The Hobby Boards

From the subtle embossing of the 98 Ultra cards to the more extreme examples like the 97 Finest embossed refractor cards, I think this printing technology needs to make a comeback!

What do you guys think? Would one of the modern card manufacturers see increased sales if they stepped up their game and stopped being content with simply slapping a basic refractor finish on everything?

I'd love to see some of that heavy embossing similar to the Finest Embossed cards. Panini tried different designs early on but never all out embossed cards.

Few things bring back the childlike excitement in this hobby for me like the feel and even sight of an embossed card. They need to make a full comeback

I love the Boss/Super Boss sets. Agreed, embossing is a great premium touch!

I was just chatting with someone about how card designs alone aren't going to up the quality of current releases. The manufacturers have to be willing to print using the correct technology (which isn't cheap). Layered acetate, embossing, different foil board, etc. There's a reason the UD Retro stuff didn't compare to the original. It wasn't the design, it was the materials.

Deadshot wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 6:50 pm I was just chatting with someone about how card designs alone aren't going to up the quality of current releases. The manufacturers have to be willing to print using the correct technology (which isn't cheap). Layered acetate, embossing, different foil board, etc. There's a reason the UD Retro stuff didn't compare to the original. It wasn't the design, it was the materials.

Just recently on the Censorship Forums I lamented the same thing using Retro as the prime example. Not that Arena Design doesn’t deserve credit, but the fact Fleer/Skybox had the best, most varied manufacturing aspects of the big 3 brands certainly didn’t hurt.

And even though Finest had a couple of the nicest 2 embossed sets in the silver and gold…





…I think Skybox still wins in this area overall too

dengbang wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 2:04 pm I'd love to see some of that heavy embossing similar to the Finest Embossed cards. Panini tried different designs early on but never all out embossed cards.

Same!

His Dudeness wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 6:09 pm Few things bring back the childlike excitement in this hobby for me like the feel and even sight of an embossed card. They need to make a full comeback

100%

green_stiller wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 6:19 pm I love the Boss/Super Boss sets. Agreed, embossing is a great premium touch!

Yeah those Boss/Super boss cards were awesome. Still have a few in one of my 90's binders.

Deadshot wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 6:50 pm I was just chatting with someone about how card designs alone aren't going to up the quality of current releases. The manufacturers have to be willing to print using the correct technology (which isn't cheap). Layered acetate, embossing, different foil board, etc. There's a reason the UD Retro stuff didn't compare to the original. It wasn't the design, it was the materials.

100% Some of the modern designs are actually quite nice but it's the cheap printing tech that hinders their potential.

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 7:22 pm Just recently on the Censorship Forums I lamented the same thing using Retro as the prime example. Not that Arena Design doesn’t deserve credit, but the fact Fleer/Skybox had the best, most varied manufacturing aspects of the big 3 brands certainly didn’t hurt.

Yeah exactly man. The recent Metal re-release could have been a lot closer to the originals if they didn't just print the cards on cheap card stock. I was so disappointed when I saw some of that stuff.

This Jordan cut above could have been a cool card with some subtle embossing, additional layers, something..
Instead it a just looks like a cheap imitation someone made with their home printer.

Someone asked what brought me into the hobby. I was a huge fans of Carddass of Bandai. (Like DBZ and especially SD gundam). The appeal of Sport Cards to me has always been the dynamic pose with a retro shinny embossing background. Like this Iverson (My wife said it was a very ugly card) It is a perfect example of why I like the 90s cards.

The chrome stock obsession and, more importantly, the parallel explosion, eat up the budget required for those advanced print techniques. Chrome stock is more expensive than paper, first of all, but I think parallels are the worse offender. Remember, for each different color parallel that involves changing the main image*, like the various Mosaic Reactive parallels, you need a new set of printing plates! Multiply that by 20+ parallels and add seven different types of holofoil and 12 different runs on numbering machines, and that's where your budget for embossing, spot gloss, textured surfaces, etc. goes.

*Parallels that only involve changing the color of stamped foil don't need new plates, just different foil colors on the line. This is why Chronicles is loaded up with paper stock sets like Panini and Luminance that just change the foil color for parallels.

100% agree embossing needs to make a swift return. Such an awesome feature!

I fear the lack of competition again with fanatics we could see minimal innovation and this frightens me. Only time will tell.

Anyways here is my favourite embossed. The 97 finest gold embossed atomic/74

Panini does do a bit of embossing right now, mostly in Elite and Illusions. I haven't seen much in Topps products, though, which is a bad sign going forward.

Panini has done some subtle embossing. Just off the top of my head, Crown round ball royalty (the Diamond pattern) Totally certified diecuts. They do feature some embossing but nothing like the 90s. There was more freedom to experiment. There was no budget for game used and autos were pennys on the dollar back then. The insert carried the product where as now it’s like a bonus

Lamplighter42 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 7:17 pm Panini does do a bit of embossing right now, mostly in Elite and Illusions. I haven't seen much in Topps products, though, which is a bad sign going forward.

Yes! Donruss elite, and illusions have some nice embossed diecuts

Lamplighter42 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 7:17 pm Panini does do a bit of embossing right now, mostly in Elite and Illusions. I haven't seen much in Topps products, though, which is a bad sign going forward.

Some of the lower end products have great looking affordable inserts.

If we're gonna talk about embossed. We gotta talk about Action Packed.

When I was a kid I didn't appreciate the Action Packed HoF basketball cards that came out in 1993 or 1995, but I do now that I'm older and now that I collect HoFers.
And yes these are silver ink pack pulled autos of HoFers from 1995.


Imagine the impact that could have been made with a full Action Packed set release with current players at the time.