2007 Upper Deck Elements #111Jose Reyes
Materials: Acetate (PETG)
The Card:
So when Upper Deck came out with a set called "Elements" I was already excited by what eX had been doing and looked forward to getting my hands on some cards from the set.
As you can see in the scan, if you look closely, the card is translucent and made completely of the acetate (you can barely see the white rectangle containing the statistics on the back of the card through Reyes' torso).
I actually just purchased my first several of these cards at the end of the 2009 Baseball season, and I am pleased with them. I was quite happy to obtain this Jose Reyes gem along with some other nice ones.
Elements was an interesting set as you can see from this press release, which was the best information I could find on the set: http://sports.upperdeck.com/news/article.aspx?aid=2643. Each player had three different cards: one in acetate, one in foil board (which is textured), and one in light fx (which seems like a smother foil card). Each had its own distinct picture on the front.
I have to say, though, that the acetate cards were the most special of the bunch. I have all three versions of Johan Santana and while the foil board and light fx are nice, to me they do not appear much different from many of the traditional inserts. Though, they are all base cards. The acetate base cards are some of the nicer alternate material cards in my collection; however, I think Upper Deck could have made more use of the transparency of the acetate than they did in the design of the cards.
The Acetate: 
Chemical Name - Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol
(aka PETG)
Brand Name - Vivak
Description - "VIVAK is a transparent thermoplastic sheet. In the point of purchase industry, VIVAK is the brand and market leader for all clear plastics. Among its advantages, VIVAK offers superior impact strength over acrylic and cost effectiveness compared to polycarbonate. VIVAK offers deep draws, complex die-cuts and precise molded-in details without sacrificing structural integrity. It die-cuts and punches easily and can be bonded or fastened with adhesives, ultrasonic welding or rivets. In addition, VIVAK is easily decorated by painting, silk screening or hot stamping. Easy to fabricate, form, bond and decorate, VIVAK is well suited for a variety of point of purchase and sign applications.
Applications: Typical applications include video tape shelves, greeting card displays, revolving merchandise racks, indoor signs, point of purchase displays, menu displays, photo frames and slat wall inventory displays."*
* This information along with additional technical information on PETG can be found in the following pdf file: http://www.plasticsintl.com/datasheets/PETG.pdf
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