What's the minimum run with USPCC these days? See if they will print your decks, or if you're willing to increase your print run.
Back when I did my project, they also shipped anywhere in the world for free (I got them to ship to three different addresses).
As for funding, Indiegogo is your best bet unless you find someone in the US to set up the KS for you.
Things are a little different. At last word, the minimum run is 2,500 as opposed to the 1,000 he wants. Plus he'd have to deal with USPC's International Department instead of the Custom Department, which I'm told adds another layer of hassle to the mix.
He might be better off dealing with Fournier in Spain. They do quality work and they're a USPC subsidiary. He could also try Cartamundi - they actually have a UK division and they do custom work. If you decide, Mr Rik, to use Cartamundi, check out the options at your disposal. I have no doubt they can make the cards, it's just a matter of how well they'll be made. Plus for either company, I have no idea as to what the minimum is.
If you're willing to deal with them, USPC has a partnership with Zazzle for decks with USPC faces in different styles and custom backs of any kind you want. However, Zazzle decks can be EXPENSIVE and the quality is not up to what USPC themselves produce. I think Zazzle decks, depending on quantity ordered, can go as high as US$25 a pack. A bulk order should get you a discount, but I couldn't say if they'd give you the same deal on shipping that USPC does - for you, that could break the deal.
You could try Waddington's, but I hear the quality is terrible. Offason of Sweden makes some good decks, I'm told, as does Card-Shark in Germany - Card Shark often orders from USPC, but they also operate their own presses for certain projects and the quality's not bad.
Chinese presses can be hit or miss. You can get a decent deck or a terrible one. But they will make them cheap, that's for certain. Personally, unless you had a person on the ground at the plant to check it out, I wouldn't trust going with a Chinese printer.
Last company of decent quality I can think of would be Angel Playing Cards in Japan. The work is good, but I can't imagine it will be very cheap and it would probably cost much more when factoring for the shipping and duties.
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