Every printing technology leaves fingerprints. Under magnification, a genuine 1950s card looks fundamentally different from a 1990s reprint of the same image, because the presses, screens, and inks changed decade by decade.
What to look for
- Rosette patterns: classic offset lithography lays down ink in small circular clusters. Large, loose rosettes usually mean older, coarser screens.
- Dot shape: vintage presses printed slightly soft, irregular dots. Crisp, perfectly uniform dots suggest modern digital output.
- Ink layering: period four-color printing shows visible cyan, magenta, yellow, and black layers that sit beside each other rather than blending smoothly.
How to photograph it
Use one hard light source at a low angle and shoot a macro frame of a light-colored area — borders and skin tones show screen structure best. Record the photo with the item in your vault so the evidence travels with the card.
What it cannot tell you
Print analysis dates the printing, not the deal. A period-correct card can still be trimmed or recolored, so treat dots as one signal among several: stock thickness, gloss, and provenance still matter.