General Forum

Printing plates have become common inserts with sets and they have made me realize that I must not understand how a card is printed.  I would have thought that the printing plate would be a reverse image of the card, but they aren't.  Can anyone explain why?

Some are, and some aren't, and I can't remember 23 years back as to what the plates looked like at Star. (All I know is the corners were sharp as knives. I still have some scars on my knees/legs!)

We own 3, and all 3 are not reversed. But I have seen others (Bowman ones come to mind) that are reversed.

I'll be learning about that with you.

Direct printing uses a reverse/mirror image. The printing plate prints directly on the card stock. Offset printing uses a normal image because the plates "print" onto a roller (platen). Then the platen prints onto the card stock.

The plates are only reversed in a direct printing process, where the plate applies the ink directly to the object being printed.

Most trading cards are printed by the offset printing process.  In this process the plate picks up the ink and applies it to a roller which, in turn, applies the ink to the sheet being printed.  That is why trading card press plates have a positive image.

-Tom

Thanks for the info, guys.

2015 Bowman - reversed

2014 Bowman - normal

Type in "Printing plate" at COMC, it's amazing what you'll see there!

2013-14 Panini basketball shows cards both directions (depending on the insert set).

VERY strange.

Interesting, There's a lot more direct-type plates than I would have expected.

Another note about how press plates work:  They transfer ink the opposite way as a rubber stamp.  I'm sure everyone is familiar with a rubber stamp, where it is the high points of the stamp that pick up and transfer the ink to the item.  Press plates work the opposte way.  The etched areas (recesses) of the plates get filled with ink, which is then transferred.  The ink gets wiped off of the high spots of the plate.

-Tom

That "How It's Made" show should do an episode on this.

There is a good article on Wikipedia that describes Offset Printing in detail:

Offset Printing

Plates with the image reversed would be used in a process more akin to lithography:

Lithography