Card Press

[Maaz Hasan]

So I recently came across a video on YouTube by "Fernandop1 - Art Zone Productions" (who has actually created some nice magic that I have stumbled across every year or two) which was explaining some untouched parts about gaffing (printing on paper, making blank cards), along with the classic splitting and gimmicking. During this process, he puts his gimmicked cards into a deck after they have dried, and puts the whole thing in a card press. This flattened out his deck, and straightened the gimmick. He show this in his video around 6:20

Has anyone used a Card Press? Does it really flatten out reasonably bent cards? And does it work to flatten the gimmicks? I already use card clips and/or heavy books and flat surfaces to straighten to my cards, but it takes a while, and only works to a certain extent. Does a Card Press work better and/or quicker? I would like to know because Magic Makers are selling it for $60 on amazon, which is quite a lot. Here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Collectors-Card-Press-Brass-Perfect/dp/B000NGF2FO

Also, if there is good quality, working card press out there on the market please let me know!
Thanks!

 

[Josh_Hayden]

Hey,

A slight amount of pressure is added so this will flatten a bent card or a half folded one but I cant say about the gimmick-ed cards but yea it'll work for the bent one's for sure. Even then the cards will show very slight signs of having been bent or folded , totally your call but around 60$ is a lot ....

 

[RealityOne]

Card presses do work, but I'd avoid Magic Makers - they specialize in cheap knock offs. Also, the card press that you linked to only has pressure in the middle. Not the best if you want your cards to be uniform. This looks more effective because of the six pressure points and it is much less.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12202

You could probably develop your own design that would work as well with a trip to the hardware store. I just use a Porper Card Clip, faro the deck half face up and face down and add one or two extra cards if needed.

 

[ChrisJGJ]

My friend has the one you linked which I've used before for gaff cards. Particularly double facers. Does it work better and faster than a heavy book? Mmm yeah I would say so, but not $60 better. I've never used it for bent cards, only when creating gaffs. It's definitely faster than just using a book (I don't know why this is, but it seems to dry faster under more pressure and the result is a slightly stiffer card), but unless you need the card in a couple hours, I don't see why you couldn't just wait over night. Or just go with RealityOne's cheaper alternatives; granted, if you're a high school / college student, you for sure have an obnoxiously heavy textbook that will work just fine.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Card presses do work, but I'd avoid Magic Makers - they specialize in cheap knock offs. Also, the card press that you linked to only has pressure in the middle. Not the best if you want your cards to be uniform. This looks more effective because of the six pressure points and it is much less.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12202

You could probably develop your own design that would work as well with a trip to the hardware store. I just use a Porper Card Clip, faro the deck half face up and face down and add one or two extra cards if needed.

Thx.
I was going to avoid the crystal one because I thought it was a knock off, but Penguin Magic sells quality
That's generally what I do.