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Posted By: J Hull

I'd guess that the top example was printed either from worn printing plates or plates that had been poorly etched. "Etching" was/is the process of applying an acid-based solution to the plate in order to fix the image to its smooth surface. It is purely a chemical process; there's no actual scratching or etching on the plate. Mistakes during that process could lead to blurry-looking prints.

The difference between examples two and three is the strength of the light blue ink layer. The green in the background was produced by a yellow layer overlaid with a light blue layer. You can see the light blue sticking out a tiny bit on the left edge of the bottom card. Stronger or darker blue produces a stronger or darker green.

Jamie