PRISM question: WHAT IS A PRISM?!?!?!?

[tYEwREEEk13]

lol probably one of the stupidest questions ever asked on here, but I just want clarification.

Obviously the GOLDS /10 are easy to figure out.

But what exactly defines a PRISM??

Is it the lighter colored cards or are those just considered REFRACTORS?

Or is it the cards with the look of dotted indentations all over the card?

Can somebody explain or maybe provide examples of each one? Thank you!

[BsHaDy]

I believe they are the same as base cards but have a shiny tint to them, not numbered.

[Quigley24]

I think a prism is the cards that have the "refractor" effect in the light, could be wrong though.

[drob50]

The Prizms are the 'refractor' versions of the base and inserts. I thought that Panini weren't allowed to use refractor, so they have tried to start their own 'brand'.

But yes, it is the gold ones, as well as the lighter ones that have the 'rainbow effect'

[alexlazarevich]

There is another thread talking about this exact confusion. Panini really needed to come up with one more name, a name for the "refractor" cards. They simply call them "Prizm" cards. But then the product itself is also called Prizm. It creates confusion. I thought they should have named the refractors Prizm Spectra or something like that. And then Prizm Spectra Gold /10.

Anyway, yes, here's the deal:

1) The product is called Prizm. The base cards 1-300 and all the base inserts do not have any refractor rainbow at all.

2) The Prizm parallels, which exist for the base 1-300 and all the inserts and all the auto's, are rainbow refractors. They are called "Prizm Parallels". The rainbow refraction is obvious to the eye, but in scans it doesn't show up except as maybe a lighter card surface or something like that.

3) Then you've got the gold Prizm parallels, which are gold of course, and #'d to /10.

[tYEwREEEk13]

ahhhhhh okay...so "refractors" are prisms for Panini? Got it... okay cool. haha I opened a Kobe PRISM then...yay! haha

[tYEwREEEk13]

Originally Posted by alexlazarevich

There is another thread talking about this exact confusion. Panini really needed to come up with one more name, a name for the "refractor" cards. They simply call them "Prizm" cards. But then the product itself is also called Prizm. It creates confusion. I thought they should have named the refractors Prizm Spectra or something like that. And then Prizm Spectra Gold /10.

Anyway, yes, here's the deal:

1) The product is called Prizm. The base cards 1-300 and all the base inserts do not have any refractor rainbow at all.

2) The Prizm parallels, which exist for the base 1-300 and all the inserts and all the auto's, are rainbow refractors. They are called "Prizm Parallels". The rainbow refraction is obvious to the eye, but in scans it doesn't show up except as maybe a lighter card surface or something like that.

3) Then you've got the gold Prizm parallels, which are gold of course, and #'d to /10.

Thank you Alex... as always you are a wealth of knowledge and a tremendous help.

[alexlazarevich]

Originally Posted by tYEwREEEk13

ahhhhhh okay...so "refractors" are prisms for Panini? Got it... okay cool. haha I opened a Kobe PRISM then...yay! haha

That's a nice hit! These parallels are really going for big bucks on eBay right now. But the cards also look fantastic, at least I think so. I like the rainbow effect that Panini got on these cards, it looks better than Topps refractors, or a lot of them, IMO.

Is it a kobe base prizm parallel or an insert? If you got the USA Team insert prizm parallel of Kobe, that is a double huge hit. Those USA Team inserts are going for freaking banana's x 1,000,000 right now. Collectors are just loving the USA Team inserts.

[tYEwREEEk13]

doh..never mind! i went and looked at the checklist..it's not a PRISM. It's just a Kobe MVP insert...haha