Laurel has once again ruled on certain submissions from the College of Heralds of Lochac. Here’s the good news:

Eliza de Horsley. Device. Gules, a horse passant contourny and a bordure embattled Or.
Godric von Eichsfeld. Name.
Kiara de Fae. Device change. Per pale sable and argent vêtu ployé vert, an estoile counterchanged.

Sadly, there were also some returns. Thyri skjaldmaer, Rocket Herald, will be in touch to discuss this shortly.

Now for some news that some people have been waiting for.

As you know, heraldic submissions of devices and badges must be coloured in using good quality textas (marker pens, if you’re not Antipodean) and you need six colour copies and one in outline: one colour copy for yourself, one for your consulting herald, and four plus the outline copy for the submissions process. Colour printing, whether inkjet or laser, and colour photocopies, are not acceptable, due to the very real possibility that the colours could shift over time — reds turning orange, greens turning brown, purples turning fuchsia and other colours degrading in counter-intuitive ways. So every submission requires an insane amount of colouring-in.

Six months ago, Master William Castille approached me about this situation, and asked permission to run a test. The knowledge we have of printer and copier technology is old, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to allow policy to remain unchallenged, so with the Laurel King of Arm’s agreement I approved the test.

William conscripted several volunteers all around the kingdom and produced a testing regime of reasonable scientific integrity. He examined the performance of various colour printers compared to textas, subjected to various weather conditions over a suitable time period. When he finished, he summarised his results thus: that the colour-fastness of colour printing is equal or superior to that of the texta inks under identical conditions.

I have therefore advised Thyri Rocket, my submissions deputy, to allow colour printed versions of device and badge submissions from this moment on, under certain conditions.

First: no colour printed submission will be accepted unless it includes clear and complete information about the technology used to produce it: colour printer or photocopier make, model and age, and the source of the inks or toners, whether original or generic remanufactured. This information allows us to continue the experiment and gather essential information.

Second: if, by the time the submission reaches Rocket Herald or Laurel King of Arms, it has degraded or shifted significantly, it will be returned for a redraw, and Rocket Herald will not accept the redraw done using the same technology. So if your colour print doesn’t cut the mustard, it’s back to textas for the redraw.

Finally, this rule will be eternally probationary. If we discover that certain types of hardware are not up to scratch, the ban on colour printing and copying will return in part, perhaps limiting the technology (inkjet, laser, etc), or even in full. This will be notified in the usual way. We will also maintain a page on the Herald’s website where you can track the performance of the various technologies.

I am sure this will come as a relief for everyone, especially those who, like me, hate colouring-in with a passion.

I remain, in fealty and service,

: Karl Faustus von Aachen, Crux Australis :