A lot will depend on the preferences of the individual as well as its installed location, etc. E.g., here, expansion is out of the question as running additional cable is painful (no basement/attic). So, I've run everything I'll ever need (and hope none of the cables fail!)
Also, in my case, the panel is fastened to the *wall* (i.e., the individual cables that terminate at the panel connect to it from behind -- *in* the wall). So, the size and shape of its footprint becomes a concern (e.g., studs on 16 inch centers don't accommodate
19" panels! :> ).The problem boils down to a "mis"application of some commodity product to a domain where it wasn't (currently) intended to be deployed. I.e., the patch panels are typically designed for use in equipment/"relay" racks.
[Some "consumer" manufacturers are now entering this market with the growth of "home media". But, their products are off in a completely different direction (all "proprietary" solutions) and with an exhorbitant price tag. "Hi, I need to service 72 ports. How many of my arms/legs/children do I have to give you??"]The "veneer" approach makes this a piece of cake! Folks can pick whatever material they are best equipped to handle (maybe even wood?). And, can be as inept as they want (within reason) "machining" that. Then, hide all their sins behind a dressy $2 "decal"!
In *my* case, I'll just sacrifice two 4x(12+12) panels -- cutting each one in half (roughly) vertically (yielding 4x12) and then trimming off the bottom row (for 3x12). This gives me the nice clean *punched* holes from the original product. Slap a nice applique on top to dress it up and I'm done! Repeat for the other panel...
--don