Printing on "playing card" type paper?

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Hello all,

My little brother plays a few collectible card game with his friends. Star Trek, Star Wars, etc, etc. Anywho, they are all just kids and obviously dont have a ton of money, nor do parents in general want to spend oodles of money on cards that get ripped and crumpled easily.

So, would anyone happen to know what kind of "paper" traditional collectible playing cards are printed on? I would like to download images of the cards into word or something and print the images onto the somewhat same stock paper. I realize it wont be the same as the real ones, but whatever .. they are 14. Suck it up and deal. As well, I would imagine that the paper is not "general" purpose as it is almost like a thin cardboard stock and/or very glossy. What kind of printer would be best suited for this type of card stock?

As usual, thank you in advance.

LG

[SquirrelDip]

How about printing and then laminating? How many cards are you talking about?

[Lucifers_Ghost]

How about printing and then laminating? How many cards are you talking about?

Im going to assume its going to be quite a few. How would one laminate from home? Or, are you inferring having them laminated by a 3rd party?

The only reason I am even considering doing this as I was already thinking about buying a printer and adding a CIS system to it (for regular printing of documents and family photos).

So other than the ongoing use of "paper" and ink, the whole purpose of this is to keep the cost as low as possible.

[SquirrelDip]

I was thinking of a home heat laminating unit. Don't have one but always thought one for home could be useful.

Just looked at the local Staples - the consumables can get pretty pricey...

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

If you are thinking about printing cards for games like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering; be prepared to print AT LEAST a hundred cards per game.
A deck is usually between 40-60 cards depending on the game.
And my recommendation is glossy cardboard and then laminate them at home.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Im not really too concerned about laminating. As long as the little rug rats have the copies of the cards they need, can use them, can see the type font/pictures .. its fine. If they dont like it, they can take their 14 year old asses and get jobs :P

As for the amount of cards, thats fine. I figure on an 8.5x11 sheet, I can get 9 cards (3 rows of 3). They already each have a ton of cards anyway. This will be more of a "fill in the blank spots" type thing.


So glossy cardboard sounds good. I'll try to get something as "lightweight" as possible. Any suggestions on a printer that would print this sort of thing well? I ask only because Im sure each model of printer has something it does better than others.

[3Simon7]

@Lucifers_Ghost

A long time ago I was printing my own business cards. I used manila
file folders. Printed as many that would fit and then cut them
apart on a paper cutter.

Then I sprayed each of them with clear lacquer.

If you have a Big Lots or other deep-discount store around they
might sell the file folders cheap. Or go to Office Max or even an
art supply store to buy some card stock.

The printer I used was a HP ink jet. I think it was the CP-1000.
It was a heavy duty printer but maybe a smaller one would work.

Also, you can check your local quick-print stores. Maybe they might be
cheaper than doing it yourself. They might have some old card stock laying
around and might do the job just to get rid of it!

[SquirrelDip]

Here's a real cheap option:

Print on regular paper, make each card about 1/4" narrower than a roll of clear, heavy packing tape. Sandwich card between two pieces of packing tape and cut with 1/8" border.


I've actually done this before and it works out not all that bad. Granted - I've not done 100 cards...

[rallynavvie]

Were you planning on doing them on a home inkjet? There are two ways to go about this if not.

The easy way is to make "proxies" so you don't need to worry about registration when duplexing. We used to do this to our expensive cards when I used to play such games. You copy the gaming face of your expensive card on a decent laser copier on decent color laser copy paper (like a 28#) and just use spray adhesive to glue it over the face of a cheap card. This was a pretty good option if you have a bunch of the cheap cards to destroy in this manner.

Your second option is to print on Hammermill 80# laser cardstock. On a good laser printer this makes almost exact replicas, sometimes even good enough to pass off as originals. It's scary. The tough part is getting the registration right front to back. You have to use a properly calibrated machine to get the card images to line up just right so they're centered properly front and back. Depending on the kind of card you usually have a solid color border than you can overbleed a little to make up a little slop, maybe an 1/8" of play. Cutting them out is tough, but you can get those die-cutters that round edges at craft stores pretty cheap.

Of course to do these options you'll probably have to hit a Kinko's, and they can be pretty tough about printing apparently copywritten images out like that.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

The bad part is that if the cards are to be mixed with the originals in order to play, they will always stand out (unless you make them just like originals). So both players will realize when a good card is approaching.

"Oh sh1t, I better think something fast... he's got a good one coming!"...

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Hey Rally,

Option number sounds great. I spoke with my brother and he has a ton of cards that he never uses as they are doubles, triples, quads of ones he already has in his decks. As for the quality, I think a color laser printer is out of my budget. Most seem to be over $300 and other than the card printing, I will have no need for a laser printer. I will probably go with a HP 5440 or something of that kin. Most of the other uses will be personal as well so there is no "need" to buy something overly expensive.

Just for the record, this is all for fun use. I dont think they have any aspirations to playing in tourney's .. at least not yet. So registering them wouldnt be an issue.

To Medico: Thats very true, but going with option #1 that rally mentioned, they wont know when a good card is coming as the back side of the card will look the same. Its the front part (that I assume will be face down) that will be different.


Thanks a ton for all the advice everyone. Muchly appreciated.

LG