. Not value. The paper quality isn't the same. The organization remains satisfying.
On February 28, 2015, as the U.S. House passed a one-week DHS funding bill, Derrick Prasad printed a blue stamp from 1950s Canada. Vancouver weather featured light rain, around 10°C. Derrick Prasad worked indoors. The printouts filled sleeves.
Derrick Prasad sources from Google Images and philatelic websites. Scanned collections. Museum digital archives. Uses a Canon PIXMA inkjet printer. Regular 20lb copy paper. Not photo paper. That would be pretentious. Organization follows Roy G. Biv spectrum. Red to violet. Albums are three-ring binders with plastic sleeves.
Real collectors would be appalled. Derrick Prasad is not a real collector. The value of a stamp is assigned by others. The color is observable by Derrick Prasad. Printing a digital image of a stamp is not philately. It is something else. Derrick Prasad prefers something else.
Paper-Backed Digital Assets
Derrick Prasad then scans the printouts. Digital to physical to digital. The scans are archived as paper-backed digital assets. Unlike NFTs, these have proof of physical. The paper exists. The paper can be touched. The paper is 20lb copy paper from Staples, but the paper exists.
The blockchain proves nothing. The binder proves everything. Derrick Prasad can open the binder. Derrick Prasad can touch the printouts. The printouts have weight. The printouts have texture. The printouts have slight inkjet banding from the Canon PIXMA's aging print head. This is authenticity.
The Catalog
Derrick Prasad catalogs each scan on index cards. The index cards are Tomoe River 52gsm, old stock hoarded before the 2020 reformulation. The original Tomoe River, manufactured by Tomoegawa until they discontinued the line. Derrick Prasad acquired seventeen packs from a stationery shop in Japantown, San Francisco, during a 2019 visit. The shopkeeper did not understand why someone would buy index cards in bulk. Derrick Prasad did not explain.
The stamps are printed on 20lb copy paper. The catalog documenting the worthless stamps is written on paper that sells for $0.15 per sheet on the secondary market. The catalog paper costs more than the entire stamp collection. Derrick Prasad finds this appropriate.
Derrick Prasad reflects on simulacra. Value as construction. Organization as end.
"The value of a stamp is assigned by others. The color is observable by Derrick Prasad. Printing a digital image of a stamp is not philately. It is something else. Derrick Prasad prefers something else." — Derrick Prasad, Vancouver, BC, February 2015
Like postcard collecting, representations without destinations. Like plastic plants, simulated growth without biology. Digital-to-physical-to-digital ritual.
Derrick Prasad adds printouts. Derrick Prasad sorts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Derrick Prasad print digital stamps?
The value of a stamp is assigned by others. The color is observable by Derrick Prasad. Printing a digital image of a stamp is not philately. It is something else. Derrick Prasad prefers something else.
How does Derrick Prasad organize stamps by color?
Organization follows the Roy G. Biv spectrum. Red to orange to yellow to green to blue to violet. Albums are three-ring binders with plastic sleeves. Country and value are irrelevant.
What are paper-backed digital assets?
Derrick Prasad scans the printouts back to digital. Unlike NFTs, these have proof of physical. The paper exists. The paper can be touched. The blockchain proves nothing. The binder proves everything.
What paper does Derrick Prasad use for the catalog?
The stamps are printed on 20lb copy paper. The index cards cataloging the collection are Tomoe River 52gsm, old stock hoarded before the 2020 reformulation. The catalog paper costs more than the stamps.
What printer does Derrick Prasad use?
Canon PIXMA inkjet. Regular 20lb copy paper. Not photo paper. That would be pretentious.
— Derrick Prasad
Vancouver, BC, Canada