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Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => Playing Card Plethora => Topic started by: smithesque on September 30, 2015, 07:49:34 AM
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I was hoping that someone here could shed some light for me on what this tweet means in terms of the history of production in Cincinnati and where production is moving to. Also maybe what cards are being done last at the old factory...
https://twitter.com/artxplay/status/649055224523550721
The tweet in question is above, maybe someone better than I can embed it
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The factory used to be located in Cincinnati, Ohio (actually, Norwood). It has moved to Erlanger, Kentucky, where it's been since 2009. There are those (including myself) who think that quality dropped along with the move.
I'm sure Don will chime in for a more in depth reply.
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Nope, you summed it up well enough. But I have stuff to add, anyway!
The tweet probably refers to the Art of Play's inventory of the old USPC stock running low. They are a playing card retailer, after all. (Well, they're Dan and Dave disguised as a playing card retailer, if you want to boil it down to brass tacks!)
The early stock released in Erlanger was considered inferior. I have a newish theory as to why - they had to comply with a new Federal regulation regarding the materials they used to make cards, the short version of which being that they had to remove petrochemicals from the manufacturing process and use more post-consumer recycled content in their paper. The Bicycle Eco edition was probably the first of this lot - they switched to vegetable dye-based inks and starch-based coatings. It was a little while before they managed to work out the kinks - the development of Magic Finish coating helped a lot.
By 2011, the problems were worked out and much of what they produce today is (or at least has the capacity to be) of better quality than Cincinnati-made products from near the end of that factory's lifespan, the major exception being that they appear to have switched to a lighter-weight stock for mass-produced Bicycles, from 325 gsm to 300 gsm. But they no longer measure their stocks in gsm anyway...
The biggest issue the factory faces today is their own quality control standards - they're capable of great work, but they often seems to let inferior work slip by and try to pass it off as acceptable. One of the worst issues people run into with new USPC decks often is poor alignment, between the faces and backs as well as between the backs and the cutting die. Magicians can really use it to their advantage, but most card players and collectors find it aggravating, especially as thin borders have become fashionable.
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Thanks PrincessTrouble and Don! I have notice with some of my Bicycle printed decks that the bottom of the tuck seems to be coming unglued at the edges. This has happened to some branded and some custom decks that were printed by USPCC. Is this a typical problem, or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks again!
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Thanks PrincessTrouble and Don! I have notice with some of my Bicycle printed decks that the bottom of the tuck seems to be coming unglued at the edges. This has happened to some branded and some custom decks that were printed by USPCC. Is this a typical problem, or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks again!
It's not common, but not unheard of. You wouldn't happen to live in an exceptionally humid environment, would you? That could be a factor. Then again, it could have been a humid day in the factory during that tuck box gluing session...