TO KNOW WHAT IS OLD, YOU MUST KNOW WHAT IS NEW
If you examine the image area of a modern baseball card that has a color photo-realistic image (like Barry Bonds above), you will see that the image is made up of a fine pattern of tiny color dots. The combination of colored dots (usually magenta, yellow, cyan and black) create the image and it s color. This is called color half-tone printing, and it is used to make the images for many modern products, including magazines, postcards and cerial boxes. Take out a Time magazine or modern baseball card and see for yourself.
As you look in different parts of the image, or at different modern color half-tone images, the dot colors and density will change. For a blue sky there will by more blue. In a light area, there will be few and sometimes no dots. But you will find that the entire image is made up of a mechanical pattern of of tiny dots.
This modern half-tone printing usually is lithography. If you look at each lithographed dot, it wil appear like a little splotch of paint or colored glue. The edges will be soft, like a dot of paint.
Home computer printers create a similar dot pattern, though under high magnification the little splotches of ink may not look like splotches of paint.
GUESS WHAT? YOU'VE ALREADY LEARNED HOW TO IDENTIFY MANY COUNTERFEITS
Few if any Pre-1920 baseball card have images with this type of color dots printing pattern (saturated multi-color dot pattern, each dot appearing like a little splotch of paint or glue or similar). If you see a T206 Honus Wagner with this type of printing, it's a reprint. If you see an Old Judge Hoss Radbourne with this type a printing, its a reprint. If you see an Allen & Ginter Cap Anson with this type of printing, it's a reprint. If you examine an original T206, Old Judge or Allen & Ginter under the microscope you will see the printing is nothing like the picture in a Time magazine.
NEXT : You will see that, while some early baseball cards used a half-tone dot pattern, it is easily distinguished from modern printing.
