Popular playing card cardstock materials

Maybe you have some idea of the stuff that males and girls are born with. But are you familiar with the materials used to create standard playing cards? If you’ve read a previous post on this blog, you probably know a little bit about the process involved in producing paper playing cards, and you may even possess a deck of your own. However, you may not be aware that there are decks of cards that have been constructed out of numerous different materials than paper. Let’s have a look at some of the most typical and unusual substances used to produce playing cards so how you could decide while you will dealing with the playing cards manufacturer.

Paper

These days, paper is used for the most majority of playing cards. Some of the oldest decks of cards still in circulation were likely fashioned from paper and date back hundreds of years. Even now, it remains a favourite material for card manufacturers.

Currently, United States Playing Card Company’s Bicycle rider-back deck is perhaps the most well-known deck of cards in the world. The majority of USPCC’s output consists of Bicycle brand decks, along with other well-known brands like as Bee and Tally-Ho, and they are typically produced out of paper. Using a specialised laminator, two sheets of paper are bonded with a black adhesive in between; this opaque card stock is then fed into a printing press, where plates apply quick-drying ink. Precision cutting machines take multi-card sheets and cut them into individual playing cards. Although the specifics may change, other publishers, such as the European-based Cartamundi and the Taiwan-based Legends/Expert Playing Card Company, also use a similar technique to create embossed paper playing cards.

Plastic

What then of plastic card systems? To be precise, many of these plastic decks are created out of a synthetic substrate, such as PVC or semi hard plastic. These plastic playing cards have seen a tremendous surge over the last decade thanks to the rise in popularity of Poker, with televised games adding greatly to the game’s development and success.

Plastic playing cards have several advantages over their paper counterparts, including greater durability and resistance to wear and tear, creasing, and tearing. When compared to a paper deck, which is often damaged by dampness, they are frequently more durable and convenient. Keep in mind that a plastic deck might make card shuffling and flourishing more difficult due to the fact that the cards can clump together. This is why magicians and cardists still choose paper playing cards when it comes to sleights of hand and other elaborate embellishments. The serious poker player who wants to get the most out of a single deck of cards would likely opt for a plastic deck instead. Unlike a plastic deck, which may survive through numerous poker games without exhibiting any indications of wear, a paper deck may only last through one game before it starts revealing symptoms of wear that make it vulnerable to being marked.

Wood

Paper and plastic are the go-to materials for practical cards, but when we go into the realm of novelty, we discover a wide variety of other things employed, including wood, which is a natural option for the artisan.

Donald Corey’s plywood deck for Areaware is a great example of imaginative design in this context. Cards in this deck have eight separate slots cut into their edges, making it possible to join them together and adding to the deck’s originality. These slits fit snugly into one another, allowing you to stack cards high enough to create your very own fantasy castle! You can finally build a house of cards that won’t fall apart at the first sign of wind, since these special cards are guaranteed to provide solid support. At just $36 on Art of Play, it won’t even put a dent in your wallet!

Metal

Let’s stop using these flimsy wooden cards and go on to the next level by switching to metal ones. Because of the apparent complexity involved in manufacturing an all-metal deck, it shouldn’t come as much of a shock to find that a good metal deck will set you back more than $100. You’ll have tremendous credibility, though, since you’ll be the only one in your city with anything like this deck.