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Printer list!

If you are a deck creator, writer, printer, professional reader, shop owner, or just want to learn more about the business side of Tarot, this is the place for you to discuss the issues, ideas, and innovations of the Tarot Biz.
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reall
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Printer list!

Post by reall »

starting topic to post a list of all good printers for Tarot & Oracle decks in hope you'll find it useful & add more in the future! :D


Good printers confirmed/review list;)

POD(Print on Demand) List;


US based;
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/(aka TGC) best price for best cardstock quality linen 12pt 320gsm black core with UV finish custom made box and option for shop page & best shipping rates worldwide!;D print books!;D +big selection of game parts including Transparent & Holo Cards & all sorts of box, bags & blank cards & sleeves, these are great for DIY projects!:) + short production time so expect your order to ship within 2days!:) note; their drift can be a bit much, so make sure that your important parts are inside the safe zone but otherwise replace defective decks at no cost to the artist.

http://www.drivethrucards.com/ (aka DTC aka OneBookShelf) - recommend their Embossed (aka linen) card stock 320gsm 11pt with beautiful colors and silk UV finish! it say Printed in US and still have best US shipping rates and costumer support ever! + discount price for larger quantities + option for larger prints and poster+ books! and shop page!:)) + best statistic sale/earnings overview & payment options for seller!:) full review here; http://creativenlight.blogspot.ba/2017/ ... elf-review
downside; outdated web interface complicated print file preparation & expensive shipping outside US (+20$!x,x) also starting August 2021 discontinued Bridge card size & linen cardstock option for all but Tarot card size!x//

http://superiorpod.com/category/custom- ... vWXf4VOKDs offer best options & price for different cardstock box books & more as well as shop option for publisher via Adventure Game Source and Wackadu. This family owned company is taking Big Steps at Top of this list with it's modern automated printing process, plenty different cardstock options including waterproof/tear-proof & holo stock in different sizes, can print round cards, books & stickers & plenty other game & merch, expanding box options to include: regular tuckbox and tuck box that open on the long side for tarot cards as well as envelope style box & rigid two piece box (wrapped & plastic), tins & custom box options for customers!:D web page is handmade & will continue to improve & you can watch regular updates on official fb page: https://www.facebook.com/superiorpod Will Share my full review when I receive my test prints!:) Looking forward to Selfpublishing my decks with these great people in future as both Jeff & Anthony are great to work with & answered all my questions so feel free to contact them if you have any question regarding your print ideas!:)

https://www.primoprint.com/products big selection of printed products including cards, stickers & bookmarks including UV & foil option!:)

https://smartpress.com/offering/collated-printing

https://www.printplaygames.com/product/cards-tarot/

http://store.vervante.com/c/affil/index.html seems to offer best deal for 100decks(not sure about price but they let you sell on amazon & other big bookstore?:) "offer cards printed on demand, printing in short runs and offset printed on 12 pt C2S stock equivalent to 260 gsm. Any size with square corners or round. Short run cards, 100+ decks, are printed on 350 gsm stock and can also be printed any size with square corners or round, with matte or gloss UV. Can add foil stamp, spot UV, and a variety of other specialty touches for cards that are offset printed These are usually for 500+ decks. Offer custom printed tuck boxes for most of decks. You are also welcome to send us packaging for decks such as tin boxes, drawstring bags, etc. We can add printed booklets or instruction cards that can be accordion folded depending on the number of panels. For decks that are packaged in a drawstring bag, we can add printed bag tags or tie charms to the ribbons, etc. "

China based;
http://www.makeplayingcards.com/promoti ... cards.html aka MPC This company is getting great reviews. Everyone who has dealt with them is very pleased at the quality and service & easy upload interface. Also MPC is only POD offering gilded edge or holo foil card print option as well as different box options including Tarot size tins!:) so if you plan printing 50+ decks it's worth checking as they also offer affordable fulfillment service if you need to ship your decks worldwide to your costumers/backers for around 10-12$ per deck!:) Shipping may be an issue as it's not always traceable but as long as you are paying with paypal you are ok!:)
ETA; my 1st printed deck & mpc tin arrived & I like Big card size & good quality & shipping my only remarks is colors on 300gsm card stock are bit light so better use linen/other option?;) you can read my full review here!:)

https://www.boardgamesmaker.com/ similar design & price as mpc only difference they offer more *game piece options!;)

http://www.printerstudio.com/ - aka PS affordable, easy upload and fast. Similar to MPC above but less stock & box options & more other items options. Card Colors may be less bright than original digital files. UPDATE by Lucky Card; just to add link for my review for their linen and plastic stock!:)) http://creativenlight.blogspot.ba/searc ... -results=6 Note this was before their stock price rise significantly 2016 same as MPC that may be sister company?:) compared to US PODs so you may wish to consider TGC and DTC to be better option for US and worldwide?:)


Canada: just find out about these!:) Order Your free Sample Book & Start your Art project here:
https://www.catprint.com Great Selection of different stock & finish options including my favorite Holographic prism effect!:) This is only printer I know offering this Holo & Magnet option!?:) Printers take notice This is How you present yourself! Artist You Need This!=D mini Sample Book is Best I’ve seen with over 40 different cardstock & finish options including Awesome selection of heavy card stock linen & Shimmer & Pearl paper as well as Stickers & Magnetic stock Definitely Perfect Choice for All Your Art Projects!:D I’m printing my Tarot deck limited edt with holo next choice between plastic (*untearable!:) Shimmering & Perl?:) will probably do test print of each moment I have my Art Completed!;D let me know if you would be interested in any of these *Super Sparkly limited edt?!;) also hope to see actual playing cardstock (aka black core) included as well as box & fulfillment option son so I can write full review & recommend this printer as Best (eco & animal friendly!;) to my

https://www.newprint.ca/trading-cards-printing big selection of various promo items!:)


Australia:
https://shop.eprintonline.com.au/game-decks/products/ big selection of printed items including cards & booklets With Effect, also offering assistance with printer file preparation & demo deck prior to production a huge plus for self publishers full confidence before rolling forward into a full scale production order. Everything is printed in house helping support eco awareness fair wages and local economy.


Europe; Note imo EU printers are great way to offer better price & faster shipping for EU orders!:)+save your costumers of extra import charges/VAT tax or whatever post is charging for international orders & everyone complains about!:D

Belgium; https://www.makemygame.com/faq

France; https://printeurope.fr/jeux-de-cartes-p ... es_en.html

Germany; Note I noticed plenty PoD in Germany have variety of box options including my favorite tins!:)
https://www.spielematerial.de/en/ this company have awesome selection of game parts & best tins I find in Europe!:) also their wikipage mention 320gsm 350gsm & 390gsm cardstock worth checking out!:) will update moment I know more!:)
http://spieleerfinden.de/wiki_en/index.php?title=Cards

https://www.quartettbar.de/Produkte/Spi ... enkonzepte great selection of boxes including wood!:)

https://www.piksieben.de/de/spielkarten ... pielkarten this have good poker & bridge size tin box & few larger sizes!:)

https://www.printerstudio.de/fotogesche ... arten.html printerstudio pod in Germany!:) recommended!^^

https://www.druckdatenloesungen.de/indi ... ielkarten/
https://www.meinspiel.de/
https://www.spielkarten-druck.de/indivi ... E#tab-id-3 offer free test prints?;)
https://yodagames.de/
https://www.bod.de/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3 ... gJMNvD_BwE books!;)



Italy; http://www.ludocards.com/ Update apt 2021 Best EU(Italy) POD at the moment!:D
Best printing price & Quality standards for good cardstock Cards (330gsm black core recommended!:)
Sturdy 2piece Box Full Print inside & Out with Metalic foil option & Gilded Edges!:D
Full Color Book Options!:D
+drop ship service & ship worldwide!:) + you used to get free shipping if you ship All your decks at once to your home address you registered your acc!;)
it's my exclusive EU printer!:) but I'm shipping from mailboxde.com read my full review here!^^;D
check out pic of Tarot decks LC printed for me here; https://photos.app.goo.gl/qZ6dZc6J49nUdTVf6
& read my full review here; http://creativenlight.blogspot.com/2019 ... eview.html
check their faq here; https://www.ludocards.com/faq
& quotes here; https://www.ludocards.com/quote/custom-cards (note
same page can also generate your required standard or customized card size & box & book preset/pdf template (Note:most printers use 3mm cut/bleed line & for standard Tarot size card preset for 7x12cm printed card +3mm bleed on each side would be around 76x126mm, but LC generator seems to work with 2mm & 74x124mm so you may wish to contact their costumer service to confirm exact card img size in pixel before printing!:) you can download templates I've used here; http://fav.me/dd30ioa but print drift is still possible (like with all printers here!) so avoid borders etc & I'll be not held responsible for any possible misprint resulting from these issues!;) also standard gamecrafter tarot template guidelines are fit & easy to convert to this ludocard Tarot size!:)


UK:
https://cardcreator.personalisedplayingcards.com/prices PoD based in UK & offer printing deck & free shipping for UK!:) worth checking out for UK orders

https://generationpress.co.uk/ eco friendly company that printed Oak Ash & Thorn Tarot

https://www.playingcardspersonalised.co.uk/tarot-cards

https://www.ivorygraphics.co.uk

https://aura-print.com/uk/custom-playing-card-printing playing cards bookmarks & other prints!:)

https://thefoilprintingco.com/uk/metall ... d-printing only one in Europe offer foil options for single deck & slim aka bring card size cost is best for +100 decks will test it out for my next deck & provide detail review!:) also big selection of other promo prints such as booklets!:)

https://www.pinksheep.co.uk/

& if you plan printing larger quantities here are some recommendations;
Europe (the prices mentioned are rough guidelines and where received on inquiry)

https://www.fabryka-kart.eu/en/ Happy to add this great Poland printer factory with long tradition certificates & awards in card industry they also offer all fancy add ons including: UV Gloss, Metallic Hot & Cold Stamping & Glitter & Gilded edges!:D & sturdy 2 piece slider & clam shell & wooden box options!:D & plenty of cardboard elements such as puzzle & other plastic & wood elements!;D minimum quote is 500 decks read my review here p.s it seems they printed larger gilded Shadowscapes Tarot as well!:D will add more info upon confirmation!;D Downside: only accept Bank Transfer payment option, hopefully will manage to talk them into paypal!;)

http://www.cartamundi.com/de / Good quality & price but only if you only print cards there and the box and/or booklet print elsewhere. 1000 decks around 3,70 Euro per deck

http://www.piatnik.com/ Perfect austrian quality, but also the most expensive one. 1000 decks plus box 6,13 Euro (additional costs not included), only decks without box 5,57 Euro.

https://www.groels.nl/ Netherland

https://omegadruk.pl/kontakt.html Poland


World
http://expertplayingcard.com/#custom Playing Card Company, New York City, New York 10001 professional playing cards with foil & Embossing option

www.guruplayingcards.com “GPCC printing company in partnership with one of the top most leading printer. Based out of Australia. The printing and shipping happens from China while the 100% handcrafted and lacquered decks are done in India. Produced 2 (poker) decks till now, both of which received rave reviews. Bharata Major Arcana tarot will be first tarot deck by this company. Given current customers are playing card collectors, quality of printing, card stock etc. is paramount, and rest assured, I take care of each production print personally. Don't offer print on demand and minimum print run is 600 decks. Offer any type of card size as well. Any other question, please feel free to ask. Regards, Sunish”

www.imageppm.com/ Recommended by Jay DeForest: Image Printing & Packaging is a company where you will deal directly with an English speaking print manager in China. print card decks, books, boxes and other items. minimum printing quote of 500, but the pricing is much better at 1000 units or more.

https://www.jimiagency.net/ this dynamic duo is based in Korea & offering playing cards with holo effect!:)minimal order per 1design is 200 cards, they also offer bookmarks, postcards & much more so be sure to check out their web page!:)

http://jsmccarthy.com/ Personable and professional. 100% of all our electricity purchases are derived from wind power.

https://legendsplayingcards.com/pages/custom

https://plaincards.com/ waiting for review!

https://www.playingcards.ltd/About-us.html

http://www.printninja.com/printing-prod ... e-printing based in US & print in China, printing options include metallic n foil print!;)

https://shuffledink.com/ Formerly known as Quality Playing Cards, this company is a professional card printer. They do any size and number of cards, have a top notch art department, and the quality is exceptional. They do work internationally.

https://usplayingcard.com/about-us/

more info & good printer list here; http://www.jamesmathe.com/hitchhikers-g ... facturers/

& if you decide to Print your books/box & other add ons separately here are some printers I find online!;)

books simple interface good quotes: https://ridero.eu/en

good quote for color books: https://bookprinting.eu/?Sheet=Stitched%20brochures

best luxury book options: https://www.graspo.com/en/hardcover/

Books & Everything; https://www.pixartprinting.com/try-us-for-free/

Boxes: https://www.pack.ly/create/en/dieline-b ... x-standard


& if you are looking for easy alternative for Adobe illustrator to prepare your printer files check:

https://www.canva.com/ platform for designing custom decks, you can switch on bleed if you go to: File > Show print bleed. Then, when downloading the file, Select "PDF Print" file type (switch on crop marks and bleed) - this will give you a print ready file and avoid any artwork fix charges that may be incurred with respective print houses.

also be sure to post us here what worked best for you?:)
reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

updated links for tarot & oracle creators course review!;)
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Re: Printer list!

Post by DuckSoupProductions »

Does anyone know of a good offset (not digital) printing company WITHIN THE USA that does large (or large-ish: 1000 copies or more) print runs and is familioar with the needs of Tarot decks? I'm specifically looking for something US-based to replace the company I have been doing business with in Hong Kong. The Sjenjen Wangjing Printing Company does terrific work (they did my TRICK OR TAROT and 2nd Edition TINKER'S DAMN and RACKHAM decks... but the rep that I have been dealing with there has left the company, Because Reasons, and I am also quite concerned with the unrest and trouble that we've been seeing in the news from Hong Kong.

If I could get the same quality product from a U.S. - based company, so long as I am able to raise the funds vis Kickstarter, then it might be nice under the circumstances to put "Made in the USA" on the box.....
"Nothing by which all human passion and hope and folly can be mirrored and then proved ever was just a game." -- William Faulkner.
reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

you may wish to check here; http://www.jamesmathe.com/hitchhikers-g ... facturers/
imo most printers will be happy to do large print +300 anyway you wish & even shipping within us is best & most of your orders will be us international is not so great(especially if you add extra charges Everyone will complain,,,)

But sad fact printing in china is still best option especially for larger quantities & if you have preorders & they do fullfilment for you as well?;)
also most of best quality decks are still printed in china! :D (will add my mpc review soon! :D

another option worth considering is EU(as that would save your EU costumers extra import tax vat post collecting fee uk charge etc)
& some of most popular & quality decks are printed in EU etc Baba & Dark Mansion but I have no idea who they print with(plz pm me if you know? :D
& you can tag it with mailboxde.com for fulfillment/best shipping option my review; http://creativenlight.blogspot.com/2019 ... vider.html
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Re: Printer list!

Post by Pen »

reall wrote:
Note; whatever printer you end up with be sure to ask for linen/Embossed card texture & at least 300gsm anything less is bad for Tarot cards!
Fantastic list, reall, good to have all this info in one place.

I agree with your conclusion re. card weight, but found (after a few proofs) that the embossed card texture cools down the colour of the card and the inks - all those tiny, tiny shadows cast by the texture add a greyish tinge, slight but (for me, anyway) too noticeable to ignore. I guess choice depends on what's more important to the publisher/artist.
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reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

Pen wrote: 01 Mar 2020, 08:17 reall wrote:
Note; whatever printer you end up with be sure to ask for linen/Embossed card texture & at least 300gsm anything less is bad for Tarot cards!
Fantastic list, reall, good to have all this info in one place.

I agree with your conclusion re. card weight, but found (after a few proofs) that the embossed card texture cools down the colour of the card and the inks - all those tiny, tiny shadows cast by the texture add a greyish tinge, slight but (for me, anyway) too noticeable to ignore. I guess choice depends on what's more important to the publisher/artist.
I've just updated this list with link to my blog for Complete Guide for Artist How to Create Print & Publish your own Tarot or Oracle deck: http://creativenlight.blogspot.com/2020 ... reate.html

& discovered card core also matters black aka carbon core being best giving it snap & durability!:)
so be sure to check it out & let me know how you like?:)
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

update to add Awesome EU printer: https://www.fabryka-kart.eu/en/
this company have great quotes for Decks with Effects (UV Gloss, Cold Stamping, Gilded Edgess, Glitters & fancy clamshell box option!:)
read my full review here: https://creativenlight.blogspot.com/202 ... viewd.html
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

updated to add note the gamecrafter prints books now! :D
also added more info about Germany pod tin options & 1new link! :D
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

update added Canada & Australia & 1 more UK link!;)
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Re: Printer list!

Post by Ours bipolaire »

About Cartamundi

I have printed 1500 decks with Cartamundi and My experience was so-so

My deck was complicated to print (one metalic spot on quadrichromy with a domminant of black) and I have been through difficulties maybe because my skills as a designer are not sufficient.

I would still recomment Cartamundi for cards but maybe not for the high end graphics with a black dominant especially if you are not a totally seasoned designer. For example their recommendations on varnishes, coatings, lamination, were not realy helping.

In the end I have a good product that sold itself very fast but it took me a year to obtain something acceptable. There are probably faults on my side too but I didn't feel like I could count on them for technical advice.
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

thank you for sharing! :D I believe even pros reported similar issues with their metalic prints, it may be due to printing process that is complicated for this type of effect? I would like to know more details about type of effect you used hot/cold metalic stamping?
also what program did you use to prepare your cards?:)
I would also like to use metalic effect for my deck but don't know how to prepare files, any tip is welcome! :mrgreen:
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Re: Printer list!

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reall wrote: 30 Jun 2021, 21:34 thank you for sharing! :D I believe even pros reported similar issues with their metalic prints, it may be due to printing process that is complicated for this type of effect? I would like to know more details about type of effect you used hot/cold metalic stamping?
also what program did you use to prepare your cards?:)
I would also like to use metalic effect for my deck but don't know how to prepare files, any tip is welcome! :mrgreen:
Hi Reall

My name is Marty from ePrint and we offer two styles of metallic hot foil card printing.

Hot Foil: from what I can tell you of hot Foil is yes, it is difficult especially when alignment of the print layer and foil layer is important. We do our foiling as a digital foil. So we essentially print the background layer first, and the foil element gets applied after. This calls for two passes through the printer (if it is a digital press) which means alignment will never be guaranteed within a mm.

The foil comes on a solid roll in several colours, gold, Silver, rose gold, copper, green, red etc. Now to apply the foil, it needs to be applied to the sheet wherever there is toner. The over print is put down and passes through a hot laminator allowing the foil to adhere to the spot toner layer. It does this by heating up the toner converting it temporarily to a glue gel substance which activates the foil to the gel. It then passes through built in fans to cool and stick back down.

To protect the background layer from not pulling foil, it gets sealed over with a special velvet laminate that allows overprinting back onto.

So considering this, you basically need two print files. File one: printed background. File two: the foil overprint. The overprint file should be supplied in just black. 100% black. Since the foil is solid, you cannot use gradients in a foil effect.

Metallic: whereby any colour supplied will come out metallic shiny like you'd see on special trading cards etc

Hope that helps to understand the process from the production perspective and what to expect? 😅👍
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Re: Printer list!

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ePrintTarotHelp wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 11:02 So considering this, you basically need two print files. File one: printed background. File two: the foil overprint. The overprint file should be supplied in just black. 100% black. Since the foil is solid, you cannot use gradients in a foil effect.
Thanks for the explantion!
It's so interesting what all goes into it.

So to prepare the files, it sounds to me like you would need vector files made in Adobe Illustrator for the separation?

I had to do this once for a deck (Button Soup Tarot) that has a gold foil frame on the face of each card.

I had to create the gold frame area as a separate vector from the rest of the image for each card. The gold foil was stamped on after the print.
I had to purchase (and learn!) Adobe illustrator to accomplish that and instead of PDF's I had to submit ai files.

I know that's different from what you are describing, but it sounds like the print standard PDF files (or jpegs or whatever) won't work for this process. The whole file preparation process is much different than with standard printed cards.

Is that right?
Button Soup Tarot, Star & Crown Oracle available @: Rabbit's Moon Tarot 💚
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

Marty thank you for info it sure helps art design to know how it’s made! :D
be sure to check printer list here & let me know if your link need to be added!

im interested in printing refraction holo foil as this:
can you print that?:)
also do you provide tech help with file assembly?:)
as i work in gimp & can create background & foil layer but idk how to assemble these to print ready files? :mrgreen:

I think process @Joan Marie described is for classic hot foil digital may be similar but is still complicated for me! :mrgreen:
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Re: Printer list!

Post by ePrintTarotHelp »

reall wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 19:44 Marty thank you for info it sure helps art design to know how it’s made! :D
be sure to check printer list here & let me know if your link need to be added!

im interested in printing refraction holo foil as this:
can you print that?:)
also do you provide tech help with file assembly?:)
as i work in gimp & can create background & foil layer but idk how to assemble these to print ready files? :mrgreen:

I think process @Joan Marie described is for classic hot foil digital may be similar but is still complicated for me! :mrgreen:
This is holographic foil (instead of the solid foil I mentioned above)

So we don't do these because they're particularly expensive for a roll of each, once you stock one how far do you go if they're very rarely asked for? :roll:

So we have invented the metallic method, which actually imitates the holographic without the need for expensive embellishments.

Currently, we are only Australia wide (and yes we are on the list above :D - which is how I found out about this forum) but I am happy to offer up any design / file setup advice for anyone who asks.

To find a local printer who offers the above, you'd need to search for holographic printing. File setup, you'd only require one file for this type of finish, as it holographic foils the entire side, not a designated spot section. Hope that makes sense? :idea:
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Re: Printer list!

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Joan Marie wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 13:58
ePrintTarotHelp wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 11:02 So considering this, you basically need two print files. File one: printed background. File two: the foil overprint. The overprint file should be supplied in just black. 100% black. Since the foil is solid, you cannot use gradients in a foil effect.
Thanks for the explantion!
It's so interesting what all goes into it.

So to prepare the files, it sounds to me like you would need vector files made in Adobe Illustrator for the separation?

I had to do this once for a deck (Button Soup Tarot) that has a gold foil frame on the face of each card.

I had to create the gold frame area as a separate vector from the rest of the image for each card. The gold foil was stamped on after the print.
I had to purchase (and learn!) Adobe illustrator to accomplish that and instead of PDF's I had to submit ai files.

I know that's different from what you are describing, but it sounds like the print standard PDF files (or jpegs or whatever) won't work for this process. The whole file preparation process is much different than with standard printed cards.

Is that right?
Yes that's right. Foil stamping and Digital Foil are slightly different applications, but the idea is the same. Foil element added after main production. So getting both layers to align is near impossible - why we always steer our clients away from borders or any elements that rely on a perfectly centred side.

If you have illustrator and are happy with that (and have built the necessary skills) that's great! however for anyone else who can't commit to the full thing, canva is a great online option! many of our clients have used the platform for designing their custom decks (card games and tarot).

For the best print results, I would recommend always submit pdf files. This way printers get a vector file and not a rasterized image which reduces quality.

Also, always ensure you have bleed. Google has a lot of info about bleed: What is Bleed?

If using canva, you can switch on bleed if you go to: File > Show print bleed. Then, when downloading the file, Select "PDF Print" file type (switch on crop marks and bleed) - this will give you a print ready file and avoid any artwork fix charges that may be incurred with respective print houses.
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Re: Printer list!

Post by Joan Marie »

ePrintTarotHelp wrote: 12 Jul 2021, 02:25 Yes that's right. Foil stamping and Digital Foil are slightly different applications, but the idea is the same. Foil element added after main production. So getting both layers to align is near impossible - why we always steer our clients away from borders or any elements that rely on a perfectly centred side.
I know this can be tricky but I have to say my printer did an excellent job of this and I wonder if the fact that I provided them the .ai files (instead of pdf) allowed them to do the separation and recomposition accurately.

And I had forgotten to say before that the titles/numbers were also in gold foil for each card.

Each file was basically 3 layers, the gold frame, the titles, (vectorised of course) and the rest of the image which had been created/composited in photoshop and transferred to AI.

(and yes you are correct, obtaining and learning Illustrator was ... a lot, but the result was pretty great. )
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Re: Printer list!

Post by ePrintTarotHelp »

Joan Marie wrote: 12 Jul 2021, 07:05
ePrintTarotHelp wrote: 12 Jul 2021, 02:25 Yes that's right. Foil stamping and Digital Foil are slightly different applications, but the idea is the same. Foil element added after main production. So getting both layers to align is near impossible - why we always steer our clients away from borders or any elements that rely on a perfectly centred side.
I know this can be tricky but I have to say my printer did an excellent job of this and I wonder if the fact that I provided them the .ai files (instead of pdf) allowed them to do the separation and recomposition accurately.

And I had forgotten to say before that the titles/numbers were also in gold foil for each card.

Each file was basically 3 layers, the gold frame, the titles, (vectorised of course) and the rest of the image which had been created/composited in photoshop and transferred to AI.

(and yes you are correct, obtaining and learning Illustrator was ... a lot, but the result was pretty great. )
glow01.jpg
glow09.jpg
glow08.jpg
[/quote]

Yeah they look great! They are a lot like some cards we do ongoing for a client.

Having it as an ai file would allow them to separate the files easier yes but it would have been a lot of work at probably a loss of time per hour for the printing / design team so I dare say they took it as a challenge because they were inspired to do a good job. So I think they really must have tried to achieve on this one with more to gain than just to sell a product, ie pride in the craft.

Hope it was appreciated 🙂

If you have any other questions regarding different styles of printing tarot I've come across I'm happy to share.
reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

thank you for clarification & your help is appreciated! Good to have pro here!:D
shame it foils whole section as i was hoping to use it in same way as classic gold foil just for specific part!://

never know canva can be useful for file set up will let my friend know about it!:)

p.s also updating printer list!:)
ePrintTarotHelp
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Re: Printer list!

Post by ePrintTarotHelp »

reall wrote: 13 Jul 2021, 11:30 thank you for clarification & your help is appreciated! Good to have pro here!:D
shame it foils whole section as i was hoping to use it in same way as classic gold foil just for specific part!://

never know canva can be useful for file set up will let my friend know about it!:)

p.s also updating printer list!:)
Well you could do the same technique as the gold foil with the holographic, it sticks to the toner put down so if you really wanted to, you could do an under layer, coated in velvet then you overprint the element you want holographic, and you're done. I've just not done it that way myself, so I couldn't speak to how it would work out :?:
reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

thanks! that's exactly what I want to print! now to find good printer for job! :D
reall
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Re: Printer list!

Post by reall »

Updated printer list with great printer news: https://www.superiorpod.com/
Cynthylee
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Re: Printer list!

Post by Cynthylee »

Thanks for sharing, but I found that most of them are good at making poker cards, do they have the same strength in tarot? (You know, the design of tarot cards is much more complicated than playing cards.)
I've had this problem before with a tarot card made for me by one of the top printers of playing cards, and the whole process is obviously not quite experienced enough...
I've also been looking for a company that is more professional in custom tarot printing, but the minimum order size and tariffs are a big issue. Hope to see you keep updating!
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