theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
Contraband or Citizens?
- Thread starter Valheru
- Start date
It all depends on what art you like more. I have both but I think that the Citizens handle better because they are on a more crushed stock. The art style and them of the Contraband deck I prefer far more over the citizens though. I am a rebel with contraband.
No. Citizens are more crushed. Do you know that Bicycle has a brand new standard they have been using now? Its been about 5 months now.
I don't mean to argue, and I'd love to learn more but I don't see how this is possible. Sure, the USPCC is constantly updating and replacing their technology and machines so new cards will be printed differently than old cards.
From what I understand though, there are only a few different options for stock that the USPCC provides with under 10 finishes (I could be mistaken but last I heard there was a casino quality stock and a regular stock).
Contraband and Citizens are both small runs compared to the gigantic runs or Bicycle and Bee. I think that it is unlikely that the USPCC has created an exclusive stock, or way of treating stock, just for Citizens. So unless I am mistaken (which I very well could be), if a run of Contraband and Citizens were printed around the same time the stocks would likely be the same.
All of that doesn't really mean much because, as you stated most people cannot feel the difference anyways. If that is the case then the biggest differences between the two are the designs, the stock used in the boxes and the unique card holders Theory11 has designed for them.
I wonder if Lyle, JB or Andrei could jump in and settle this?
This is not the case.
Citizen and Contraband are on identical stocks. Every theory11 custom made deck uses an identical stock, including Citizens and Contraband, Monarch, Artisan, etc. They also feature identical finishes.
The ONLY variations you will have with theory11 cards is the changes USPC makes over time (none, to our knowledge, between the times of Contraband and Citizen) and environmental changes (ie humidity that the deck has experienced from the time it left our climate controlled warehouse and the moment you opened it). Climate factors can make a deck feel different from another with identical stock, and that is all that I can assume you are feeling.
Not a single deck of Citizens in circulation right now was printed within the last five months. The only exception is a reprint that JUST finished but has not been packaged into boxes or sold yet. (My source? Me. I direct all playing card reprints for theory11, from before we sign the contract with USPC to print the deck until it hits our shelves and we sell them).
USPC may have a new stock. I don't know. We don't use it if they do. We use the same stock for every deck, as we have done for years.
// L
Ok, and that's cool and all, but if the guy who designs the cards tells you otherwise you should just accept the fact that you were wrong. The second you open a deck the thickness changes and, as Lyle explained, there may have even been light humidity 'damage' in shipping. How many decks of Citizens and Contrabands do you have? If your answer is <2 for either one or <3 for each, that's a small sample size and you shouldn't be defending that statement all too much.
Humidity can cause the playing cards to swell. The thickness of the decks can and will vary when you are measuring with something as precise as a caliper. I suppose it is possible for humidity to cause this fluctuation.
All I will say here is that theory11 has not changed the stocks we use on any of our decks, and Citizens and Contraband are printed on identical stocks, the same stock we use for all of our cards. Feel free to speculate and post your findings elsewhere, however in our forums I need to make sure that the facts for our products are presented correctly. Citizens are not on a "more crushed" stock. Bicycle may have a new standard stock, and that is irrelevant to what we use for our playing cards.
// L
For clarifications sake, since I am correcting things now, I didn't design anything. I just manage our deck reprints from start to finish.
// L
Ah ok. Which would mean you have even greater understanding of the card stock.