The Great Whites from DMC & Sovereign Playing Cards

[Nurul]

A new deck from the guys that brought us the DMC sharks. The sequel being called "the incredible new great whites"

Here's a description taken from sovereign website:-

"The Great White is the ocean’s apex predator, the top link in the food chain – powerful and brutal but precise and streamlined. A simple design shot through with classic cool, the Great Whites deck was designed to the specifications of Drummond Money-Coutts, to help cement his reputation as THE card shark, following the success of his National Geographic TV special of the same name.

The logo is a visual reminder of old school casino style, and the whole thing has been built around the shark, right down to the shark-skin denticles on the back.The deck has custom kings, all nautical except for DMC as the diamond. Poseidon has some company with the Queen of Hearts, an alluring mermaid. The ace of spades rhymes with the casino cool logo and the Jokers are spear hunting scuba divers. We worked hard getting these cards right – subtle and simple with just enough of a twist.

For our magic friends there are a few little surprises – a super subtle one way back, plus a beautiful card revelation with some help from the Jokers… there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. Reel in a deck today.

The Great Whites standard deck, designed and printed in England. The deck has an airflow finish, custom Kings and a look that is understated classic cool through and through. Pick up a deck today.

EXPECTED TO SHIP:
21st Sep. 2013"

Taken from the DMC website:-

"GREAT WHITES playing cards are the product of six months’ preparation, selection, design and production.  The card stock is 300GSM superluxe varnish, with a phenomenal 330GSM card box with moleskin finish.  The deck is then cellophane wrapped with gold tear-strip to ensure absolute freshness of handling straight from the box.

The design of GREAT WHITES is a perfect harmony between design detail and simplicity, with many of the court cards having been radically modified for this one unique deck.

Following on from the first sell-out collaboration deck (SHARKS) between DMC and Sovereign Playing Cards, the new GREAT WHITES promise to deliver all the quality and detail of the SHARKS with much, much more.

We are very excited to offer you the GREAT WHITES for a very limited time only, with just 1000 decks printed in the first edition."

Source: http://sovereignplayingcards.com/great-whites-playing-cards/ and http://www.dmcmagic.com/product/great-whites-playing-cards-2/

[Don Boyer]

Which company did the printing for you folks?  Any information about the stock and finish?

[Nurul]

Which company did the printing for you folks?  Any information about the stock and finish?

I have no idea lol. Just to clarify, I don't work for this company, I was just merely quoting from their website.
According to the site, the stock is a 300GSM super luxe varnish (whatever that means).
Maybe Phill Smith from sovereign playing cards can give us an idea.

[Don Boyer]

Which company did the printing for you folks?  Any information about the stock and finish?

I have no idea lol. Just to clarify, I don't work for this company, I was just merely quoting from their website.
According to the site, the stock is a 300GSM super luxe varnish (whatever that means).
Maybe Phill Smith from sovereign playing cards can give us an idea.

300 gsm is about the same weight of paper used for Bicycle Standards.  I have no idea what a Super Luxe Varnish is.

[Nurul]

Which company did the printing for you folks?  Any information about the stock and finish?

I have no idea lol. Just to clarify, I don't work for this company, I was just merely quoting from their website.
According to the site, the stock is a 300GSM super luxe varnish (whatever that means).
Maybe Phill Smith from sovereign playing cards can give us an idea.

300 gsm is about the same weight of paper used for Bicycle Standards.  I have no idea what a Super Luxe Varnish is.

I've emailed DMC, so hopefully I'll have an answer soon

[Michael]

After the first description I was scared they were gonna have horrible art of Great White Sharks and sigh at yet another deck with a bad design. Although I don't get the "must have" feeling with these, they definitely look clean and reminiscent of a casino deck. Looking forward to seeing the printer info.

[Sovereign]

Hi guys, I was going to post this but I guess I don't need to now!
The finish is an airflow finish that is very close to what you would expect from Bikes - the cards handle very nicely. The manufacturer and finish are the same as our earlier Sharks deck, which you can see being given a thorough working over by brilliant cardist Terry Lu here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilAUgCgQNi8
I can't do even 10% of that stuff but I'm happy with how they handle. If there had been a problem with the stock we wouldn't have partnered with the same supplier for the follow on deck.

The design is deliberately subtle, I designed these for DMC to use in his everyday performances and we wanted something that would look 'on brand' and very tidy but not be too outlandish or weird. I've performed for people in the past with some weird decks and you just can't take it as read that it's a normal deck of cards when they are negative printed or weird pips or whatever. The design also facilitates our unique marking system that is also available and is pretty cool too.

Let me know if I can explain anything else / take pics / whatever. I'm really excited about getting the deck out.

Phill

[Nurul]

This is the email I received from DMC regarding stock and finish:-

"Hi Nurul,

Many thanks for the message.

Cards are bespoke made by a small firm in the UK who operates through Carta Mundi.  Specs are:

Poker Size 88 x 63mm
Card Material: 320um Sure Slip playing card board
Printed CMYK & Plastic Coated.
Box Material: 395um Zanta Box Board. Moleskin Laminated.

Best,

- D."

[Don Boyer]

Cards are bespoke made by a small firm in the UK who operates through Carta Mundi.

Carta Mundi is capable of good work - but I've also seen them do godsawful work.  Look at the CM version of the Magic Castle deck or any store-branded deck from CVS Pharmacies and you'll understand what I'm referring to.  If they are comparable to Bicycles, that's fine - but old Bicycles, or the more cheaply-made stuff they're selling these days?  Newer Bicycles are, like nearly everything USPC makes, generally fine out of the box, but their durability leaves much to be desired.  During the "shakedown period" of the new plant, they made the Bicycle "Standard" stock a bit lighter because something about the old stock wasn't working well with the new press.  Roughly speaking, they switched from a 325 gsm to a 300 gsm - but we'll never know for certain because they don't measure their stocks in grams per square meter anymore.

So many mysteries behind the walls of that factory...and the one before it... 

Is there a custom deck (or a few decks) against which you could compare the performance and features?  Regardless of maker?  That would give us a better idea of how they perform.  Things like "plastic coated" and thickness in micrometers aren't as useful for sussing out what they're like.

[Nurul]

They're only available for pre-order at the the moment. I have put my order in, so when I do get them, I'll let you know what handling and performance compares too.

[Paul.Middleton]

We expect to have these in stock in around 3 days, they are available to pre-order now also... http://jpplayingcards.co.uk/great-whites-playing-cards

[Nurul]

I emailed DMC a few days ago asking him for an autograph. I told him how much of a big fan of his I am, he's one of the very few current British magicians who's work I follow and love. His tv special on the variation of the 3 card monte with the use of acid was just crazy. Anyway, I told him its my birthday on 19th September and if I could be cheeky and get an autograph off of him. He went one step further ...


EDIT: don't know why it's upside down  Anyway, how cool is DMC?! What a legend. Also, getting a great whites deck before its release on 21st is an extra bonus.

[Sovereign]

Cool story bro, I sent DMC an email asking an autograph and he sent me this:



Sorry, just kidding, you're dead right, DMC is a legend and I'm sure that he's only going to become more and more well known. It's really cool you got an autographed deck, I hope you like it.

In other news, I've got the decks in stock now and I've packed everyone's pre-orders off, and I'll be switching http://www.sovereignplayingcards.com to order mode shortly.
ALSO: Happy birthday!

Phill

[Nurul]

Haha cheers phill, I appreciate it yeah man, can't wait to watch his next tv specials .. And yes, I love the deck. Not going to crack this open as I've pre-ordered a couple great whites too, so just going to wait for them

[Paul.Middleton]

He's been an absolute pleasure to deal with for me also! Great Whites are in stock and despatching

[ronyo_faukx]

I want to order so many ....

... WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT!

Had to be done. Don't judge me.

[Sovereign]

Well now seems as good a time as any to post my favourite shark meme

[kdklown]

Anyone have any of the original DMC sharks?  I'm just looking for 1 deck. 

[Sovereign]

Hi Kdklown, you can get the Sharks at: http://sovereignplayingcards.com/decks/sharks/
There are 12 left unsold / unused.
(There was a glitch on first posting that suggested the boxes were not sealed in cellophane - this was an error, they are)

Phill

[kdklown]

I appreciate that but it's a bit pricey.  I was hoping someone here might have one I could snag for a little less painful amount.  Just placed an order for one of the Great whites though.  Thanks again. 

[Sovereign]

The price is high but DMC set it to reflect the scarcity of the decks.
There are other decks out in the wild though, so good luck hunting some down.

[Nurul]

Phill, will sovereign be at the L.A.D.s convention in Sutton Coldfield?

[Sovereign]

Hi BM, not this time I'm afraid. Are you going?

[Nurul]

Ah that's a shame yup, bought my ticket last week although it falls on the same day as my sisters 40th so I'll only be there for half a day

[Sovereign]

Busy day - enjoy it!
Have any of the international orders landed yet?

Phill