General Forum

So 16 years ago ( I know bare with me) I bought a hobby box of 2006 bowman heritage. In the box I pulled a Hank Blalock #252 black printing plate.  When I pulled the card out of the pack all of the cards were damaged because the Blalock black ink was not dry when they inserted the card. Still today I own the card and hesitate on scanning the card because of the black ink I let dry on the plate.  I never pulled another wet plate since and I have pulled about 50 +\-  

So the question is would you have cleaned the card or left it alone like I done?  No wrong answer here. I thought it was cool leaving the original ink on the card, but others may have cleaned it. If you were one that would have cleaned the ink off the card why? 
 

2 should I go ahead and scan the card and put it in the data base after all it is a 1/1

answers 1 I would have cleaned it

                3 I would let it dry and leave it. 

Me personally I know from working in an environment where we use printing plates that you will not hurt the plate by cleaning it off with rubbing alcohol I would have cleaned it.

Second regardless of cleaning it or not I would definitely scan it into the data base so others can enjoy the beauty you have.

I feel regardless of the condition, it's a 1/1.  If a 1/1 was damaged, I feel it should still be scanned.  Being that there was only one example it should still be documented, otherwise how would others ever know what it looked like.  As it is there are so many 1/1's and many will never been seen.  The curiosity will always be wonderment of that it looked like.  I do agree that it would be safe to clean it, but you choose not to, so keep it that way.  I have never seen a dirty plate, so it makes it much more unique!
 

Personally I don't own and 1/1s, printer plate or otherwise.  I do have a #/5. And and a few #/10.  Fortunately with the team I collect I would like to believe there will be some in my price range, on the other hand they aren't popular players so that may keep people from offering them for sale, assuming there wouldn't be interest.  

I would deffinitly submit a scan since its a 1 of 1. If it were mine, I also would have kept it as I found it. Sounds like a cool unique piece. I pulled a plate once that had some dried ink on it. I've wondered how people who collect plates view damage from use or dried ink.

Cleaning of collectible items is a tricky subject.  Often if an item is not cleaned exactly right, it goes very wrong.  But putting the proper/improper cleaning debate aside, I think I would have left it as-is and created a display of it and the adjacent cards that it transferred ink to in the pack.  It sounds like an unusual 'error' that some people would be interested in.

-Tom

I would scan it as is, but make sure it's dry now...don't want it to leave ink on your scanner tray! I would assume it is dry, but who really knows exactly what kinds of inks they use? 

Scan and add the Blalock plate! There isn't another black plate out there, so it doesn't matter what the condition is for your plate. It IS the only one and it needs documentation on here. That's all I can say about it.

You probably should not clean the plate yourself.

"Ink should be cleaned off the plate as soon as it leaves the press and before the ink dries. Dried ink is very difficult to remove and could lead to plate damage due to the excessive force needed to remove it. If you find that excessive force is needed to remove ink from your plates, I’d recommend allowing the ink to dry. It is also helpful to work with your ink supplier to find the proper cleaner/solvent that will loosen the dried ink to make it easier to remove."  ~ SOURCE

If you do decide to get the plate cleaned, I would recommend seeking the assistance of a full-scale print shop near you (ones that still use printing presses).

[NOTE: I worked in printing for 17+ years.]

I think pulling a printing plate with ink would make a great addition to any collection. I would not have cleaned it off. I havent had the pleasure of getting one myself. Also definitely scan so all the web can see.

I won't be any assistance here since I don't have a 1/1, (just a measly 1/10) but I do know they say cleaning a coin can make the value go down. Don't know if that applies to a baseball card. (Like if a card shop opened it and found this, then cleaned and sold it.) I personally wouldn't take a risk for a card I might never ever see again if something goes wrong.