Emanuel- The greater the mass or thicker the cross section the slower the item will heat up. So a cast top cap/plug would seem (and does in real life) take longer to heat up then a much lighter cap plate. Having done both styles, the cap plate is much more sensitive to heat control.
The flat oversized seatstay plates (like Saba SC-24 on the Ceeway site) were used by Raleigh on 753 Team frames, I am told, because they had less risk of overheating than cast plugs etc.
Bernard Carré used a similar treatment on many of his signed frames.
Hardly the sign of shoddy workmanship, I'd say, even if they're a ready-made solution.
Emanuel Lowi Montreal, Quebec
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Andrew R Stewart
Rochester, NY