[Eric72]

In my non-sports pursuits, I've been collecting Magic The Gathering cards for a while. In that space, there are techniques for authenticating cards. One such technique involves the orientation of print dots. For example, the black dots are oriented in a 45 degree angle.

In my sports card pursuits, I tend to focus on T206 and vintage baseball. My latest pickup was a 1971 Topps Nolan Ryan. I noticed Nolan's name was not a solid blue; it was a bunch of blue dots. This isn't surprising. I realize Topps used CMYK-style printing. It's supposed to include areas with lots of little dots. In this particular case, those blue dots are oriented in a roughly 45 degree angle. Magenta dots were along a different angle, so were the black, etc.

So, here are my questions:

1 - Would this pattern hold true for other '71 Topps baseball? In other words, for example, are the Cyan dots always at a 45 degree angle?

2 - Has Topps used the same orientation throughout the years?

Please let me know if I explained myself poorly. Any help/insight would be appreciated.