So there are lots of companies which already produced metal plates with this hole punch design, but I'm not sure if I've seen one without the template etched on to the metal.

You can easily reduce the size or the plate and/or increase the size of each box by overlaying words 13-24 on top of words 1-12. For example, one dot in a box for words 1-12, two dots for words 13-24, or three dots if the letters overlap. Or a vertical line, horizontal line, and a cross. Or any other such arrangement.