Card types & finishes
Printing plate
A printing plate is one of the four metal plates used to print a card, inserted into packs as a 1-of-1. Each card has cyan, magenta, yellow, and black plates.
Cards are printed using four color plates (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, known as CMYK). Manufacturers sometimes insert the actual used plates into packs as collectibles, each a 1-of-1.
A plate carries the card's image in a single ink color and has a distinct, industrial look, so four plates exist for any given card, one per color.
Why it matters: plates are genuinely unique, which appeals to collectors who want the only copy of something, though they trade below a matching superfractor for most players since the artwork is single-color.
This glossary is a plain-language reference for collectors, not financial or purchasing advice. Card values move, so always check recent sales before you buy or sell.