laminating a deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Sep 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

SongDeva	30 Sep 2003
Just got the Hello Tarot, and since it's on paper (thick, but not really card stock) I'd like to do something to protect the cards a bit. I think the toner (it's black and white) might smudge without too much convincing, and the deck would perish if spilled on or shuffled too much. Does anyone know of any laminating or protective techniques? Other than laminating them at Officemax? I mean, is there a spray or anything like that? I'm in a rush, cause I'd like to use them to read for kids on 10/18. Thanks

full deck	30 Sep 2003
Artist that sketch (pencil, crayon, etc.) often use a spray-on marker fixant that keeps their work from smudging. Such can be bought at an arts supply store. That may be what you need but would talk to an artist about that. If not, try talking to a art conservator about it since you want to use the correct technique (since lamination is not reversable).

HudsonGray	30 Sep 2003
Krylon is a good acrylic spray fixative (protects chalk drawings & charcoal sketches just fine for instance, I think it's $5 for a can). OR you can do what my rubber stamp group does when they make cards that are decorated with chalk & color pencil, just spray a coat of hairspray on the surface & let dry. I works the same as Krylon, though I think Krylon is better over long periods of time (hairspray may yellow a tad in 3 or 4 years). But since the deck itself is just photocopied on non-archival paper, preserving it for 75 years down the line may be almost impossible anyways.

Astraea	30 Sep 2003
I have the same concerns about the Hello Tarot, as the stock is so thin. I have concerns that the lamination process, or even spraying the deck with a fixative, would cause the cards to curl. Maybe someone at a commercial print shop would be able to direct you to the best solution, VioletLotus.

dolphinprincess	30 Sep 2003
You could probably take it to Kinkos... I've looked into that before for the same reason, different deck...guess it depends on how much $$ you are willing to spend...

SongDeva	03 Oct 2003
Question...this Krylon Stuff just protects the ink, right? Doesn't make the paper strong.... I'm thinking about glueing them to new backs...I wonder how that would work. Any thoughts? Anyone ever tried it? I kinda just feel like doing a project now. :))

Hedera	03 Oct 2003
Quote: Originally posted by VioletLotus I'm thinking about glueing them to new backs...I wonder how that would work. Any thoughts? Anyone ever tried it? I have, on the Mountain Dream deck! Using sticky-back plastic (I picked out a nice pattern), I glued several of the cards on one bit of the roll at a time. I cut them out roughly with siccors, then used a guilloutine to cut them out more precisely. With a paper-puch I rounded the corners. It took me an afternoon, and it worked really well, the deck is much sturdier now. :) Of course, that won't do anything to protect the front, but some kind of fixative would work well, I think. Using plastic to laminate the front probably wouldn't work; the see-through kind is much thinner than the coloured stuff, and more prone to bubbles. Edited to add; I wanted to edit the post to correct my spelling of guilloutine, but found I have no clue how to actually spell that word.....:D

Astraea	03 Oct 2003
Affixing the cards to new backs might work, but it would scare me to experiment with the actual deck -- since we know the number of the card stock Rosales uses (if memory serves, it's 90-weight), you might consider purchasing a sheet of that and trying different methods of thickening/strengthening the stock. As I understand it, Krylon preserves the ink but not the paper. I would be afraid that gluing new backs to the cards would give them an uneven appearance and/or bleed through in places, Glue sticks don't do that, but the glue in them is not very strong, either. If you bought a sheet of 90-weight paper from a commercial printing company, the people there might be able to recommend some things to try. I wish you great success, and look forward to hearing about your results!

SongDeva	03 Oct 2003
Thanks all.... I'm thinking hmmm, contact paper, what a great idea! And some fixative on the front....and perhaps the clear stuff anyway, they don't need to be used as walls, after all . LOL I'm surprisingly unscared to practice on the real deck. hehehehee Ironic, since I'm doing this to protect it. I could choose contact paper with a kids theme...or not. :)

Astraea	03 Oct 2003
Hedera and I were posting at the same time. I agree with you, VioletLotus, her idea of using contact paper is fabulous! Maybe there is even some with a kitty pattern.

HudsonGray	03 Oct 2003
90 weight paper is about the heaviest card stock that the mid-level machines (ones used by most printers) can handle, so he can't get the paper strength increased. Printers in this area have told me that anything heavier requires them to farm out the job to the large commercial graphics places, which is very expensive & needs to be a large job, not in the mere 100's or 1,000's of pages. My deck, too, will have to be on stuff available locally, so I'm wrestling with paper decisions right now. If the companies offered a spray varnish finish, it would do wonders to help the cards, but even that isn't available to the standard public looking to do up a 'smallish' job of 300 decks.

full deck	03 Oct 2003
Yes, HudsonG, you have me thinking. I've not had an occasion to try something through my contacts that is heavier than 90lbs. I should really check simply because there is no telling what could be done through the guys I use in Korea. Some of their requirements for print jobs are a bit different than the states (film positive instead of using film negative for plates, alot of truetype fonts instead of postscript, etc.)

HudsonGray	03 Oct 2003
It might be good to take advantage of them if you can. You wouldn't need to pay import fees on the stuff shipped to you, though, would you? I have no clue about international business shipping.

The laminating a deck thread was originally posted on 30 Sep 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.