subject: Benefit Auction Ideas: Procuring A Newspaper Printer's Plate [print this page] A number of my company's benefit auctions in Washington, D.C. will include a printer's plate in the silent auction.
What is a printer's plate?
The plate itself is a slab of imprinted metal which is traditionally used in offset printing. The raised areas of the plate carried the ink, which was transferred to a rubber blanket and onto the printing surface (i.e. the paper).
That said, newspapers of today are created through the use of computers. So these donated plates have never actually been used to create the paper.
Although the image is identical to what guests saw on the front page of the daily paper, these plates are smaller than a traditional plate would be. The plates also seem to be constructed of a lighter metal than what I would have expected from a traditional plate.
A couple of my clients have received multiple plates from the newspaper donor. The newspaper has a number of plates made and then seems to disperse them to non-profits and other organizations.
For example, one client had been given two printer's plates from November 5, 2008 - the day the world learned that the United States had elected its first African-American president. For fans of President Obama, history buffs, or even just news junkies, the plates were a unique piece of history, regardless of whether the plates were those actually used to print The Wall Street Journal.
According to my clients, these plates are relatively easy to obtain. here in Washington, D.C., several non-profits have procured a printer's plate from The Washington Post and from The Wall Street Journal.
If you are wondering how to procure a printer's plate, start with your local paper.
If you have a contact, call him or her first. For groups lacking a contact, call the paper and ask for the Community Relations or Marketing departments. These internal teams traditionally handle donations to organizations. They can inform you as to whether the paper has plates, and - if so - if they are available for donation. If there is a particular date important to your group (such as a birthday, or the anniversary of a building opening), ask about the availability of that unique date. The uniqueness of the date might attract bidders!
If you believe the plate will sell well, ask if you can receive two of them. The advantage of this is that if the item is later deemed "live auction worthy," at least you have two plates to sell ... and the auctioneer can earn twice the money for your charity.
by: Sherry Truhlar
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
