Hello fellow lemmings! I'm designing a customized deck of cards as a present for a friend of mine. When finished, I'd like to print it by myself, because online print services would cost way too much for a single deck of cards. I'd like the cards to be robust and durable, and to be easy to shuffle. Is there a particular type of paper that you recommend? Or something to apply afterward? I'm thinking of plasticizing the cards after the print process, but I don't know how well it would come out. Any idea is welcome!
I wrote up a huge guide on the process until my phone crashed and I lost it all. but honestly? Don’t do it. It’s not worth it. Pay whatever it costs to get it professionally printed. I promise you, it’s not as easy as you think, you’ll spend more money getting the tools and materials to create a good final product than you would have done just getting it professionally printed. I can pretty much guarantee that unless you have professional design-grade printing, cutting and gluing equipment that you will not be able to do this as easily as you’re imagining it would be. Please heed my warning, do not make the same mistakes I did.
Have them printed from a service. A normal deck of cards should run about $30 USD. The paper, laminate, ink and maybe sleeves will probably cost the same or more and will come out with way lower quality especially if this is your first time crafting them.
I've done both and unless you want really quick and dirty prototype cards or something that is super handmade that you drew on yourself instead of designed on a computer, the ones from a printing service win hands down.
I'd say either regular paper + 10mm lamination, or 12pt matte paper (what people use for lower-end business cards). Regular 65lb or 110lb cardstock is probably not going to cut it for playing cards.
If you're going to laminate, remember to cut out the cards first and then laminate (and cut out again once it's laminated). That way each card will be fully sealed around all edges and waterproof.
Professional printers can do it cheaper than you can, even for a one off. No personal experience with a job like this, but you can buy quite small batches of printed envelopes a lot cheaper than plain envelopes because they get such massive discounts on their bulk orders. It's not going to be cost-effective for you to do a good job of it.
Find a local print and paper shop, bring them the artwork and they'll have the right printers and paper and cutting tools to make them look good. Of course it's going to cost more than a standard cost for a deck of cards, you're only making one deck. Your standard inkjet printer isn't going to be able to print on the card stock you need to use. Lamination isn't the answer here either.
Call Clampitt Paper 214-638-3300 or go to their website clampitt.com and ask them about good options and what type of printer to use. They have a ton of options.
Looking around a little I found this that might be helpful to you: https://youtu.be/WyMVRJu5yQ4?si=f1iQjnGPdCVTUJSS
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/WyMVRJu5yQ4?si=f1iQjnGPdCVTUJSS
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
