Originally Posted by Lunker21
Ok... Im looking for resources to understand how the T206 were printed.
I have scratched the surface to understand the notion of player repeats in columns, with multiple players in same column. (From cards with same name top bottom, and some w different player over/under)
And different players in each row. (From cards w diff players side to side)
...and obviously different backs and factories.
Quick questions...
1)How were the presses set up for the different colors for one player?
(7 different presses? One for each color plate? All arranged with the same AAAABBBB columns and ACEG columns?) So like 42 plates x 7 presses for one player card run?
Typically the plate for each color would be used, then the next one and so on. The sheer size of the print runs most likely meant multiple presses, maybe not the 8 plus a back, but more than one.
2)What were the plates? Stone? Metal?
Simple answer- Stones. Huge about 2-4" thick slabs of specially prepared limestone
Longer answer - We know for sure that stone plates were used for at least some of them. There's a card that someimes comes with a nail impression that essentially could only be from a flatbed press printing from stones.
But..... It was a time of technological change in printing, and there is a bit of evidence that a two color press may have also been used, which would probably be metal plates. It's also possible that a press that printed from a roll of cardstock rather than from individual sheets was used for some and that would probably have been metal plates.
3)once fronts printed all colors, Were all backs printed centrally, then cut, then shipped to diff factories for 'fac stamp' (on cut cards?)
.. or were all fronts printed centrally, shipped large, then backs/fac# printed in separate locations, then cut?
... or were there multiple sets of plates for same player at separate print shops? (So fronts, backs, factory # printed in different locations, then cut?)
They would have been printed all in the same plant. And probably cut in the same plant too. Then delivered to the appropriate factory as finished product.
Has there been any comparison on prints of a single pose from one factory vs another? (Meaning... if there were multiple plate sets, were there slight differences?)
...and if there arent differences between sungle pose from different factories, does that imply a single set of plates for a player pose, shipped factory to factory?
Yes! A few of us have done this. The back front combinations also fit into groups. (if you want to get into this.... welcome to the crazy club!)
Fronts were most likely printed generically then given backs to match an order from a particular brand.
...and what happened to the plates? Not a single remains? Metal and melted for war? Stone and resurfaced?
The stones were large and expensive. They were almost always resurfaced and redone with new transfers.
The master stones that transfers were printed from are actually not all that expensive for stuff other than cards.
There are a couple out there with cards, ne hockey card and I think one other. But the large stones were all resurfaced and reused. (Now that I've put it as an absolute thing one will turn up tomorrow... )
...finally, overprints... if a fac 30 ny being overprint by fac42 nc... front and back printed at fac30 ny.. then cut.. then shipped to fac42 nc to overprint?
If overprint by whole big sheet... all 'offsets' of a miss should occur in exact same (wrong) spot on the number of cards on the sheet...
Are there any examples of an overprint error in exact same wrong spot on different players?
Overprints were probably done on complete sheets at the printer. Alternately, they might have done partial sheets on a smaller press, but I think that's unlikely. The location of the overprint would be subject to the same registration issues and/or the same faulty layout issues any of the other colors were. Overprint position relative to the subject on the front is something I don't think has been studied in any detail yet. But it's a good avenue to look into.
Thanks in advance!
Craig
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