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All about the Tale of Scales playing cards

All about the Tale of Scales playing cards. Pre-Kickstarter updates. KICKSTARTER (tentative) LAUNCH DATE: OCTOBER 13 2019
[link]

Black Core Cardstock for Home Printers

I recently went on an internet expedition to try and find some nice consumer solid core cardstock for use on a home printer. I was disappointed to find that not only are there no places to buy the stuff in consumer quantities, but they also don’t come in Letter (8.5x11) format.
This got me wondering, does anyone else in this space want this sort of thing? I eventually devised a plan to get some but it’s convoluted and not efficient. Is there interest in the sale of this type of thing? Pro/premium cardstock for home printers would have some nice prototyping benefits I would think, plus I’m sure there are many uses if given the option of superior cardstock.
I’m interested to know peoples opinions, as well as what they could see themselves using this stuff for.
submitted by Mefilius to BoardgameDesign [link] [comments]

Getting your own deck printed by Shuffled Ink - a review

Getting your own deck printed by Shuffled Ink - a review

Playing Card Manufacturer: Shuffled Ink

The vast majority of custom decks of playing cards are produced by big printing companies like the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), European-based Cartamundi, and Taiwan-based Expert/Legends Playing Cards. But there are some lesser known playing card manufacturers, and there are some good reasons why you should know about these smaller players in the playing card industry. Buyers will want to know what they can expect in terms of quality and handling of a deck printed by a lesser known publisher. But this will especially be of interest to creators of custom decks, because you will want to know what options you have for producing your decks besides the usual candidates. These smaller companies will especially be of interest to designers wanting to print a small run of prototype decks, or a number of decks of your own design for family or friends.
Companies like USPCC or EPCC/LPCC typically require a minimum order of 600-1000 decks, which quickly becomes out of reach if you're just printing a prototype or making a custom deck for relatives or workmates. As a result many designers typically turn to MakePlayingCards.com (MPC) for smaller scale projects like this. MPC is a printing and production company based in Hong Kong with a factory in China, and their strength is that they take small sized orders. Even if it's just half a dozen decks that you want printed, they'll do it for you. MPC's playing cards don't match the quality of a Bicycle deck in terms of handling, but they do offer playing cards with an embossed air cushion finish, and the quality is superior to budget printers like Artscow. As a result they are the printer of choice for many designers looking to print a dozen or so decks, since for many creators they are the option they know about.
So what about if I told you about another printer that offers a similar service? That playing card manufacturer is called Shuffled Ink, and it's even based in the United States. So let's find out more about them, and see if they are a viable alternative for those who might otherwise use MPC for printing their decks.
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The Shuffled Ink company

Shuffled Ink was previously known as QPC Games (Quality Playing Cards & Games) ahead of a rebranding that happened in 2016. Based in Orlando, Florida, the majority of their playing card products are printed at their United States printing and manufacturing facility. This makes them of immediate interest to North American consumers, because it means that there's real potential for reduced costs in shipping and delivery time. Some of the other things they produce (e.g. board games) are outsourced to China and shipped to the US for assembly, but aside from extremely high volume orders, nearly all their playing cards are printed directly in the United States. They also boast that they create products that are environmentally safe, since their materials are all safety-certifiable - something that can't always be said of the competition.
They have been in the business of professional printing and manufacturing for many years, with Charles Levin beginning the company on his dining room table in 1999. From there it grew into his three car garage the following year. After initially outsourcing all production, eventually in 2013 the move was made into the 8,000 square ft manufacturing facility that it is today, with over 20 employees. Growth continues, and there are plans to open a 17,000 square ft facility in the middle of next year. It's a family run business, with Charles taking care of marketing and sales, and his son Matthew running all domestic operations. Their clients include big names like Barclays, Verizon, T-Mobile, Disney, Google, Walmart, and World Poker Tour, so we're not talking here about a backyard operation run out of someone's garden shed, but about an established and respected printer. They describe their strengths as including the following: "An emphasis on our customer service, communications and responsiveness are huge added values when combined with our quality, best prices and turn around times."
Reports that I came across about the game components that Shuffled Ink produced under their QPC Games label were very positive. Printing custom board games is something they've been doing for around 20 years now, so they have a lot of experience in this area, and they've fulfilled many projects funded via Kickstarter. It's not just the game itself that they can handle, because their services also include taking care of producing any accessories that a board game might need, including tokens, dice, chips, spinners, timers, instruction books, mats, and boxes. This even covers custom pieces, so clearly they have access to a very broad production range. They're also moving more and more into providing fulfilment for customers as well.
But besides customized board games, Shuffled Ink also print cards, and that's especially my area of interest. I should mention that their printing of cards this isn't limited to traditional playing cards, because they also produce custom card games, custom flash cards, and custom tarot cards. In other words: anything card related, and they'll print it. Not surprisingly, they've manufactured millions of custom card games for customers and Kickstarter campaigns, along with whatever accessories and customization these needed. I didn't know there was a big market for flash cards, but apparently I'm wrong - it turns out that flash cards are very popular for many educational purposes, and are used for things like training employees, teaching new languages, educating children, or study purposes.
Tarot cards are a large but niche market that is somewhat separate from regular playing cards, but in the interests of completeness I'll mention that Shuffled Ink also produces fully custom tarot decks, using your own artwork or photography, with a minimum order size of ten. They are a member of the American Tarot Association, which gives them access to official tarot resources and materials, to ensure a thoroughly professional job. The printing on some sample Tarot decks that I looked at was clean, crisp, and impressive.
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Shuffled Ink decks

Currently board games account for about 10% of Shuffle Ink's business, card games for 20%, tarot cards and flash cards for 20%, and a custom playing cards for a whopping 50%. These custom decks of playing cards that they print and produce is of special interest to me and most of my readers, so let's find out more about that.
Just about every option you can think of is available, and that's because Shuffled Ink caters to a wide range of customers with different needs. It turns out that it's not just collectors, card players, cardists, and magicians that like playing cards. Custom decks are extremely popular, and while they are sometimes produced as personalized items for the gaming industry, they are also printed for a range of other purposes including promotional giveaways, corporate and charity events, trade shows, wedding and anniversary gifts, and for all kinds of special occasions that a custom deck might commemorate and celebrate. Unlike other printers which have the requirement of an order size of 500 or more decks, Shuffled Ink lets you print as few as 5 decks.
Design
Given the diverse needs of their customers, it won't come as a surprise that Shuffled Ink offers lots of options for designing a deck. You can keep things very simple, by having standard faces, and using a single custom photo or graphic design of your own on the reverse of the cards. Or you can go fully custom, with individual personalized images on the front and back of each and every card. Using standard faces simplifies the process, because then it's just a matter of uploading your own design or photo for the card backs, which can be customized with additional text as needed.
If you want to do your own artwork from scratch, they provide a number of different templates for different sized cards, depending on whether you want to go with a poker-sized (2.5” x 3.5”) or bridge-sized (2.25” x 3.5”) deck. Templates are also provided for making the tuck box, which can also be a fully custom design of your own. If you need help, Shuffled Ink offers your first hour of graphic art support for free, and typically only charge for extensive work after that; for the most part their graphic support staff make themselves available to assist clients at no cost.
Stock
Several different options are available for the card stock, as well as two main options for the finish. As a magician, cardist, and collector, I'm mainly interested in paper cards, so I'll leave out the PVC and Plastic options that they offer, besides noting that these range from 28mm to 35mm in thickness, and have a 500 deck minimum. There's no such minimum for the two main paper stock options for playing cards, which are the 300gsm Premium Paper Stock (Smooth finish) or the 310gsm Casino Paper Stock (Linen finish). Most people with experience with playing cards will realize immediately that a smooth finish is the best for printing high resolution detailed artwork. A linen finish, on the other hand, is the one to opt for if you actually plan to use the cards for shuffling and games, because it has a textured and embossed surface that results in much better card handling, especially in spreads and fans.
You can get sample decks from Shuffled Ink to get an idea of what their playing cards look like, and the 310gsm stock is slightly denser and thicker. But both paper stocks have a black core to prevent you seeing through the cards when they are held up in the light. The 300gsm stock was more than adequate for a printed deck, but I'd definitely recommend going with the 310gsm stock if the deck is going to be shuffled and used extensively. The range of samples I had opportunity to check out included some cards with 330gsm stock. This is much thicker, and only suited to larger sized decks like Tarot cards and larger flash cards. Especially with the smooth finish, these certainly look great and feel snappy and durable, but for obvious reasons its not an option for a regular sized deck of playing cards.
Packaging
The range of different specialty packaging choices was much bigger than I ever expected. All decks come standard with the cards wrapped in cellophane inside the box - something that will be familiar to anyone who has opened a Cartamundi deck. If you want to go with something plain, you can opt for an ordinary white windowed tuck box or for a clear hard-plastic case (classic or jewel) which showcases the cards inside. The sample decks in plastic cases that I checked out were all packaged in a cardboard sleeve for added protection. Another option is a semi-clear soft-plastic gel case. Custom options include a completely custom printed tuck box, consisting of one piece, or two parts, as well custom painted tins.
Most of us will prefer a plain white tuck box if we're really looking to cut costs and just want to trial some cards. But for a more formal project, we'll likely opt for a custom tuck-box that incorporates our own design. Some of the sample boxes I looked at were very impressive, not just in terms of the custom printing, but I especially liked some of the solid two-piece cardboard boxes used for Tarot boxes.
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My own experience in printing a deck with Shuffled Ink

The ordering process
So how about giving a complete first-hand account of an actual printing experience with Shuffled Ink? I did a collaboration with BottledMagic, who is a passionate cardist who makes impossible bottles, and had come up with a design for his own cardistry deck. Featuring a combination of orange and purple colours, and a low-poly art style, the deck was entitled Amberthyst Playing Cards. The name is an obvious play on amber and amethyst, the two main colours of the deck. He did all the design work, and my contribution was mostly going along for the ride, because we were both keen to see this deck in print, and see how it looked.
The process for getting a deck printed went fairly smoothly. First of all we had to create the files in the right format. A minimum resolution size of 300DPI was required for image files like JPEGs, but art created in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator can be sent in its native format. Since our artwork was all created in Adobe Illustrator, we could just send the original files.
It's important to realize that printing uses the CMYK four-color process, which is typical for commercial printing. The RGB color mode you see on most computer screens is a three-color process that has to be converted to CMYK for printing. Where exact colours are essential, Shuffled Ink encourages you to send a physical sample of the colors required, so that they can attempt to color match as best as they can.
After finalizing the graphics files, we sent them off via email. Using a file-sharing service like Google Drive or Dropbox is another option that can be used to share the files. Within a couple of days I received an acknowledgement that the files had been been received, along with the promise that their art department would be in touch with proofs the following week.
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Sure enough, a few days later, an email arrived with a final press proof for our order. We had to check this carefully and approve it, before our order would move into production. Attached were several PDFs, one with a mock-up of the tuck box, and two with mock ups of the cards. Why two? It turned out that our artwork had strayed slightly outside the recommended safe area, so there was a risk that the die cutting process would interfere with the art. The company thus provided two proofs, one showing the art exactly as provided, and a second proof with our art resized to fit within their specs. It was our choice to go with either, and we were grateful that we didn't need to re-do all the artwork because they'd done this for us already, so we went with the adjusted version they recommended.
Once we gave our approval, we became fully responsible for the accuracy of our proof in every way, which is completely understandable. Within a day we'd received email confirmation that they would proceed with the adjusted art as we had indicated. Now we just had to wait for the deck to be printed and shipped.
That's when a minor hang-up happened, because there must have been some internal miscommunication or oversight, and the decks didn't get sent out. After some time elapsed without receiving any kind of shipping notice, I inquired to see what the delay was, and their records didn't clearly indicate whether or not the decks had been shipped. Thankfully they promptly (re)printed them, put them in the mail with a rushed delivery, and our package arrived soon after.
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The printed deck
So how did the deck turn out? Quite fine, thank you very much! We ended up with about one and a half dozen of our Amberthyst decks. The tuck box was a straight forward cardboard one, but having our own custom design on it made for a far more impressive presentation than a plain white box, and made the result look immediately more professional. We were even able to have printing on all the flaps, including the two side flaps which we used for a card reveall.
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There was even a thumb notch at the top of the box. There were also multiple fold lines enabling the main top flap to be folded backwards below the top of the box, making it much easier to get the cards out. This is standard for a high end playing card manufacturer, and playing card enthusiasts like me will be gratified to see this kind of attention to detail.
The cards themselves were fully wrapped in cellophane plastic inside the box - which is apparently standard practice for all decks produced by Shuffled Ink. Again, this makes for a more professional presentation, especially if you're giving a deck away as a gift.
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The cards were very crisply printed, and the print registration was right on, with consistent and even borders all the way around, corresponding exactly to the original design. There are few things worse for a playing card enthusiast than opening a USPCC printed deck and finding misaligned borders, so it was pleasing to discover that there was no issue with that here. The colours were accurate, and the printing was very clean, with no signs of smudging or blurring.
The edges of the cards were cleanly cut, resulting in a smooth feel that matches what you'd expect from a deck printed by Taiwanese printers like LPCC/EPCC, and not the somewhat rough feel of a USPCC produced deck. Close examination showed that the edge of one of the cards was slightly more ragged, presumably from the cutting process, but this didn't really matter since it was the bottom card (a Joker), and it was only obvious when looking very carefully. This was only noticeable with some of the decks, and only seemed to affect the very bottom card in a minor way.
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There are multiple printing options, and we had opted to print our deck using the 310gsm cardstock with Linen Finish. The main reason for this choice was because the 310gsm is the premium cardstock, and the 300gsm was a little too light for our personal requirements due to the cards being thinner, which is less than ideal for a deck used for card flourishing. I have seen some sample decks that used the 300gsm cardstock, but have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised, because the cards weren't as flimsy or thin as I was expecting. In fact those are probably fine for a novelty deck that you're mostly going to be looking at and not using intensively, but it's not ideal when you want decent handling and performance, especially for cardists.
We'd also had a few smooth finish decks printed as part of our order, so we could compare them. These smooth-finish playing cards are certainly fine for average use, but just won't spread or fan quite as nicely as the cards with the linen finish. But if looks are your most important criteria, and you're not too worried about fanning and spreading the cards, then the smooth finish produces the best visual results.
The cutting process must be different than what is used by the major playing card manufacturers, so don't expect to be able to do faro shuffles with a deck like this. But the cards have a pleasant thickness, and enough snap to be able to do a satisfying spring with no difficulty. The embossed linen finish was very pleasing, and is of a quality that matches that of MPC produced decks. Spreads and fans were fairly smooth, although I wouldn't be surprised to notice some clumping after extended use. Packet style card flourishes worked very smoothly, and riffle shuffles and overhand shuffles were more than comfortable. While this deck won't live up to the very highest and demanding standards required by an expert cardist, the performance and durability was more than acceptable for the needs of card games, and on par with a typical MPC printed deck.
The quality of our printed decks was certainly much higher than your typical souvenir deck. In fact the linen finish and 310gsm cardstock produced a quality that was above the components I've seen in many professionally produced board games and card games. It's certainly ideal for prototypes or for getting your own custom deck printed in cases where you're not in a position to mass produce a thousand or more decks with a big name playing card manufacturer.
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Reports from others who have used Shuffled Ink

In terms of what others think, I've seen some mixed reports of experiences with Shuffled Ink, so I contacted a few other creators of custom playing cards to see what their experiences were like. Bear in mind that since many of these creators demand the very highest standards, which are often well above what the average person might consider acceptable.
Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project has printed with Shuffled Ink a couple of times. In the case of two projects, some reprinting proved necessary since the initial results weren't as expected, but there were positive reports about the final product. He personally favours the easy-to-use design interface of MPC and their speedy turn-around time.
Another large creator that I'm in correspondence with used Shuffled Ink to print prototypes for a large Kickstarter project. The decks weren't all sealed as requested and there was some damage to the tuck cases in transit. Some effort was needed on his part to get a good outcome, and this resulted in a somewhat lukewarm experience overall for him.
A different designer who used Shuffled Ink for producing three sets of prototypes indicated real satisfaction with the quality, turn-around time, customer service, and pricing. He reported that the cost of $3500 for 1000 decks with tuck cases was ideal for getting some momentum for projects with a smaller funding goal, and he was very pleased with the end product and the process.
The experience of yet another creator was also positive. He has printed several prototypes with Shuffled Ink, and reported being very happy with the response time of their communication, and the speed of delivery. In his view the quality of the prototype deck they printed compared very favourable to MPC printed decks. According to him, Shuffled Ink might well prove to be a better choice for US-based creators.
So there you have several other personal experiences to compare with my own first-hand report. If you have experiences with Shuffled Ink that you're willing to share, by all means comment below, to help ensure that other prospective customers are well-informed about what to expect. Overall in my estimation Shuffled Ink compares quite favourably with MPC, including their pricing, and the absence of many extra fees.
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Printing your own deck with Shuffled Ink

So why might you want to consider printing a deck with Shuffled Ink? Firstly it should be mentioned that the quality of playing cards produced by Shuffled Ink won't match the high quality of decks produced in high volumes by industry leaders like the United States Playing Card Company, makers of the famous Bicycle brand. Magicians and cardists will notice that Shuffled Ink decks won't handle as smoothly, and you will notice this right away when shuffling, or attempting spreads and fans.
But the quality isn't terrible either, and it certainly is much better than what you'll get at your average printer. Unless you're planning to print 1000 or more decks, Shuffled Ink and MPC are your best bets for printing a decent quality product that won't look or feel cheap. Obviously it won't handle as smoothly as a top of the line cardistry deck printed in high volume by USPCC, and the cards won't slide quite as smoothly and cleanly. But it will handle much better than your typical souvenir deck, and last longer than your average grocery shop cheapie. What's more, you can expect the colours to look good, the print registration to be excellent, and the card stock to feel quite durable. It's a professional product in look and feel, and it's really only serious magicians and cardists who will demand the higher level of quality and handling possibly only with mass produced decks from the big playing card manufacturers.
Perhaps most important of all, with Shuffled Ink you can print a small number of decks, and for lower volume orders, these decks are about as good as you get anywhere. If you want to print a couple of dozen prototype decks, that quickly becomes an impossibility for most big publishers like USPCC and EPCC. At the very least getting them to trial a small number of copies will be an extremely costly business to the point that it's not worth bothering to do it. That's where printers like MPC and Shuffled Ink come to the rescue, because they'll let you print a few decks, while ensuring a reasonable turn-around.
Especially if you prefer to use a US based company, Shuffled Ink is ideal for the hobbyist creator. Perhaps you have a big project and want to scrutinize some prototypes before dropping large amounts of cash on a huge print run, or perhaps you just want to make a small number of decks for friends or family. Either way, Shuffled Ink is perfect for those situations. What they offer is a product that is of a quality that you won't find with your average printer, and yet that won't break the bank or only be possible with a minimum order of thousands of decks.
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Final thoughts

Overall I'm impressed with the large range of options that Shuffled Ink has available, and despite a small glitch in the mailing process, my personal experience in printing a custom deck was positive, and the quality was good. It wouldn't be fair to expect the same level of quality and performance from a Shuffled Ink produced deck that I'm used to with a USPCC-produced deck. The main area where you can expect to notice the difference is in the handling. But if it's not a deck that's going to see intense use, this doesn't even really matter. Shuffled Ink would probably not be my printer of choice for decks geared for heavy usage or to meet the demanding needs of card flourishing or card magic. But they'd certainly be fine to use for card games, or for producing a novelty deck for collectors, or for a special event.
For those active in the playing card industry, the real strength of Shuffled Ink is their ability to produce small print runs and prototypes at a very low cost. That makes them a good alternative to MPC, which otherwise tends to be the printer of choice for people wanting to print their own playing cards in lower volume. The fact that they are based in the United States will also be a significant point of appeal for many people. With the help of printers like Shuffled Ink even you can become a playing card designer, and create your own decks to give away as gifts, or to add to your own collection as a one-of-a-kind piece!
NB: I do have a few extra copies of the Amberthyst deck available, so contact me privately if you are keen to have one for relatively cheap.
Where to learn more? Head to the Shuffled Ink website here, or check them out on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest).
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submitted by EndersGame_Reviewer to playingcards [link] [comments]

Factors that affect how a deck of playing cards handles (Part 2)

Factors That Affect the Handling of a Deck - Part 2: Non-Bicycle Playing Cards
Most creators of custom playing cards today choose to print their decks with United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), makers of the famous Bicycle brand of playing card. USPCC is a well-known publisher with solid credentials, and has a long history and positive reputation for creating quality playing cards. In previous articles we have covered the process by which Bicycle playing cards are made, why it's worth the money to get a Bicycle deck, and what factors affect their handling.
But USPCC doesn't produce perfect playing cards. Their decks are often printed in high volume on a web press, and one disadvantage of this process is that the print registration can be slightly off, creating slightly misaligned borders. We've probably all seen decks like this, and it can be disappointing to receive a deck that has this issue.
The good news is that this issue is typically a rarity when decks are printed on a sheet-fed press, which is the printing method used by most of the competition, which typically produces runs of playing cards in lower volumes. As a result several reputable publishers have emerged in recent years that offer an excellent alternative to the industry giant of USPCC, and many of them have already earned for themselves a solid reputation for producing consistently high quality playing cards.
The first of these is Expert Playing Card Company (EPCC), which is based in Taiwan. EPCC often works in tandem with Legends Playing Card Company (LPCC), and even uses the same facilities and factories, so we'll take these two together and refer to them as LPCC/EPCC. The second of these is Cartamundi, which is based in Belgium. Along with Bicycle cards, these are arguably the key players that are at the top of the industry right now, and are producing the highest quality playing cards today. But what you need to know is: how are their playing cards made differently from Bicycle decks, and how does this affect their handling? Let's find out!

Legends and Expert Playing Cards

Stock
The stock refers to the paper used to print the playing cards. LPCC/EPCC has a slightly different approach to this than USPCC, which typically uses either Bee stock (thicker), Bicycle stock (normal), or Thin Crush stock (thinnest and softest). Instead, LPCC/EPCC sources their paper from overseas, and this paper stock comes pre-embossed from their suppliers. As a result, LPCC/EPCC uses a single name that doesn't distinguish between their embossing and their stock. They both offer several four main "finishes", all of which feel and handle differently: Diamond/Master Finish, Classic Finish, Elite/Damask Finish, and Emerald/JN Finish. These are really just different combinations of paper stock and embossing, and the main differences between these "finishes" has to do with the type of paper and embossing used. These different paper stocks not only vary in thickness and firmness, but are also embossed to varying depths, making each unique in terms of how they handle. The Classic Finish and Elite/Damask Finish use the thickest paper stock, while the Diamond/Master Finish uses a thinner stock. The Emerald/JN Finish is thinner yet, and represents LPCC/EPCC's efforts to replicate the feel and handling of the Jerry's Nugget Casino cards from the '70s, which were considered legendary for their performance.
Decks produced by LPCC/EPCC in their Classic Finish and Elite/Damsk Finish are the most similar to a standard USPCC deck, and have a relatively soft and papery feel. In contrast, decks with their Diamond/Master finish have thinner cards, while decks with their Emerald/JN Finish are 0.01mm thinner still. Unlike the Thin-Crush stock from USPCC, these thinner cards from LPCC/EPCC are amazingly hardy/durable, and have a real spring and pleasing snap to them, with a surprisingly stiffer feel than the Classic Finish decks.
Texture
The texture refers to the embossed surface of a playing card. While you won't notice significant differences in embossing with USPCC produced decks, the different "finishes" of LPCC/EPCC produced decks do have different types of embossing, both in terms of the pattern and the depth used. The Diamond/Master Finish and the Emerald/JN Finish decks are the least-embossed paper stock, and that makes these cards feel somewhat oily and plastic-like. Yet these decks are also their stiffest and longest lasting cards, since these cards have a real spring to them, and prove very hardy and durable. Their Classic Finish decks have a deeper embossing pattern that the most similar to Bicycle's "Air Cushion Finish". As a result, it feels softer, and has an overall feel that is arguably closest to a Bicycle-type deck from USPCC. The deeper the embossing, the softer the cards will feel, so while the Elite/Damask Finish decks use a similar paper stock to the Classic Finish, a different and deeper embossing pattern on these cards makes them feel even softer yet. In practice, this means that a deck of custom playing cards by USPCC will feel most similar to LPCC/EPCC's Classic Finish. In contrast, LPCC/EPCC's Diamond/Master Finish and Emerald/JN Finish deck are noticeably stiffer and also feel more "tacky", making them more ideal for moves and sleights like springs, cuts, and even double lifts.
Coating
The coating refers to a protective finish added at the end of the printing process, to protect the cards and make them slide over each other smoothly and evenly. LPCC/EPCC uses the same coating for all their card stocks/finishes, although they are constantly experimenting with their coating formula to improve it. Like the Magic Coating used on Bicycle decks, the aim of this coating is that it combines with the embossing to create the perfect amount of drag, slip, as well as durability. LPCC/EPCC's coating tends to be sightly less slippery than those of USPCC produced decks. In my experience, the coating on USPCC produced decks tends to wear out more quickly, meaning that your cards won't spread or fan as evenly over time. In contrast, LPCC/EPCC produced decks have a coating that seems to be harder wearing, slightly less slippery, and they seem to perform consistently for a longer period of time. But this is not always true - while most LPCC/EPCC decks are produced in their factory in Taiwan with a consistent level of quality, watch out for decks produced with their JN Finish in China - these don't seem to be as good, and these cards tend to clump much more quickly.
Cut
The cut refers to the direction of the bevelled edge of the cards, and affects the direction in which cards can be faroed or weave shuffled together. LPCC/EPCC decks are all given a traditional cut (face to back) rather than the modern cut (back to face) that is used as a standard by USPCC. Their cutting process also involves a Diamond Cut technique that produces a much smoother cut than UPSCC. As a result, their decks feel super smooth on the edges, making the cards of a USPCC feel noticeably rough in comparison. These beautiful clean edges are clearly superior to those of a USPCC deck, and can make maneuvers like a perfect faro easier and smoother.

Other Publishers

Cartamundi
Based in Belgium, Cartamundi is a large publishing company with an established reputation in publishing games, but which has only more recently entered the custom playing card market by producing a growing selection of decks, the most well known being the Copag 310s. These have been printed on the company’s B9 True Linen or Cardistry stock, which has also been used for a growing number of cardistry and other custom decks. Examples of decks using the B9 stock include Ondrej Psenicka's innovative Butterfly Playing Cards, the stunning Cobra Playing Cards, Bas John's Cubeline deck, and many others.
These cards combine to make up one of the thickest decks I have seen. Yet despite this thickness, it is a super soft stock that is reminiscent in feel of USPCC's thin-crush stock. As a result, straight out of the box, these cards handle perfectly, requiring no breaking in whatsoever. These cards hold up extremely well, and despite fairly intense use they go the distance with no obvious signs of wear - a somewhat surprising outcome because usually softer decks prove to be quicker wearing.
What is also unique about the finish is that the embossing pattern on the card faces is different than the embossing pattern on the card backs. This allows the cards to slide perfectly over one another for fans and spreads. The cards have a very smooth cut, resulting in perfect and smooth edges, unlike what I've seen with some USPCC cards. Cardists will find the stock super soft, and a joy to shuffle and spring, while still fanning and spreading evenly and smoothly. With its B9 True Linen stock, Cartamundi has announced itself as a strong competitor, and you're almost certain to be very pleased with any Cartamundi deck produced with this stock and finish.
But not everyone is a fan of the thicker cardstock, and more recently Cartamundi has been putting out some decks that aren't as thick as the B9 stock. Both the Touch Cardistry decks and Stockholm17's Ravn v3 decks use Cartamundi's C9 stock, which has a more traditional air cushion style embossing pattern, and a thickness similar to a standard USPCC produced deck. Even thinner yet is their E9 stock, which is used for the new Cohort Classics decks. These cards are so thin that they aren't likely to hold up to the exacting standards required for card flourishing. But with their new C9 and E9 stocks, Cartamundi is providing a viable alternative to USPCC, and we could see an increasing number of custom decks coming from this publisher.
Others
There are a few smaller publishers that have produced a much smaller range of playing cards, such as Hanson Chien Production Company, and BOMB Magic. Both of these also use factories in Taiwan, and their playing cards seem quite comparable in quality and handling to those produced by LPCC/EPCC for the most part.
One other publisher's name you might see mentioned is MakePlayingCards (MPC). What makes MPC attractive to creators is that they offer the advantage of good pricing on smaller print runs. Unfortunately their products aren't considered as high end as some of the other publishers, but they do enable creators to produce a print run as small as a single deck for a reasonable price. According to some reports, their cost for producing a single prototype is about a twentieth of what USPCC charges for the same thing. While their decks are fine for collectors and prototypes, the handling is definitely inferior to those of the previously named publishers. Their playing cards tend to fan and spread smoothly out of the box, but will quickly start to clump. You'll often find the same with the JN Finish decks produced by LPCC/EPCC in China. This also tends to happen with decks produced by another relatively new kid on the block, WJPC, which is also based in China, and has printed a small selection of custom decks.
A final publisher worth knowing about is Noir Arts (NPCC), which is based in the Ukraine. They produce absolutely stellar tuck boxes with a high level of innovation and quality. But like MPC decks, their playing cards don't always handle consistently. NPCC does use high quality cardstock - German black-core linen 310gsm card-stock, which is also the top pick used by Make Playing Cards. This stock is also embossed with an air cushion finish, and has a real firm, snappy, and springy feel, with a stiffness somewhat similar to the Diamond/Master finishes from LPCC/EPCC, but it doesn't fan or spread as evenly or evenly as USPCC or LPCC/EPCC decks. While very durable and superior to a typical corner store deck, the handling will disappoint serious card flourishers.
Publishers like MPC and NPCC also reduce their printing costs by using a high-speed laser to remove cards from their press sheets instead of the die-cutting used by USPCC and LPCC/EPCC. The disadvantage of this method is that the laser creates a perfectly flat, 90-degree angle at the cut, with no bevelled edges whatsoever (unlike the modern/traditional cut), and this makes weave/faro shuffles more difficult.

Other Factors

Quality control: Some publishers also have exceedingly high standards of quality control. Special mention should be made of USPCC, which has different standards of quality control, depending on the deck they are printing. Q1 is their highest standard, and where they check the most closely for the best results in areas like centering, print registration, cutting, colour, and flaws. Q4 is their lowest standard, and is considered "tolerable" - it basically means that more margin is given for error. In most cases this will only affect how the cards look, and not how they handle.
Press type: LPCC/EPCC uses a sheet-fed press exclusively, which USPCC also uses for smaller print runs. In contrast a web press is preferred by USPCC for the sake of efficiency and speed when doing higher-volume print runs of many thousands. A sheet-fed press gives greater precision in printing and cutting, and a consistently crisp and bold printing registration. This also enables the use of narrower borders than normal, gives a greater range of options for designers, and also can produce a classier look. In decks printed by USPCC on their web press in high volume you'll sometimes notice that the borders are slightly off-centre for this reason, while this problem is rare to non-existent with LPCC/EPCC decks. However this will typically only affect the look of the cards, and not their handling.
Metallic foil: High gloss embossed metallic foil stamped onto the back of playing cards adds a real element of bling and visual appeal. But one challenge resulting from this extra bling, due to the materials needed to create these unusual cards, is that they do handle somewhat differently than a standard deck. The significant amount of foil on the backs does make them feel somewhat slippery, and you will find fanning and spreading a bit more challenging to master with these decks.
Spot UV printing: Another area of innovation in recent years is the use of technology that allows printers to produce embossed and glossy ink via UV spot printing. Basically this adds a secondary printing process where a layer of polymer is applied to create a raised glossy effect on the card faces. Cards printed in this way are like those of a regular deck, but in addition they have a glossy and raised surface that stands out visibly and can actually be felt. This naturally affects handling, because it can reduce the effect of the normal embossing and coating, since the raised surface that has been subject to UV spot printing becomes the point of friction instead of the entire card. When this happens, certain cards can become slightly more slippery, making it harder to have completely consistent fans.
Deck condition: Even the best deck will eventually wear out. A good quality deck will still handle and perform consistently over a long period of time. But eventually the coating will wear, and the cards will attract oils and dirt from your skin. When that all happens, your deck will no longer handle as smoothly as it did initially. A new deck will typically handle like a dream, and depending on its quality, will continue to handle well for a decent amount of time. But its handling performance will eventually be affected by sheer use as it wears, and slowly deteriorates.
Skill: A poor workman always blames his tools. No matter how good your deck handles, it is no substitute for skill, practice, and experience in card handling. The more time you spend mastering card flourishes and card fundamentals, the better you'll get. On the other hand, don't expect a good quality deck to be a short cut to mad card skills! It will certainly make difficult card flourishes easier to master, but is no substitute for skill!

Final Thoughts

So when you are purchasing a deck of playing cards, do you need to become an expert in all these details, and how decks are produced? Fortunately the answer is no. In the case of USPCC produced Bicycle decks, the quality will nearly always be identical, and the main difference in handling will depend on the thickness of the stock, and whether or not a deck is Thin-Crush or not.
With non-Bicycle decks, the most important thing to consider is who the publisher is. With the possible exception of their JN Finish decks produced in China (of which there have only been a few), decks from LPCC/EPCC that are produced in Taiwain are almost always going to be of a consistently high standard, which is why they are a popular choice for many custom designers. You will immediately notice smoother and cleaner cut edges in all their decks. Especially their Classic Finish and Elite/Damask Finish decks are quite comparable in handling and performance to USPCC produced decks. It is worth paying attention to whether a LPCC/EPCC deck uses Diamond/Master Finish, however, because these decks will feel noticeably different. They perform excellent and are very long-lasting, but do feel more oily/plasticky, and the cards feel noticeably firmer, with more of a spring to them, although they still fan and spread fine. Some people like and even prefer these, while others don't, so it's largely a matter of preference and taste, and sometimes even a matter of getting used to it. But virtually all the LPCC/EPCC decks are great quality and handle well.
Decks from other publishers, on the other hand, can be hit or miss. Cartamundi is doing an excellent job with their new decks in their B9 True Linen finish. There are also some publishers like Hanson Chien Production Company that are producing a small range of good quality decks out of Taiwan. But if a deck is produced by a company like Noir Arts (NPCC) or MakePlayingCards (MPC), you can expect the handling to be sub-par, and you'll immediately notice that spreads and fans won't be as smooth and consistent as you'd like. So it is worth taking note of who the publisher of a deck is if you're considering supporting a Kickstarter project or choosing a deck to buy. Of course all this only matters much if you're into cardistry or card magic, whereas such questions about handling will be less important to collectors or those wanting a deck for playing card games.
The good news is that for the most part, the vast majority of decks available at retailers that specialize in custom playing cards (e.g. playingcarddecks.com) are produced by USPCC and other industry leaders like LPCC/EPCC. Almost all playing cards produced by industry leaders like these are the printed with the latest machines and technology, and that's why you are almost certain to be satisified with one of their decks in your hands!
Author's note: I first published this article at PlayingCardDecks.com here.
submitted by EndersGame_Reviewer to playingcards [link] [comments]

Blackcore, bluecore, greycore, whitecore, oh my! 270g 330gsm and all those other numbers! A lot of nitty-gritty questions about card stock and game printing.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to print a card game cheap enough that it makes sense for the Turkish market without it being terrible quality. Turkey is on the edge of a recession and I’m trying to keep the final game below 100 lira because I think that’s an important mental number. Every $0.25 increase in manufacturing costs per unit is a 1.5 lira is a (if we go off the recommendation of have a MSRP at 5x total landed costs) 7.5 lira price increase. I would love if I could manufacture a large set of cards (roughly six sheets worth) in a telescoping box for cheaper than what seems like possible.

This is long so there are TL;DR questions at the end. You can skip there.

James Mathe’s blog post “the Art of the RFQ” is very helpful for thinking about manufacturing, as obviously is his comprehensive list of manufacturers. He says this about different card cores:
Card Core: The core of a card is what makes it “snap” as well as prevents people from seeing through the card with bright backlighting. This is where I see many manufacturers calling their cards by different names so it makes it harder to compare. Typically a lower quality card would be called “white-core”. A medium quality core is typically called “grey-core” or “blue-core”. High end cores will use the word “black-core” or “casino” when they speak of the core. But it’s confusing as Panda GM for example calls their upper medium core: “Chinese Grey-core Casino Cardstock”. There is also plastic card stock but its expense doesn’t warrant its use in hobby board games. If they do not use a core in their cards, don’t use them as a manufacturer.
This other blog post on demystifying game components says (linked to here as an alternative to Mathe’s post):
You have 3 Major options in quality of game card card stock, all regarding the “core”.
Card Cores
Graycore – This is the industry standard. There’s no reason to start above this quality. Ask for 300gsm Casino Quality Greycore. … Sounds fancy, but it’s the baseline standard.
Ivorycore (Whitecore) – This is the next step up, and is considered premium. When bent by accident, they are less likely to crease.
Bluecore – A rough equivalent to Ivorycore. Manufacturers will usually offer one or the other. …my MTG cards appear to use Bluecore. Hmm. : )
Blackcore – The highest quality. When bent they are even less likely to crease, as they have the best core.
The first says whiteHow standardized are these really? What’s the deal with white/grey/blue?
My second question is, I realize it’s essential to have a core, but what does a core give you? It makes it less likely to deform or crease and also makes it so light won’t penetrate (maybe others have also experienced third world playing cards where you can see through them if there’s a light source behind them). Is there a big difference in these cores or is the importance in having a core and then just moving on from there to deciding the weight of your cards? Panda GM for instance has 310 gsm ivory core and 310 gsm black core. Does that make any difference besides light penetration? Does black somehow have more “snap”?
After core, comes weight. For weight, Mathe says:
Card Thickness: The thickness of the card affects its overall feel, durability, and resistance to bending. Typical card thickness is 250-330 gsm. A game like Munchkin has light 280gsm cards. Magic The Gathering is roughly 300gsm and seems like a good standard, so that is what we use unless there is a need to trim some fat. Euphoria’s recruit cards are 360 gsm and Viticulture’s mini cards are 300 gsm. Battle Merchant’s cards are 275 gsm and The Manhattan Project is 300 gsm.
The other site says:
Thickness. You can get 270gsm or 330+gsm, but there’s no real reason to do anything more or less than 300gsm. The price difference will be minimal at best, and 300 might be less expensive as it’s by far the most common for game cards.
Magic the Gathering from what I can tell uses 305g blue core. People think that Bicycle playing cards are also about 300gsm with bluecore but when I tried to look this up, they say their “specifications are proprietary” seems. Let’s say I’m looking to make a game that I imagine will be all cards and shuffled about as much as Trivial Pursuit or Cards Against Humanity. Rarely shuffled, but always in someone’s hand, occasionally slapped down in triumph.
Would 270, 280 and lower gsm hold up? Panda GM doesn’t even offer anything below 300g with a core (they have 250g coreless that they specify is only used for trivia-type card games—ones where you’re not shuffling at all, I guess). PrintNinja on the other hand lists 280g bluecore as their “standard” option with weights going up to 330. The second piece of advice says never go below 300. Would 270g bluecore/greycore/whitecore feel cheap? If not, is there any lower you can go? This website says that you can keep opacity and go as low as 80lb card stock if you have colors on both sides.
You can get playing card stock in 270gsm (87lb-93lb) which has a colored core paper and is actually two papers laminated together. (...) Depending on the quantity, it may actually be cheaper AND get you a better card quality by going with the 80lb cover with the reticulated varnish instead of the linen finish playing card stock. NOTE: this suggestion works BEST with cards that are “full coverage” – that is not a lot of white on either side. Having more ink coverage reduces their opacity – though since you aren’t running a casino this probably won’t even be an issue.
I can’t seem to find any conversions online that will give me ~90lbs is 270gsm; conversion online, 2 seem to suggest that 80lbs covecards stock would be like 220gsm which seems like another ball-game entirely—something is off about those answers because it seems like 100lbs card stock is more like 270gsm. So 80lb cardstock seems nuts. Is there a non-nuts way to go below 270? Does anyone even give you that option while manufacturing? Is opacity (rather than durability) even my primary concern here?
While I have you here, four color CMYK has some natural range to it. If I want the expansions set to match the core set, do I have to use spot color? The cards will only primarily be two colors anyway so this would be possible. From what I’ve gathered, to go good match spot color will be necessary.
What about finish? How much do matte, glossy, varnish, lamentation, linen make a difference? I love the feel and look of linen cards, but I feel like I am dealing with a very price sensitive audience and Turkey is almost certainly entering a recession now, so I want to find savings where I can. Matte, glossy, and varnish seems to be the same price, but I can’t quite tell even which ones I have in my collection. Do some of them wear and tear less? Are there standards for different types of games? It seems like Matte might be more sensitive to scratches, but otherwise is it purely aesthetics?
So, tl;dr questions:
submitted by yodatsracist to boardgameindustry [link] [comments]

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