Xerography Playing Cards (MPC)

[markallender]

Here is my new playing cards project in Kickstarter. All of the artwork was run thru an office photocopier and enlarged five or six times before being digitized, thus creating the contours and complex color separations that you see.

In addition, there are 18 different pips for each suit, and no single pip is duplicated on any one card.

Now live in Kickstarter at http://kck.st/1Ovf5nk

[Don Boyer]

I like the overall concept - very unique and quirky, with appeal to both people who grew up with "Xerox reproduction technology" and to hipsters!

Two tips:

1) I'd advise being careful with the backgrounds on the faces.  One thing I've noticed about playing cards in general is that companies are as careful as they can be about back alignment (an off-centered back can completely ruin a deck's two-way design) but often less so with the faces because it's not as critical.  With those lines extending into the bleed area on the faces, a slightly off-centered print of the faces, off by as little as a millimeter or two, could result in a face design that's one way on all the faces.  In itself, this isn't necessarily bad - but because it goes into the bleed, the lines would be visible from the edge of the deck.  I've demonstrated this effect before - using a similar such design printed with a slight alignment flaw, I was able to invert a card in the deck, shuffle it thoroughly and spot the card simply by looking at the deck's edge, as if it was a stripper deck but without the stripped edge allowing me to pull the card out (though I could find it all the same and even cut to it).  A simple border of white around the edge of the card would prevent that from being an issue without having a noteworthy impact on the design.

2) Consider going with a higher-quality printer as a stretch goal!  MPC is OK, but there's better and still within the range of affordable if you look around.  Expert PCC and Legends PCC are two popular choices.  A higher grade of stock than what's offered by MPC alone can make the difference between a decent deck and a fantastic one.

[markallender]

Hey - I really appreciate the comments. My dilemma is that don't Expert and Legends have fairly high minimums? My designs tend to be weird enough that they don't attract enough backers to fund a larger run.

Though it's possible that MPC is keeping more people away.

You've given me things to think about - I appreciate that. Thanks man!

Mark

[Don Boyer]

Hey - I really appreciate the comments. My dilemma is that don't Expert and Legends have fairly high minimums? My designs tend to be weird enough that they don't attract enough backers to fund a larger run.

Though it's possible that MPC is keeping more people away.

You've given me things to think about - I appreciate that. Thanks man!

Mark

Expert's minimum is only 1,000.  Legend's minimum is even less at 900.  You are paying more per deck at those rates, to be sure, but probably less than you'd be paying for smaller runs at MPC.

It's why I suggested making them stretch goals instead of main goals.  Yes, your designs are less than entirely mainstream, but this one could have a broader appeal - pushing for better quality might not be a bad way to go if you find there's enough interest.  I've even seen projects where people set one of those two printers as an early stretch goal, then set printing with USPC as a higher, later goal.  You don't need to go quite that far, though - USPC has a minimum of 2,500, those two printers do quality work and you'll spend less on them in the end.  The biggest plus for pushing to use USPC would be being able to state that your deck is made in the United States.  If that's all you wanted, check out Gambler's Warehouse - they run Liberty Printing out of the Dallas area.  In fact, you should look at them anyway - you might find a good rate, quality on par with MPC AND you'd be able to say "Made in USA."  While for many that doesn't matter, there's enough people out there who will make an impulse purchase or spend a little extra if they know they're getting quality American-made products.

[markallender]

As a result af many inquiries, I have added a LEGENDS stretch goal. If this campaign can reach $7500, this deck will be printed with LEGENDS PCC using their Standard Finish.



If you like the designs, help make this stretch goal a reality. Thanks!
Mark

[markallender]

ADD-ONS AVAILABLE:

Add $12 to your Pledge to add a single INTERFERENCE deck (either black or white) or add $20 to add a set of two INTERFERENCE decks. Additional postage costs included. Thanks!