surface area for electroless plating

[mcaswell]

You are going to plate BOTH sides unless you mask one side, so you'll need to plate 25 sq inches.

[tepece]

okay, i'll embarass myself by asking what probably is the obvious. i have a plate that measures 2 1/2 inch by 5 inch. i'm fixing to plate it with the electroless plating method. in figuring the surface area, do i do the simple multiplication (2 1/2 x 5 = 12.5 inches), or do i double that to account for both sides of the plate; i.e., should my calculation of surface area for the electroless plating be 12.5 inches or 25 inches.
thanks