Panini Behind the Scenes: Cards . . . Before They Become Cards

Look, I don't know how else to really bring this up so I'll just come right out and ask: Have you ever wondered what trading cards look like before they're trading cards?

Look, I don’t know how else to really bring this up so I’ll just come right out and ask: Have you ever wondered what trading cards look like before they’re trading cards? You know, before they’re all UV-glossy and rectangled and emblazoned with printing technology or autographs or memorabilia or all three?

Well, at just the right angle under just the right light, they look a lot like a ream of color copies. But upon closer inspection, well, they are a ream of color copies.

Indeed, just beyond my left shoulder, past Scott Prusha and just two caddy-cornered cubicles over, I can see our “routing area,” the common collecting place for “proofs” that will soon enough become some of the most collected cards in the country.

At the moment, the table is filled with approval routings and “test RIPs” from Plates and Patches Football and Timeless Treasures Basketball.  Approval routings, as their name suggests, are essentially early, copy-paper drafts of trading cards that require the initialed approval internally from members of the Panini America photo, editorial and design teams. Once they have that, they’re sent to the appropriate licensing office — primarily electronically but occasionally via expedited air shipping — for the most important seal of approval.

“Test RIPs” (sometimes called “match prints”) are laminate color-proof files that provide anyone looking with the closest representation possible of what the final printed card will look like.

In any event, enjoy the following gallery of images from the routing table that were snapped earlier this morning. And stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes looks that you just won’t find anywhere else.