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Old 09-04-2014, 01:21 PM
steve B steve B is offline
Steve Birmingham
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: eastern Mass.
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The colors are put down in layers. Typically lightest to darkest, but the brown/yellow scraps seem to show this wasn't how it was done all the time.

The press is designed to print a very consistent layer across the entire sheet. So the color fades you see are almost always deliberate. They can vary depending on how heavily the ink is applied, and a few other things but should be generally consistent.

Seen up close - Like with a 1200 dpi scan. You can see the actual layers and which ones change from solid to spots during a fade or some other color difference.
T206s were done with at least 6 colors, and usually 8 or more.
Modern printing is typically done with only four colors to make every color needed. (Some exceptions would be some of the solid areas on Topps cards into the mid 80's)

Typically a margin is left on all four sides of a sheet since there is a tendency to problems at the very edge. I've seen a couple cards that might show the company not leaving much margin to at least one side, but nothing certain.

Steve B
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