Hi Folks,
First, I want to commend you all for the great work done on this so far. I've been behind on this thread since day one and it's been challenging to keep up with, but I finally managed to string together some thoughts that I recently posted on RebelScum and wanted to share here as well. These are in no particular order and may or may not have been covered already:
* Black light is helpful for spotting some things, but as Ron Salvatore pointed out, it is best used as another tool for making comparisons with many pieces.
* Photographing what you see in black light is HARD. The camera can make all of the difference and some cameras can't do it well so a point you are trying to make with a photo might not ever do justice to what you see with your own eyes.
* Mattias had a great observation with the dot and he certainly knows printing, but as he pointed out, it's not an end-all answer and an anomaly like that can be useful when making such a comparison, but don't read too much into tiny printing anomalies. Yes, there was QC on this stuff, but not to the point where a dot here and there would cause a run to be scrapped. Keep in mind that these were hot-selling toys and would certainly be good enough to put on a store shelf.
* I've met several former Kenner QC people and purchased marked items from them. I think it's a bit misunderstood, but these QC checks were done on product received into the Cincinnati distribution center from the toy factories in China/Hong Kong/etc.. When there were "problem" figures and they had comments about the quality, they didn't pull items. They simply made comments that would go back so that the next batches could be improved. I never saw comments about printing, only about paint over-spray, correct mail-in offer decal placements, and interestingly I have an Emperor where they specifically say that the bubble seal isn't complete at the very bottom.
* I wouldn't put a lot of importance on tiny printing flaws. Yes, there would have been some quality control at the origin of the printing and I'm sure running changes would be made, but the dots and marks I've seen pointed out in these threads aren't enough to cause thousands of cards to be scrapped as unusable. Always keep in mind that these were $3 children's toys back in the day.
*The photo people have pointed out a few times, of guys looking at backer cards, was taken at the infamous sales at Celebration II. Those were proof cards that Steve Denny was selling with the help of Dan Flarida and the photo was taken in Dan's hotel room at the Omni. That (and the people in the photo) have nothing to do with this Toy Toni situation.
* As with their entire existence, we'll never have consensus on AFA, but count me in the camp of people who can't blame AFA for not detecting these seals. For upwards of 20 years these carded figures have looked like they looked and until this month, everyone felt the same way. It's not until you get a critical mass together and start looking for patterns. That's just not obvious on a figure by figure basis, but when you see a bunch at one time then some commonalities or differences can be noticed. That was the case for the McWilliams fake prototypes once everything was shared at once and it was clear to the guys at Dave Tree's Farthest From toy show last weekend who came together to compare figures and notes. Once you see things in a group and have reason to suspect something, suddenly it can make sense. Nobody wants to be the one out any money, but pushing potentially bogus items onto other collectors or trying to get restitution from AFA isn't the solution. As with the McWilliams pieces, as John noted, the collectors took it on the chin.
* While I commend guys like Wolff who have done incredible work with COO (country of origin) identification and patterns, there is simply no way the people at AFA could know that and use it to help detect fraud. Nobody knows that COO stuff to that level and even I think it can't be 100% conclusive because of how many molds, mold modifications, mold replacements, and mold sharing was done back in the day. But, as with anything, it can certainly help show patterns and leanings in thought. It will help with what's going on, but only as after-the-fact data points.
* I've mentioned this before, but the mysterious waffle pattern is the pattern used on the "horn" of an ultrasonic welding machine. That waffle is a textured grid pattern which helps to hold the plastic part in place while it's being attached. Certainly the method of bubble application factory by factory could vary, as is the case with all manufacturing. It's dependent upon the equipment, processes, and preferences of the people there. I see this in my daily job as an engineer.
-chris
DF" got these 2 interviews of Palitoy employees by museum of childhood. I haven't read the whole transcript but may help. 
