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When printing your own playing cards, everyone will think of choosing some high-quality playing card stock, because the printed products will have a good feels and quality. But before customers, high-quality card stock will increase your cost. If your budget is sufficient, choosing high-quality cardboard is no problem, but if you have a limited budget, you must choose some relatively cheap card stock.
Playing Card Stock Types
There are several kinds of card stock commonly used in printing, gray core paper, blue core paper, art paper, black core paper, and PVC paper. These papers have paper grain inside, and the paper grain direction is along the long side of the raw material paper. The function of the paper texture is to increase the stiffness of the paper, so you must pay attention to the direction of the paper texture when typesetting. The paper pattern of the card must also be along the long side.
Let’s analyze the characteristics of various card stock in detail below:
Gray Core Paper
Features: The more common paper, the paper is relatively cheap, and the unit price can be accepted by most people. It is generally used for Domestic trade Promotional Cards and Japanese cards; the paper is more dusty, and the paper surface is not very uniform, not white or even a little Moldy, domestic trade is done more and foreign trade is rarely done.
Blue Core Paper
Features: Compared with gray core paper, this paper has better stiffness and density, and the price is relatively moderate. Generally speaking, some company is acceptable under our suggestion. Domestic trade is more, while foreign trade is relatively small.
Another Blue Core Paper
Features: This paper is basically the same as 270g Blue Core Paper, but the price is at least 3 cents higher, which is not too widely accepted.
Air Paper
Features: The paper is evenly coated on both sides. Compared with all poker papers, this paper has the best printing color, and the stiffness of the produced poker cards is also very good. In the past, this paper was used more in foreign trade orders. In addition, this paper is a bit transparent, so it is not recommended to being used as casino cards.
Imported Black Core Paper
Features: Good stiffness, good toughness, folding resistance, anti-perspect, can make 56 cards. Generally used to make casino cards. Some internationally well-known large companies will use this paper.
PVC Paper
PVC is actually a kind of vinyl polymer. Its material is a non-crystalline material. PVC is combined with paper or other plastics after the vinyl is melted at a high temperature to make it attached to the surface. It is a kind of material. The advantage of this paper is that it is easy to clean and waterproof, but its environmental protection is relatively poor.
Generally, some customers with waterproof needs will use PVC materials. For example, playing cards at beaches or bars requires a waterproof design. This design does not have to worry about stains and moisture.
Therefore, we suggest that when making playing cards, game cards, tarot cards, and learning, you can use black core paper under the premise of sufficient budget. But if your budget is not sufficient, you can use relatively cheap cost air paper, while reducing the surface finish addition, so that you can make a product that meets your expectations.
