This is a stupid question for me to ask after all these years, but I've been thinking about the terminology we casually use as card collectors, and I realized that I don't know what a printing plate actually is.

They are seeded as hits in premium card products. They are made of thin metal and have blank backs with labels sometimes. They are generally called 1/1s, but each card needs a set of four plates in different colors to be complete. The colors are usually called Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Some eBay sellers seem to be able to get complete printing plate sets, while others are just sold in individual colors.

Now my question is what, if anything, can you do with a printing plate set of all four colors? Are they just manufactured hits, or can you actually make the card? Is this like being able to print counterfeit money, or is it just a novelty?

Modern day card manufacturing and printing is very different than it used to be. I can remember back when Topps would publicly claim to destroy their printing plates after releasing their baseball cards to ensure no reprints. Of course, the print run was already more than anyone needed. And the way that cards were printed in sheets has also changed.

So what is the real story with these printing plates and do we have anyone on Card Talk who specializes in collecting them?