I wanted to ask a couple of questions, this is the second. I work for CGC comics and we've been grading most D&D items for a few years now. We are about to embark on grading sealed items.

Besides the Dragonlance module that I needed clarification on, I also was wondering about this piece. Again, I have a sealed copy in my possession. From what I see online, there doesn't seem to be an actual printing of
this nor an updated year it was printed. Based on the logo, it seems the logo was used from 1992-1999. According to The Arcaeum, The REF2 version has 4 printings, the last is 1992. I would like to have an exact year this
was made if anyone has that knowledge. I considered calling this one a Fifth Printing, but don't want to put 1989 since the 4th is 1992. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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TSR Archive says it's a 3rd print, from 1989.

Thanks for the replies. The REF2 listed here has 4 printings. That's why I considered naming this a 5th print. Though this does not have the REF2 designation on the cover, it may need to get its own listing and if there are no distinguishing differences with the new cover, maybe it should just be one printing.

https://www.acaeum.com/ddindexes/miscpages/ref.html

I can't answer due to when the black border ones got reprinted.  I do have a sealed in shrink copy of the white border sheets with the angled TSR logo consistent with the 1989 era of what would be "first printings" for 2nd Edition AD&D products.  I have a DM screen sealed in shrink of the same.  The printings weren't specified as such in the books so much then (meaning early 2nd Edition stuff) to my knowledge.  It's other clues that lead to the early printings.  For example, the earliest 2nd edition items of the earliest printings had the angled TSR logo.  For lack of better terms, let's call that the first printing of 2nd edition stuff.  Later prints with the same art, same Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition logo at top, content, etc. but had a "gold ingot" looking TSR logo would be at best second printings.  Things that had the same art, content, same AD&D logo but a globe/circular dragon image TSR logo would be a "third printing" if you will.  The black border stuff like the pic shown in the thread earlier for a product that existed from the beginning (say 1989) for 2nd Edition stuff would most likely be a "fourth printing" at best.  The black border revised stuff (including the revised core books) came out in 1995 I think.  Keep in mind product that came out in 1995 or later that had these logos as existing might be first prints.  What I said above applies to things that came out when 2nd edition was launched.  For product closer to that 1989 date, the logos for AD&D as well as (and IMO most telling) the TSR logo will change and that helps navigate the ballpark of when these items came out.  Having said that, I'm not a printing expert but this is stuff I've gleaned from what I've observed.

Sir Kill Alot wrote in Need help part 2, Character record sheets:Do printings get reset when the item's product code changes?   REF2 is originally 9028 and later on it becomes 9264 with 2E.

-SKA

Yes, they typically should.  It's a different product and/or edition.

Printing sequence is somewhat imperfect, especially since TSR varied in their approach to numbering and stock codes, and did not necessarily follow standard book conventions.  There are also not many historical records in available.

Here's how we sum it up on The Acaeum:

Printing Information:  Early TSR items often had distinguishing characteristics between printing "runs".  Happily, these allow serious collectors to discriminate.  Cover scans of the items are either aligned along the right side of the page, or displayed in rows beneath the printing information.  A "Logos" button allows quick reference to the TSR Logos page, while a "Foreign Editions" button (if available) describes foreign versions of the item.  The myriad numbers that TSR used on books and modules, which can further assist in determining a printing's sequence, are defined here.  Also note that the vertical size of TSR modules, as well as the color of the cover, often varied slightly over time with different print runs.  We've decided not to discriminate printings based on these size and color variations, unless they are significant.

Additional commentary from our FAQs:

I noticed that my three copies of (module) are slightly different sizes, and/or they are all slightly different shades of blue.  Are these separate printings?

Yes, they are, but they're not printing differences that we're tracking on The Acaeum.  Over the years, TSR changed printers, or the printers would change inks/paper stocks, and the size or color of the module would change slightly.  We were going crazy trying to figure out which module printing came first (and often the difference is in the eye of the beholder, especially concerning color), so in mid-2001 we decided to drop sizes and minor color differences.  In summary: size and color shade of the module, for our purposes, do not constitute separate printings, unless the difference is substantial.

In summary, The Acaeum uses the following to distinguish a printing, or print runs (not necessarily in this order, but close):

1. Product edition (foreign, 1st, 2nd, etc.)
2. Item numbers and stock codes
3. Clearly listed printing details and dates (usually on the copyright page)
4. TSR logos (technically ties into physical attribute change)
5. Physical attribute changes (size, color, textual or graphical corrections/updates, etc., if significant)

Significant content change is almost always considered a new edition.  TSR was pretty good at distinguishing editions.

Feel free to provide additional commentary.

This link might be helpful, although it's not specific to D&D collectibles:

Editions and Printings, How to Tell the Difference: a guide for book collectors