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Originally Posted by bswhiten
Sounds like that would be an awesome resource to variation collectors Steve. I would be curious if the splatters and missing ink were similar on the regular 82 vs. blackless too.
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It probably will be for most Topps issues.
The spatter is probably related to the position on the sheet. I just haven't quite figured out the where and why - I haven't really worked on it.
The stray dots etc are also a Topps thing, a byproduct of Producing a lot of cards to be essentially given away. Plates wear out, and need to be replaced, Or, you run multiple presses. The mask can pick up dust etc, the same for the glass that holds the mask to the plate while It's exposed. Stuff happens to the plates (I have a really nice example of a plate scratch on a 1981 fleer)
I don't track transient stuff, but the things that are from a difference in the plate or ink or cardboard I do try to at least make a note of.
We see less of it on newer cards, the really modern presses produce the plates directly on the press from digital files, so there's a lot less of that stuff to go wrong. And probably some new stuff I just haven't seen.