i allways thought that there was 4 different colour print plates for each trade card.
and that they were 1/1 only.
i recently got a pair of breygent promo print plates in yellow then found some one else selling the same colour same promo print plate.
after contacting them they said they had yet another one of the same colour as well.
so are they not genuine 1 of 1 like i thought.
i have spoke to several collectors who like my self were of the opinion they were 1 offs ?

I too thought they were 1/1. It's possible these plates being promos composed the entire sheet thereby there would be 24+ plates depending on the size of the final printed, un-cut sheet.

That's true. In sport cards, there have long been cards known as Double Prints created when the uncut sheets feature more than one of the same card on the same sheet. That would necessitate an extra set of the 4 printing plates with the same images. Usually this happens not so much to capitalize on the popularity of the player, but rather the need to eliminate unused spaces on the uncut sheet due to a set having an odd number of cards.

Just a hypothetical, but if there were a 144 card sheet, a company could print two complete 72 card sets on the same sheet, but they would need the four printing plates twice for each card which could account for one extra set. There is probably also a backup set of each 4 plates made in case one is ruined during the printing process, so there would be a third set, too, in this case.

ar i was just looking at plates on ebay thinking "awesome!cheap and extremely limited!" but the prices were too good for 1/1 art pieces so i quickly checked here and am thankful i did not just waste my money. i'd only just discovered this side of card collecting after i googled how to get rust off letterpressing plates. i'm glad there's 1st person accounts of this falacy bump! and anyone know of any actual whole printing plates or do they alway cut them up like this?

wether1/1 or not. what's the best looking plate you've ever seen?

Back in the good old trading card days, printing plates meant something. I can still recall stories of how TOPPS made a point of publicly destroying the plates at the end of the season to ensure that no more cards would ever be reprinted. That was funny, since you could plaster the walls with the millions of TOPPS cards they did make in overproduction.

Since printing plates became a "hit" in packs, I really don't know what they are. I know there are four of them, with four colors, that are supposed to comprise one card. Some that I have are pretty heavy and thick. Recent ones that I've pulled are light and thin. I don't actively collect them because they don't look like anything to me. I pull them once in a blue moon. I guess the best one is black, some yellows and pinks barely show up. The backs are usually blank.

If I had the set of all four printing plates for the same card, could I print that card? I don't know, but without the back, its not a whole card anyway. Even when they say 1/1, I still don't know what to do with them. I don't understand printing plates.

This is my favorite printing plate:

Another collector (not on this forum) and I have been working on the Gotham printing plates. We stopped competing with each other so he goes after season 1 and I go after season 2. We figured out that Cryptozoic only put out 3 of each plate into packs, holding out one random plate per card. My friend has close to 1/3 of all season 1 plates released. I have just passed 10% of all season 2 plates released. I have numerous Marvel Scarlet witch plates and The Saint as well. It's a fun little sub hobby for me.

I have never actively gone after PP's but given this is a production process I have been skeptical about the idea of just one set. There is no redundancy in card production?

Does not mean that most released plates still aren't a 1 of 1 as claimed but even with multiple plate sets we are still talking about a ridiculously small amount.

The real deal is keeping in mind that card companies changed their tactics after the 90's crash and manufactured rarity went into full swing. In 2010 Beckett had close to 340,000 1/1 cards listed in their database — just for baseball. I am sure it has easily doubled or even tripled since.

Rare and valuable don't mean the same thing. A print plate of a common card just gives you a common card print plate.

And of course it goes without saying (which is why I'm typing this), that if one does not like the product (TV show, etc.) the printing plate represents, the plate has no meaning, value or interest.

For instance, if I absolutely hated BUFFY the TV series, the plate I have would be worthless to me, but since I loved the show, it's value to me (in all ways) is high.

quote:

Originally posted by cardaddict:
And of course it goes without saying (which is why I'm typing this), that if one does not like the product (TV show, etc.) the printing plate represents, the plate has no meaning, value or interest.

For instance, if I absolutely hated BUFFY the TV series, the plate I have would be worthless to me, but since I loved the show, it's value to me (in all ways) is high.

And that is always the important thing. Collect what you like and not for investment

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by cardaddict:
And of course it goes without saying (which is why I'm typing this), that if one does not like the product (TV show, etc.) the printing plate represents, the plate has no meaning, value or interest.

For instance, if I absolutely hated BUFFY the TV series, the plate I have would be worthless to me, but since I loved the show, it's value to me (in all ways) is high.

And that is always the important thing. Collect what you like and not for investment

All true and stated often comments but the whole design of the manufactured 1 of 1 market is to promote the idea of collecting for investment.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by cardaddict:
And of course it goes without saying (which is why I'm typing this), that if one does not like the product (TV show, etc.) the printing plate represents, the plate has no meaning, value or interest.

For instance, if I absolutely hated BUFFY the TV series, the plate I have would be worthless to me, but since I loved the show, it's value to me (in all ways) is high.

And that is always the important thing. Collect what you like and not for investment

All true and stated often comments but the whole design of the manufactured 1 of 1 market is to promote the idea of collecting for investment.

But we also know that rarely happens

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by cardaddict:
And of course it goes without saying (which is why I'm typing this), that if one does not like the product (TV show, etc.) the printing plate represents, the plate has no meaning, value or interest.

For instance, if I absolutely hated BUFFY the TV series, the plate I have would be worthless to me, but since I loved the show, it's value to me (in all ways) is high.

And that is always the important thing. Collect what you like and not for investment

All true and stated often comments but the whole design of the manufactured 1 of 1 market is to promote the idea of collecting for investment.

But we also know that rarely happens

There is something illogical about the 1/1 bought solely as an investment when you come to think about it.

First of all, how many collectors would really look for a 1/1, or know about it, or ever even seen it? If there is going to be enough demand to create a competitive market, doesn't there have to be some hope of more than one person at a time attaining the item? Sure there is the art world where anything valuable is a singularity, but that's not the card market. Even awesome 1/1 sketches don't sell like Van Goghs. Maybe in another 150 years.

Then there is the fact that many valuable cards, both vintage and modern, were printed in large numbers. They were pretty much mass produced prior to the '90s, then some artificial limitations crept in and then the super short printings and 1/1s appeared only in the last 15 years or so. Cards made prior to this period have their investment value tied to their grade conditions, not to the number printed. Some sports rookies in particular have gotten very expensive in top grades, while they are fairly easy to find in average condition because copies aren't terribly rare.

My point is, the 1/1 shouldn't be looked at as an investment. If you like it because it belongs with what title or design you collect, it should be a private pleasure to be kept. To me there is no such thing as collecting for investment, only buying for investment, and buying for investment means you are buying to sell. You can't hold an investment without eventually selling it or you will never make any profit. If you're not going to ever sell it, the market price means nothing beyond self-satisfaction. No one really collects any investments and a 1/1 card, if in demand, would do much better with a larger print run in my opinion.