CUH: Seeding Tomatoes

My 2nd year intern training is under way.  Got in some more seeding/greenhouse experience this past weekend...... this time at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) in Seattle.  Their seeding process was similar to what I did at Salt Box Farm a few weeks ago, but one difference immediately caught my eye.  At Salt Box Farm each seed was given it's own little cell/plug to grow in, but at CUH we put 100 seeds into one tray.... in 10 little rows of 10 seeds per row. 

So what's the big deal with the difference?     Phase II - transferring the seedlings to the 4" pots.
I'm wondering how fiddly it's going to be taking them out of those trays with minimal damage when they get transferred to the bigger pots.  I'm guessing that putting them into their own little cells like we did at Salt Box Farm will make the transfer easier for the gardener and much less stressful on the little seedling. 

I would think that popping out a little plug of soil with the seedling snugged safely in it vs gently prying a seedling apart from it's tray buddies will result in a much higher success rate and a faster transfer process.  For all you seasoned seeders out there..... care to comment?  Which method do you prefer?

We ended up seeding 2,500 tomato plants.  Here they are all layed out in the greenhouse on a huge heating pad.

After that was done we prepped the 4" pots we'll be transferring the seedlings into a few weeks from now (racking up and pre-filling with potting soil), and transferred about 100 earlier starts into bigger pots.  Busy busy!  Got to hang out with a great bunch of people willing to share their skills and knowledge - learned a lot.  I'm scheduled to return on the 16th to help out with the seedling transfer effort.  Stay tuned!