Well, I have been looking for a company that makes custom playing cards, but every time I find a co. it looks like it's ran out of some Indonesian Sweat house, translation very poopy quality playing cards, does anyone know where to get custom playing cards?
Personal Playing Cards?
- Thread starter Skyching10
- Start date
I, too, was (actually, still am) seriously considering purchasing a few custom-made decks of my own. I can see a nice white-edged border with a plain black design with "Z" engraved on all four corners of each card...
Have you ever tryed KardWell.com?
..:Z:..
The bad thing about Bicycle is that you have to order in large quantities for custom deck. Kardwell is much more reasonable.
David
well i believe they have faster printers now so they can make orders of 5 or even less of course your design and color scheme will vary the cost but all i know is you dont have to order the what 1000 decks like before.
In order for the USPCC to print your deck, you need a minimum order of 10000 decks...now thats alot.
If you are ordering from Kardwell...
The option for 25 deck minumum is a cheapo plastic like finish on a bridge size stock...so you dont want that.
The next Kardwell for a decent deck is 250 decks....doesnt sound bad untill you hear the pricing...the following is directly from an email from Kardwell...
Hello,
Thank you for your e-mail. The following is your quote for litho printed decks with a 2 color logo – standard faces:
250 Decks minimum – 2 color back – standard faces - $3.37 per deck
Set-up is $75.00
Shipping is additional
Orders are subject to a possible over/under run of up to 15%
Production time is 4-5 weeks
Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or wish to place an order.
Sincerely,
Nancy Todrick
So yeah....custom decks are alot harder than they sound...
-Brad
If you are ordering from Kardwell...
The option for 25 deck minumum is a cheapo plastic like finish on a bridge size stock...so you dont want that.
The next Kardwell for a decent deck is 250 decks....doesnt sound bad untill you hear the pricing...the following is directly from an email from Kardwell...
Hello,
Thank you for your e-mail. The following is your quote for litho printed decks with a 2 color logo – standard faces:
250 Decks minimum – 2 color back – standard faces - $3.37 per deck
Set-up is $75.00
Shipping is additional
Orders are subject to a possible over/under run of up to 15%
Production time is 4-5 weeks
Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or wish to place an order.
Sincerely,
Nancy Todrick
So yeah....custom decks are alot harder than they sound...
-Brad
@ The Dark Angel:
Kardwell is a great place to buy already made decks. But not to have them make custom decks. Did anyone see that you can get 2 decks of Red & Purple Wynn's for $6.50? http://www.kardwell.com/page/KII/CTGY/BEE-CASINO-WYNN-ICON I'm thinking I'm the only one who saw that.
@ Everyone:
There was a great company I found that makes custom playing cards. I've never used them but I've heard they're good. Also, you can get just one deck at a time. It is $14.75 a deck if you get between 1-25 decks, but you can just get one which is cool!
Here's PFI's website: http://secure.card-press.com/PFIPlayingCards/tabid/133/Default.aspx
Hope that helps. Peace!
Tyler
Kardwell is a great place to buy already made decks. But not to have them make custom decks. Did anyone see that you can get 2 decks of Red & Purple Wynn's for $6.50? http://www.kardwell.com/page/KII/CTGY/BEE-CASINO-WYNN-ICON I'm thinking I'm the only one who saw that.
@ Everyone:
There was a great company I found that makes custom playing cards. I've never used them but I've heard they're good. Also, you can get just one deck at a time. It is $14.75 a deck if you get between 1-25 decks, but you can just get one which is cool!
Here's PFI's website: http://secure.card-press.com/PFIPlayingCards/tabid/133/Default.aspx
Hope that helps. Peace!
Tyler
I've always had an abundant interest in creating my own deck...but the prices are CRAAAAZY! Even this website is +$295 per order for custom! oh my...i think i better give up ....it's even more than Jerry's Nuggets! (and the quality is not UV500 or anything...)
I would like to re-resurect this thread as I have emailed KardWell International several times and I have some information that I would like to share that could be of some value to this thread.
My text will be in CYAN and the employee will be in purple.
Hello,
In the near feature, I might consider ordering some custom-made decks from your website but I need some information on the quality of the cards.
The stock, finish, and "feel" of the custom-made decks, are they similar to the Bicycle cards or the Tally-Ho cards?
As a magician, I'm looking to purchase some custom-made, high quality cards but that's what's most important for me: high quality. The Bicycle, Tally-Ho's, (and a few others) have this quality that I'm refering to me.
Do custom-made cards have that quality? Do you need to pay more for higher quality cards?
Also, would you mind explaining to me the process of customizing cards?
Thank you for your time for it is much appreciated.
Hello,
Thank you for your e-mail. Please advise your mailing address and I will send you some samples. Please advise how many colors your artwork is and how many decks you would be ordering so I can send you the correct samples. Our finest stock is the casino pro stock and the minimum order for decks with a one or two color imprint is 250 decks.
Sincerely,
Oh, sorry. I accidently sent another E-Mail message to you that was junk... (I accidently did one of those double-reply things*)
Anyways.
Now, is the sample pack free or do I have to eventually purchase some decks after recieving it? If it's free, I would definitely would like to see them. However, If I am forced to make a purchase after recieving them, I'm afraid I can't do business.
Thank You.
*Text was ommited
Hello,
We would not be sending you decks, just sample cards. There are no charge for samples.
Alright, later, I might advise my address for the samples but I would like to know another thing: Your custom-card stocks, do ANY of the brand-name playing cards you sell uses the custom-card stocks?
For example, is the stock of the Bicycle's similar to the higher-quality custom-card stocks?
Thank You.
The stock is similar to Bee Playing cards.
I have never handled a deck of Bee's (I can't believe I haven't before,
) before so the next time I get the opportunity, I will purchase a few of them and if I am happy with the stock, feel, finish, ...etc,, I will definitely consider purchasing some of of your custom-made decks.
One more question:
Which type of custom-card stock is similar to these Bee's? And at leasy how many do I have to purchase in order to qualify for an order?
Thank You.
I am still waiting for a response to my last query.
I'm in the EST:
They always manage to reply at around 10:00 AM sharp the next day if you send a message later during the day.
..:Z:..
My text will be in CYAN and the employee will be in purple.
Hello,
In the near feature, I might consider ordering some custom-made decks from your website but I need some information on the quality of the cards.
The stock, finish, and "feel" of the custom-made decks, are they similar to the Bicycle cards or the Tally-Ho cards?
As a magician, I'm looking to purchase some custom-made, high quality cards but that's what's most important for me: high quality. The Bicycle, Tally-Ho's, (and a few others) have this quality that I'm refering to me.
Do custom-made cards have that quality? Do you need to pay more for higher quality cards?
Also, would you mind explaining to me the process of customizing cards?
Thank you for your time for it is much appreciated.
Hello,
Thank you for your e-mail. Please advise your mailing address and I will send you some samples. Please advise how many colors your artwork is and how many decks you would be ordering so I can send you the correct samples. Our finest stock is the casino pro stock and the minimum order for decks with a one or two color imprint is 250 decks.
Sincerely,
Oh, sorry. I accidently sent another E-Mail message to you that was junk... (I accidently did one of those double-reply things*)
Anyways.
Now, is the sample pack free or do I have to eventually purchase some decks after recieving it? If it's free, I would definitely would like to see them. However, If I am forced to make a purchase after recieving them, I'm afraid I can't do business.
Thank You.
*Text was ommited
Hello,
We would not be sending you decks, just sample cards. There are no charge for samples.
Alright, later, I might advise my address for the samples but I would like to know another thing: Your custom-card stocks, do ANY of the brand-name playing cards you sell uses the custom-card stocks?
For example, is the stock of the Bicycle's similar to the higher-quality custom-card stocks?
Thank You.
The stock is similar to Bee Playing cards.
I have never handled a deck of Bee's (I can't believe I haven't before,
) before so the next time I get the opportunity, I will purchase a few of them and if I am happy with the stock, feel, finish, ...etc,, I will definitely consider purchasing some of of your custom-made decks.One more question:
Which type of custom-card stock is similar to these Bee's? And at leasy how many do I have to purchase in order to qualify for an order?
Thank You.
I am still waiting for a response to my last query.
I'm in the EST:
They always manage to reply at around 10:00 AM sharp the next day if you send a message later during the day.
..:Z:..
UPDATE:
Hello,
The minimum order for litho printed decks on our casino pro stock is 250 decks for a one or two color back or 500 decks for a three of full color back. Custom faced cards are 500 deck minimum.
Can you explain to me what exactly "litho" stock is? I've heard of Air Cushion, UV500, Linoid, and others but never Litho.
Thank You.
..:Z:..
It is not litho stock – its litho printing. The decks are printed on huge presses on large press sheets and the decks are cut after they are printed.
Hello,
The minimum order for litho printed decks on our casino pro stock is 250 decks for a one or two color back or 500 decks for a three of full color back. Custom faced cards are 500 deck minimum.
Can you explain to me what exactly "litho" stock is? I've heard of Air Cushion, UV500, Linoid, and others but never Litho.
Thank You.
..:Z:..
It is not litho stock – its litho printing. The decks are printed on huge presses on large press sheets and the decks are cut after they are printed.
Last edited by a moderator:
Z
that helps us all out a LOT!. you should have them send you some samples and tell us how they feel.
that helps us all out a LOT!. you should have them send you some samples and tell us how they feel.
I might consider doing that but it might be useless as, they would only send me a few cards, not a whole deck.
..:Z:..
www.Yourplayingcards.com
My friend says they are great.
Casino Grade stock
AND YOU CAN BUILD THEM ON THE SITE TO SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE!!!!
My friend says they are great.
Casino Grade stock
AND YOU CAN BUILD THEM ON THE SITE TO SEE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE!!!!
Looks like a cool site, I played around on it for a couple of minutes, and I liked the card builder, I'd be interested in hearing a review!
TDA
I have used www.make-a-deck.com before on one custom deck. The decks cost $50, which is the only downfall. You can customize just about everything. Just check them out.
Anthony Bass
Anthony Bass
Hi guys,
thought I'd drop in my .02 here as I've spent the last couple of months researching this to get cards made for my company.
Bicycle do indeed do custom cards, using the same stock and finish as their normal cards, fully customizable faces and backs with various options for boxes. The website states a minimum run of 10,000 decks, but if you email them or call them they'll generally give you a price for 5,000 as well - although they don't go lower than that.
Kardwell are good and the people are friendly, but I've had several sample decks and cards from them and their highest quality cards are nice but have very poor slip.
Cartamundi supposedly produce quite nice looking cards but so far I'm yet to see the samples they say they've mailed me (months ago).
PlayingCardsRUs are very helpful, and will send you custom decks if you're looking to get some made yourself, but again the best I got from them are very low slip.
I've finally settled with a company called Ad Magic. they've sent me a number of samples, and have been incredibly helpful and friendly. They have all sorts of options for card customization and box customization and they print using several different groups - including Gemaco. If it helps, Jeff McBride gets his cards made by gemaco (I *think* through ad-magic as well, although I can't remember if I asked him that). I have ended up going with a run of 1000 to get higher quality 300 GSM stock with a high slip linen finish, but they will definitely do much smaller runs for you.
The thing to remember about custom cards is most of these companies can make pretty much whatever you want in terms of look - where you're going to have trouble is the magic side of things. Even the best cards I've been able to get from admagic don't have the kind of slip that bicycle cards do, although having used them long enough to get used to them I find them fine now for magic. A lot of the other cards (especially all the plastic ones) just feel really poor quality in terms of magic use and fanning etc.
You may find that some of these cards are great for flourishing in the sense that they can be very strong and stay together well - for me the consideration was their use in everyday magic, as I will be using them all the time as business cards and performing magic as part of my work.
Ultimately I would choose bicycle if you can justify the expense (it's tax deductible for me, and obviously for any pro magicians) as the quality just can't be beaten - I'm moving countries in a year or so so I didn't want to get 10,000 decks with my phone number on that I'd have to throw away When I move and am settled I will get a new run done through Bicycle.
If you have any questions about this sort of thing feel free to drop me a line too - I have quotes and sample cards coming out of my ears
Horus
thought I'd drop in my .02 here as I've spent the last couple of months researching this to get cards made for my company.
Bicycle do indeed do custom cards, using the same stock and finish as their normal cards, fully customizable faces and backs with various options for boxes. The website states a minimum run of 10,000 decks, but if you email them or call them they'll generally give you a price for 5,000 as well - although they don't go lower than that.
Kardwell are good and the people are friendly, but I've had several sample decks and cards from them and their highest quality cards are nice but have very poor slip.
Cartamundi supposedly produce quite nice looking cards but so far I'm yet to see the samples they say they've mailed me (months ago).
PlayingCardsRUs are very helpful, and will send you custom decks if you're looking to get some made yourself, but again the best I got from them are very low slip.
I've finally settled with a company called Ad Magic. they've sent me a number of samples, and have been incredibly helpful and friendly. They have all sorts of options for card customization and box customization and they print using several different groups - including Gemaco. If it helps, Jeff McBride gets his cards made by gemaco (I *think* through ad-magic as well, although I can't remember if I asked him that). I have ended up going with a run of 1000 to get higher quality 300 GSM stock with a high slip linen finish, but they will definitely do much smaller runs for you.
The thing to remember about custom cards is most of these companies can make pretty much whatever you want in terms of look - where you're going to have trouble is the magic side of things. Even the best cards I've been able to get from admagic don't have the kind of slip that bicycle cards do, although having used them long enough to get used to them I find them fine now for magic. A lot of the other cards (especially all the plastic ones) just feel really poor quality in terms of magic use and fanning etc.
You may find that some of these cards are great for flourishing in the sense that they can be very strong and stay together well - for me the consideration was their use in everyday magic, as I will be using them all the time as business cards and performing magic as part of my work.
Ultimately I would choose bicycle if you can justify the expense (it's tax deductible for me, and obviously for any pro magicians) as the quality just can't be beaten - I'm moving countries in a year or so so I didn't want to get 10,000 decks with my phone number on that I'd have to throw away
When I move and am settled I will get a new run done through Bicycle.If you have any questions about this sort of thing feel free to drop me a line too - I have quotes and sample cards coming out of my ears
Horus