T206 printing mystery

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Posted By: Joe D.

I don't believe these cards were printed on a coil and then adhered to proper backing... that is a lot of extra labor and expense for an item that is a freebee in a pack of cigarettes.

To comment on the orignal points raised...
1) Continuous vertical names is a common way to print things.... multiple up of the same unit - it is done all of the time.

2) Paper curls... especially if it is run through a printing press more than one time. So if a printing press was a '2 color' press, and they were printing 4-color, the sheet would have to run through the press twice for each side.

3) I would think it would be more likely to find an uncut coil if it existed, being that coils would be small in size as opposed to uncut sheets that would be rather large. So the lack of evidence would still point in the favor of full sheets. Not too many people would hold onto a huge sheet... but it would be easy to bring home a coil or throw one in your desk instead of using it.

Some other points....
...Ghost images are caused by what is called 'offset'. If you print a job and cut it too quickly (not allowing enough time for the sheets to dry) some of the ink from the top of one sheet will stick to the bottom of another sheet. So you get that 'ghost image'. The presence of ghost cards strengthens the argument of printing in full sheets.

...If you are printing the fronts / it is just as easy to print the backs at the same time... you have the press, you have the ink, you have the plates. Why separate the process and then add in an extra production operation (applying the backs)?

... I would think that if the T206s were put together from two separate pieces it would be quite obvious because many of them would look terrible (alignment and such) and by now a good number of them would start to separate. If adhesive is holding two pieces of paper together, that adhesive will break down over time.

just my opinion