Creating and designing playing cards

[Joshlwx]

Hey guys! I was planning on designing my own kind of playing cards but I’m not sure how to go about it the cheapest and best way. Things I feel that I need to know:

Designing:
How do I design the cards face, back, tuck case etc? Do I need a special program to design them? I was thinking of using websites like bicycleplayingcards.com but I’m not sure if they have the stock and finish that I’m looking for.

Stock and finish:
What stocks and finishes should I use? I was thinking of making cards with similar quality to the new FW17 virtuoso cards, thin yet snappy and durable. Does anyone know how to find such a finish and stock to do that?

Thanks guys!

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Hey guys! I was planning on designing my own kind of playing cards but I’m not sure how to go about it the cheapest and best way. Things I feel that I need to know:

Designing:
How do I design the cards face, back, tuck case etc? Do I need a special program to design them? I was thinking of using websites like bicycleplayingcards.com but I’m not sure if they have the stock and finish that I’m looking for.

Stock and finish:
What stocks and finishes should I use? I was thinking of making cards with similar quality to the new FW17 virtuoso cards, thin yet snappy and durable. Does anyone know how to find such a finish and stock to do that?

Thanks guys!

Some cards were and drawn and then uploaded to a computer. Others are illustrated by using a graphic design program (you can pick one that you are comfortable with HERE. Some are free, some are ones you have to pay for. I would assume Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape are the types you'd be looking for, but I don't have any experience with them. I've never done major graphic designing, just photo editing. So choose whatever you think is most suitable).

After you have the designs, you would go to whoever is printing and upload them there.

As for printing, you could probably print some prototypes using http://www.makeplayingcards.com/ . They won't feel perfect, but you could get a feel for what they look like in card form. You will also learn what you have to design and can get the templates from there. If you're printing more than one hundred decksgo to https://www.bicyclecards.com/custom-printing/#contact and follow the instructions. If it's less than a hundred decks, you can get custom ones from Zazzle (also on that website, but you can only print custom back designs with them, faces will be standard), or Make Playing Cards. Again, the quality won't feel perfect, but if you select the highest quality options, you can get a pretty decent feeling deck.

The FW17 Virtuoso deck was printed on Bicycle Crushed/Normal Stock with a regular air-cushioned finish. The only thing that separates it from a deck of regular old Bikes is that it was printed Q1, which essentially means they put special attention into the printing process, but realistically, you won't find too many differences.

 

[Joshlwx]

Some cards were and drawn and then uploaded to a computer. Others are illustrated by using a graphic design program (you can pick one that you are comfortable with HERE. Some are free, some are ones you have to pay for. I would assume Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape are the types you'd be looking for, but I don't have any experience with them. I've never done major graphic designing, just photo editing. So choose whatever you think is most suitable).

After you have the designs, you would go to whoever is printing and upload them there.

As for printing, you could probably print some prototypes using http://www.makeplayingcards.com/ . They won't feel perfect, but you could get a feel for what they look like in card form. You will also learn what you have to design and can get the templates from there. If you're printing more than one hundred decksgo to https://www.bicyclecards.com/custom-printing/#contact and follow the instructions. If it's less than a hundred decks, you can get custom ones from Zazzle (also on that website, but you can only print custom back designs with them, faces will be standard), or Make Playing Cards. Again, the quality won't feel perfect, but if you select the highest quality options, you can get a pretty decent feeling deck.

The FW17 Virtuoso deck was printed on Bicycle Crushed/Normal Stock with a regular air-cushioned finish. The only thing that separates it from a deck of regular old Bikes is that it was printed Q1, which essentially means they put special attention into the printing process, but realistically, you won't find too many differences.

Thx man but does that mean that I can’t use the FW17 stock to print my deck?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Ultimately it has to be a digital design. You can draw it out on paper and then scan it and digitize it if you like, but ultimately, they only work with digital designs these days. And it's best to use a Vector image, for any scaling purposes.

If you want a high quality deck, you're probably looking at a minimum of 2,500 decks, btw.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Thx man but does that mean that I can’t use the FW17 stock to print my deck?

If you print with Bicycle Cards, you can get the "thin-crushed stock", but you'll have to buy over a thousand. You can also get a similar, very nice stock, if you're buying a hundred decks with Bicycle. Honestly though, if you print with Zazzle, you only have to buy a few, and you can still get regular Bicycle stock (which is very similar to the Virtuoso decks, espescially the ones from SS16 and 15, and I believe FW17 uses the same stock). The only downside is that you won't have custom faces, nor will you have a custom tuck case with Zazzle.