The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
Press Plates are a huge theme for this mail post -- with a whole bunch of 1/1s to add to my collection. They also led me to a bit of an experiment -- can a card be reconstructed from its plates?
First, I'll start with a few recent mail items.
Mail Post #29 for 2011
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Certified Connie Madigan RC (SP)
Whenever a company releases true rookie cards of older players, I add the cards to my wantlist. This Connie Madigan RC certainly fit that criteria. It's a short print, although I don't know how many were printed. I doubt it is more than a few hundred.
-------------------------------------------------------
95-96 Bowman Draft Prospects Mathieu Garon
10-11 SP Game Used Gold Evan Oberg (03/50)
I received these cards in a trade with Trevor (wingnut888). Both of these cards, although not true rookies, will go into my collection. Garon has now played for both the Blue Jackets and Lightning. Oberg has been recalled to the Lightning four times since his trade just two weeks ago, but has yet to play in an NHL game with the team.
Thank you for the trade!
-------------------------------------------------------
07-08 ITG Heroes and Prospects Tyler Weiman
90-91 Pro Set Lucien DeBlois
90-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Steve Thomas
These cards were add-ons to the next one -- probably just filler!
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Playoff Contenders Alexander Vasyunov RC (SP)
Here is the Contenders autographed RC of the late Alexander Vasyunov, pictured with the New Jersey Devils. After the plane crash, I decided to start a side collection of Vasyunov's true RCs. The Contenders autograph was his last packed-out autographed rookie card.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Panini Luxury Suite Alexander Vasyunov RC (Redemption) (x2)
...see next picture...
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Dominion Alexander Vasyunov (Redemption) (x2)
Vasyunov was included as a redemption in both Luxury Suite and Dominion. However, these redemptions were not fulfilled before the tragedy occurred. Although I am not certain of the current status of these redemptions (and to be honest, I have not yet sent in the codes), I would expect that this will not be the end of the story regarding these cards. The only other note I'll make right now is that the Dominion redemptions are exceedingly scarce.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 The Cup Nikita Nikitin RC (129/199)
In happier news -- the Blue Jackets' acquisition of Nikita Nikitin has been one of the few bright spots in a dismal season. Nikitin was an afterthought in St. Louis, but he's stepped in and played big minutes for a team that needed it in Columbus.
This is Nikitin's best rookie card, and also his only autographed rookie card. It completes my Nikitin RC collection at 7-for-7.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Steve Downie (085/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Anton Volchenkov (046/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives P.A. Parenteau (009/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Marian Hossa (073/100)
The next two purchases are a perfect example of how buying a lot can sometimes be more advantageous than buying a single card.
These four cards came in a lot of five UD Exclusives parallels. While these will all be headed to my tradelist, the fifth card is a keeper.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Tim Thomas (066/100)
The Tim Thomas Exclusives parallel from Upper Deck was not selling cheap shortly after the product was released (sales of around $10-$15 were common, which is a bit much for a card out of 100 copies). I purchased this whole lot for under $10 -- what would have been a fair price for the Thomas by itself!
-------------------------------------------------------
1987 Topps Baseball base cards
11-12 Score Net Cam Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #17 Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #30 Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #64 Tim Thomas (x2)
For the next purchase, these Topps baseball cards were thrown in. They seemed to be padding for the Tim Thomas cards I won at auction.
I previously owned all of the Tim Thomas cards in this picture. I still needed the last one, however.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Score Supreme Team Tim Thomas
Supreme Team is one of the toughest "regular" insert sets in 11-12 Score; it is only available in retail packs. While Thomas' other inserts in Score had settled in at around a buck or two each, this one started selling for $6-$10. I purchased this entire lot at the low end of that scale, getting a few other Thomas extras in the process.
-------------------------------------------------------
From here, I will transition this post into plates, plates, and more plates. I hope you'll find this experiment interesting -- to the best of my knowledge, it's the first time it's been attempted.
In a mail post on October 24, 2011, I posted my acquisition of the Yellow Cory Murphy printing plate from 08-09 Upper Deck. It was a card I purchased for the sole reason of it being an inexpensive 1/1.
After making that post, I was contacted by Eric (Brave), who told me he had the Magenta and Black printing plates. I had no plans to make a deal for them, originally -- but things changed after the next card was listed on ebay!
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Cyan Cory Murphy (1/1)
Just a month after the Yellow plate was put up for sale, the Cyan plate was also listed. I had no difficulty in winning the auction, and brought home my second Murphy plate for roughly the same price as the first.
Meanwhile, I was negotiating with Eric for his two plates -- well, more like "he named a price and I accepted because it was a good deal." And with that...
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Black Cory Murphy (1/1)
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Magenta Cory Murphy (1/1)
The Black and Magenta press plates were mine. Finally -- the whole set was complete!
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Complete Set -- Cory Murphy
This is my first complete set of press plates from the main Upper Deck brand. I do already own the complete set of 09-10 The Cup plates of Tim Thomas.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, I decided to take the opportunity with these Cory Murphy plates and do something interesting. We're all aware that the printing process requires ink from the four colors used on the plates -- Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. My challenge was to attempt to take high-resolution scans of these four plates and recombine them into the full-color card. Essentially, the question was this -- can I digitally "print" my own hockey card using the plates?
First, I had to cut up the scanned image (a much bigger version of the last picture), and force each plate image to greyscale.
Then, I had to perfectly layer each scan on top of one another, so that I could obtain a precise crop of each of the four plates.
Working in a channel-separated image file, I took the four greyscale images and assigned them into their respective color channels. Upon merging the four channels into one image, I ended up with a remarkably accurate result!
The slightly dull image needed only a few more adjustments. I tweaked the contrast and color correction a bit, and came out with an image that almost perfectly matches the original card.
My re-constructed version
The Cory Murphy base card -- image from ebay
This was a really interesting experiment -- one that I wasn't sure would work as well as it did. Thanks very much to Eric for providing two of the plates! I will be keeping all four for my collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
I guess December was a good month for press plates. How do I close out a post like this? How about three new press plates for my player collections?
-------------------------------------------------------
09-10 The Cup Rookie Masterpieces SPx Cyan Plate Alec Martinez (1/1)
This plate is the seventh Cup plate for my Alec Martinez collection. It is also my second SPx plate -- I previously purchased the Magenta. I know I won't be able to get all of Martinez's many Cup plates, so once in a while I'll buy one if it shows up.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Magenta Tim Thomas (1/1)
My goal for 50 Tim Thomas 1/1s was met at the expo, and it's now been exceeded! This is my second Tim Thomas plate from 08-09 Upper Deck (Cyan), and my 51st overall.
I almost thought I wasn't going to get this card -- the seller, who I suspect of shilling, attempted to cancel the transaction! After realizing a legitimate ebay user won it, they relented, and mailed the card. The price was still extremely inexpensive for a Thomas card of this magnitude, so I just went through with the sale. On the other hand, that "second place" account sure won a lot of other auctions. If I can confirm my suspicions, I'll post more about it later on.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Cyan Sergei Samsonov (1/1)
Finally, this is the third post in a row in which I've closed with a Sergei Samsonov card! Not bad for a guy who's out of the league, forcing me to search solely for old and/or rare cards. This is my second Samsonov plate from 08-09 Upper Deck (Magenta), and my seventh 1/1 overall.
It doesn't matter how many plates and 1/1s I'm able to pick up -- each one is unique, and I see each one as an extraordinary item for my collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
News and notes:
** Still time for one or two more posts before the end of the year. I may not be done with the 1/1s...
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
First, I'll start with a few recent mail items.
Mail Post #29 for 2011
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Certified Connie Madigan RC (SP)
Whenever a company releases true rookie cards of older players, I add the cards to my wantlist. This Connie Madigan RC certainly fit that criteria. It's a short print, although I don't know how many were printed. I doubt it is more than a few hundred.
-------------------------------------------------------
95-96 Bowman Draft Prospects Mathieu Garon
10-11 SP Game Used Gold Evan Oberg (03/50)
I received these cards in a trade with Trevor (wingnut888). Both of these cards, although not true rookies, will go into my collection. Garon has now played for both the Blue Jackets and Lightning. Oberg has been recalled to the Lightning four times since his trade just two weeks ago, but has yet to play in an NHL game with the team.
Thank you for the trade!
-------------------------------------------------------
07-08 ITG Heroes and Prospects Tyler Weiman
90-91 Pro Set Lucien DeBlois
90-91 Bowman Hat Tricks Steve Thomas
These cards were add-ons to the next one -- probably just filler!
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Playoff Contenders Alexander Vasyunov RC (SP)
Here is the Contenders autographed RC of the late Alexander Vasyunov, pictured with the New Jersey Devils. After the plane crash, I decided to start a side collection of Vasyunov's true RCs. The Contenders autograph was his last packed-out autographed rookie card.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Panini Luxury Suite Alexander Vasyunov RC (Redemption) (x2)
...see next picture...
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Dominion Alexander Vasyunov (Redemption) (x2)
Vasyunov was included as a redemption in both Luxury Suite and Dominion. However, these redemptions were not fulfilled before the tragedy occurred. Although I am not certain of the current status of these redemptions (and to be honest, I have not yet sent in the codes), I would expect that this will not be the end of the story regarding these cards. The only other note I'll make right now is that the Dominion redemptions are exceedingly scarce.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 The Cup Nikita Nikitin RC (129/199)
In happier news -- the Blue Jackets' acquisition of Nikita Nikitin has been one of the few bright spots in a dismal season. Nikitin was an afterthought in St. Louis, but he's stepped in and played big minutes for a team that needed it in Columbus.
This is Nikitin's best rookie card, and also his only autographed rookie card. It completes my Nikitin RC collection at 7-for-7.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Steve Downie (085/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Anton Volchenkov (046/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives P.A. Parenteau (009/100)
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Marian Hossa (073/100)
The next two purchases are a perfect example of how buying a lot can sometimes be more advantageous than buying a single card.
These four cards came in a lot of five UD Exclusives parallels. While these will all be headed to my tradelist, the fifth card is a keeper.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Upper Deck Exclusives Tim Thomas (066/100)
The Tim Thomas Exclusives parallel from Upper Deck was not selling cheap shortly after the product was released (sales of around $10-$15 were common, which is a bit much for a card out of 100 copies). I purchased this whole lot for under $10 -- what would have been a fair price for the Thomas by itself!
-------------------------------------------------------
1987 Topps Baseball base cards
11-12 Score Net Cam Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #17 Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #30 Tim Thomas
11-12 Score #64 Tim Thomas (x2)
For the next purchase, these Topps baseball cards were thrown in. They seemed to be padding for the Tim Thomas cards I won at auction.
I previously owned all of the Tim Thomas cards in this picture. I still needed the last one, however.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Score Supreme Team Tim Thomas
Supreme Team is one of the toughest "regular" insert sets in 11-12 Score; it is only available in retail packs. While Thomas' other inserts in Score had settled in at around a buck or two each, this one started selling for $6-$10. I purchased this entire lot at the low end of that scale, getting a few other Thomas extras in the process.
-------------------------------------------------------
From here, I will transition this post into plates, plates, and more plates. I hope you'll find this experiment interesting -- to the best of my knowledge, it's the first time it's been attempted.
In a mail post on October 24, 2011, I posted my acquisition of the Yellow Cory Murphy printing plate from 08-09 Upper Deck. It was a card I purchased for the sole reason of it being an inexpensive 1/1.
After making that post, I was contacted by Eric (Brave), who told me he had the Magenta and Black printing plates. I had no plans to make a deal for them, originally -- but things changed after the next card was listed on ebay!
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Cyan Cory Murphy (1/1)
Just a month after the Yellow plate was put up for sale, the Cyan plate was also listed. I had no difficulty in winning the auction, and brought home my second Murphy plate for roughly the same price as the first.
Meanwhile, I was negotiating with Eric for his two plates -- well, more like "he named a price and I accepted because it was a good deal." And with that...
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Black Cory Murphy (1/1)
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Magenta Cory Murphy (1/1)
The Black and Magenta press plates were mine. Finally -- the whole set was complete!
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Complete Set -- Cory Murphy
This is my first complete set of press plates from the main Upper Deck brand. I do already own the complete set of 09-10 The Cup plates of Tim Thomas.
-------------------------------------------------------
So, I decided to take the opportunity with these Cory Murphy plates and do something interesting. We're all aware that the printing process requires ink from the four colors used on the plates -- Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. My challenge was to attempt to take high-resolution scans of these four plates and recombine them into the full-color card. Essentially, the question was this -- can I digitally "print" my own hockey card using the plates?
First, I had to cut up the scanned image (a much bigger version of the last picture), and force each plate image to greyscale.
Then, I had to perfectly layer each scan on top of one another, so that I could obtain a precise crop of each of the four plates.
Working in a channel-separated image file, I took the four greyscale images and assigned them into their respective color channels. Upon merging the four channels into one image, I ended up with a remarkably accurate result!
The slightly dull image needed only a few more adjustments. I tweaked the contrast and color correction a bit, and came out with an image that almost perfectly matches the original card.
My re-constructed version
The Cory Murphy base card -- image from ebay
This was a really interesting experiment -- one that I wasn't sure would work as well as it did. Thanks very much to Eric for providing two of the plates! I will be keeping all four for my collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
I guess December was a good month for press plates. How do I close out a post like this? How about three new press plates for my player collections?
-------------------------------------------------------
09-10 The Cup Rookie Masterpieces SPx Cyan Plate Alec Martinez (1/1)
This plate is the seventh Cup plate for my Alec Martinez collection. It is also my second SPx plate -- I previously purchased the Magenta. I know I won't be able to get all of Martinez's many Cup plates, so once in a while I'll buy one if it shows up.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Magenta Tim Thomas (1/1)
My goal for 50 Tim Thomas 1/1s was met at the expo, and it's now been exceeded! This is my second Tim Thomas plate from 08-09 Upper Deck (Cyan), and my 51st overall.
I almost thought I wasn't going to get this card -- the seller, who I suspect of shilling, attempted to cancel the transaction! After realizing a legitimate ebay user won it, they relented, and mailed the card. The price was still extremely inexpensive for a Thomas card of this magnitude, so I just went through with the sale. On the other hand, that "second place" account sure won a lot of other auctions. If I can confirm my suspicions, I'll post more about it later on.
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Press Plate Cyan Sergei Samsonov (1/1)
Finally, this is the third post in a row in which I've closed with a Sergei Samsonov card! Not bad for a guy who's out of the league, forcing me to search solely for old and/or rare cards. This is my second Samsonov plate from 08-09 Upper Deck (Magenta), and my seventh 1/1 overall.
It doesn't matter how many plates and 1/1s I'm able to pick up -- each one is unique, and I see each one as an extraordinary item for my collection.
-------------------------------------------------------
News and notes:
** Still time for one or two more posts before the end of the year. I may not be done with the 1/1s...
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
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