The process of making baseball cards at Topps begins early each year in preparation for the upcoming season. Topps works to secure licensing agreements with Major League Baseball, the players association, and individual MLB teams to obtain the rights to use player names, stats, photos and team logos on their baseball cards. Securing these licenses is crucial as it allows Topps to legally produce cards featuring current professional baseball players and content.
Once the licenses are in place, Topps designers and artists get to work on concepting the designs for the upcoming year’s card sets. They decide on visual themes, styling, photography looks and builds cardboard mockups. Topps has various standard card sets they produce each year like Series 1, Series 2, Topps Chrome, etc. but they also come up with new promotional subsets and parallels. The designs are reviewed and refined until final proofs are approved.
Beginning in January, Topps photographers start traveling to MLB spring training sites to photograph players against blue skies for the base card photos. Individual portrait sessions are scheduled where players pose in uniform with a neutral expression. Additional action shots are also taken of players swinging, throwing, or fielding during drills and games. Sometimes stock photos from the previous season are also utilized.
In February and March, Topps works with MLB teams and players to arrange special photo shoots if needed for hitters or autograph parallels. 3D hologram variants also require unique photography. Topps coordinates closely with teams to ensure maximum player participation. Television footage and archive photos from the previous season are also reviewed for potential retro cards or highlights cards looking back on notable moments.
Once photography is complete, the high resolution digital photos are touched up as needed in Photoshop by Topps design artists. Distracting background elements may be removed and clean ups like dust or glare fixes are made. The photos are then color corrected to match the overall look of the set design being created. Photo selections and layouts are programmed into the card template designs.
In March, Topps begins printing short run proofs of the card designs using the photos and layouts on actual cardstock. These proofs are thoroughly reviewed by Topps staff, MLB, and the MLBPA to approve everything is correctly represented and meets quality standards. Any needed changes to photos, text, colors or designs are then implemented.
By April, Topps starts the commercial printing process on the millions of cards needed for the official releases. Card stock paper is sourced from third party paper mills. The card designs are digitally printed onto the paper using large format inkjet or offset lithography presses. Multiple foil elements, autographs, and parallels require additional specialized printing steps. Quality control ensures correct registration and colors during the print runs.
In May, the finished printed cards are carefully cut, sorted, and bundled by Topps operators into individual pack distributions as well as box breakdowns. Additional memorabilia cards, autographs, and hits are carefully inserted during this process. Everything is double checked against the checklist to ensure accuracy.
From May through the season, Topps distributes the cards through licensing and retail partners to stores worldwide for fans to enjoy. Insert cards are also sent to rewards program members. Throughout the season, Topps monitors players and creates additional special release cards and sets focusing on accomplishments, milestones or new players. By capturing the excitement of each season, Topps ensures baseball cards remain an integral part of the national pastime.
