The diamond cuts do tell us the order of cuts.
for the typical diamond cut to happen, the sheet would first be cut into strips along the tall sides. Then the strips would have either been put aside, or moved to another cutter that was set for cutting the vertical dimension.
The cutters have an adjustable backsyop that a stack gets pushed against, and usually a side plate that the cards also get pushed against. But a longish strip of cards in a stack of probably about 200 or so is a bit unweildy.
On a modern cutter this is handled by having the back plate be movable. So a sheet or strip (Always in a stack, it wouldn't be done as just one sheet)
is aligned, the waste from one end is cut off, then the plate is moved forward and a stack of cards gets cut off. A good operator will often put in multiple strips if the alignment isn't critical and if there's a big rush to get a batch done.
So for the diamond cuts, either a less adjustable machine was used, or the strip wasn't aligned straight. More likely the latter since the diamond cuts are usually paralell.
There's other interesting stuff that happens to the cuts, One of my cards was rejected as miscut top and bottom edge. When I looked closely, I noticed the cut had a very pronounced lip with a good bit of chipping on the back. It's likely that card was from the bottom of the stack and either the blade or the blade stop strip was worn.
Steve B
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