Post Office - Postal Service

Nov. 11, 1973 - This off-white phosphor powder (foreground), which glows green under ultra-violet light, is being used to trigger high speed machines in Canadian post offices that automatically face and cancel 25, 000 letters per hour. Invented by scientists at the General Electric Research and Development Center, Schenectady, N.Y. the new organic phosphor is mixed into a transparent ink to print invisible narrow bands along the vertical edged of Canadian postage stamps (shown here under an ultraviolet light). When envelopes bearing the stamps are passed through special equipment now being installed in 14 major post offices across Canada, the green glow from the GE phosphor will trigger high-speed machines that can automatically face and cancel 25, 000 letters per hour. Dr. Joseph G. Wirth (left) and Dr. Charles M. Orlando prepared and tested some 80 different compounds during an intensive program at the GE Research and Development Center aimed at developing organic phosphors for such uses as sorting and tracing of bank checks, airport baggage handling, and tagging and sorting of parts on industrial assembly lines. The green-glowing organic phosphor is manufactured by the Chemical Products Section of General Electric's Lamp Business Division, Cleveland, Ohio

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Aimed Automatically Baggage Bands Cancel Checks Chemical Cleveland Compounds Developing Envelopes Glow Glows Handling High-speed Installed Intensive Invented Invisible Manufactured Mixed Off-white Ohio Organic Orlando Passed Phosphor Postage Powder Prepared Schenectady Scientists Sorting Stamps Tagging Tested Tracing Transparent Trigger Ultra-violet Uses Wirth

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