why do cards need borders???

i have seen more than a few threads which posters here sharing their wonderful experience of trimming cards, how the cards read much better and such, yet i have never seen one single thread saying it only a certain borderless deck would have a border.

the only reason i can think of the necessity of a border is for title and description, although i think that's kind of stupid in itself. if you can read tarot cards, then you can tell what each card is without the title, and if you are a novice, then a title along wouldn't do you much good. you need to refer to your book, and the book will tell you what each card is. now if you are using the first edition bohemian cats with missing wands and swords, then i suppose a card description would really help.

i guess what i am really asking is, besides title and description, are there additional reasons as to why tarot cards need borders?

I think it may have to do with the printing process too. Easier to print the cards correctly with borders.

Also, I don't mind borders, in fact I think they make the art look finished. But, that's just me.

Alta

The only good thing about borders is that when you damage the corners or sides of the card you're not actually damaging the artwork. That being said, I still wish they made borderless versions of every deck.

How about "you can trim the borders if you don't like them, but you can't ADD borders to a card without them)

I don't like boderless cards. I also don't like bulky borders, though... I prefer the largest image possible with a very narrow boder to 'contain' the image. Borderless cards leave me feeling scattered. Borerless cards look to me like postered tacked to the wall... bordered cards look like framed art. Heavy borders look like art that isn't interesting enough to stand on it's own.

Basic Elements said:

The only good thing about borders is that when you damage the corners or sides of the card you're not actually damaging the artwork.

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Absolutely! I love the way artwork just spills out in a borderless deck and there are no restrictions or overcrowding of artwork when the borders are eliminated. But they do serve purposes, as well. They frame the artwork, work as windows or doorways into the main images and yes, when shuffling it is the border that can get any chipping done to it, rather than the artwork when borders are included. Pros and cons to both and most likely we will never have the choice between two in a deck, so I just appreciate both kinds!

I like subtle borders, done artfully. What I really hate is huge wide white borders. To me, it makes the cards look like kiddie flash cards. It somehow cheapens the imagery. It's just filler, to me.

I like most inner borders, though, if it plays off the art of the card.

I like the Robin Wood deck but the thick, white borders spoil the impact of the artwork and cheapens the deck. By all means give the cards a border if it will protect the artwork, but do they have to be that thick? I think it's unnecessary and a shame.

Borders act as a buffer. During the printing process if the central image is a millimetre out, it isn't such a big deal. A border absorbs it.

I love borderless decks, but I can see that it isn't always practical...

Plus I like the fact that, with use, the cards scuff at the edges but the image isn't spoilt.

What jars for me sometimes is that the card image is one style and the lettering on the border is another. I was looking at the Harmonious the other day and the images are so flowery and romantic and Victorian, then the border has this 21st Century font and it just looks odd. Same with the Scarabeo Classical Tarot and the Tarot of the Master.

Yet when a border is the colour of the card itself (like the Scarabeo Ancient Tarot of Marseilles or the Ancient Tarot of Lombardy, and Liguria-Piedmont), it is imperceptible. Makes a world of difference. It's the glaring white ones which bother me...

The Héron Conver Marseilles is ruined by the glaring white borders.

I like borders. The only deck whose borders I've ever trimmed is the Tarot of White Cats, but that was just the outer border to get rid of the multilingual titles; it still left the gold inner frame.

That being said, I still wish they made borderless versions of every deck.

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Ha, and I wish they made bordered versions of every deck. Tamaar described my thoughts better than I probably would have. As lovely as they are, I'd like the BG and Quantum decks so much more if they just had little borders to properly contain the artwork.

It would be nice if all decks came with easily trimmed borders and backs that were even and reversible even when trimmed. That way the people who like borders and the people who don't could be happy campers with the same deck.

I love borders, but I think it's because I'm a little OCD like that. Borders seem to 'finish' the art to me. But I think many decks have borders that are too thick.