"Paper" or "Plastic"?

Do you have cards you treasure that feel like paper, not plastic?

Some of my favorite decks are more paper-like than plastic (the coating is matte or less noticeable than the shiny slippery 'plasticized paper).

I especially like linen-weave paper, as the Di Vecchi editions, or some of the old style vintage decks with a less slick finish...that feel like they're on paper.

Maybe I'm crazy/silly...but do you have a feeling or good/bad tales of decks lasting longer with that very slick finish? Mine with the shiny, slick finishes tend to do a waterfall out of the bag and sail right out onto the floor or across tabletops...

Just curious, as I finger older-less slippery decks...

Cerulean

Paper!

Hello Cerulean,

I pretty feel as you do on this paper/plastic thing.
Also I found like you that many of the decks with what you call shiny, slick finish very easily fall out of my hands.
I even have the feeling some decks want to speed out of the box and you have to keep a very accurate balance to be able to hold them.
One could make competitions or races with some decks because some are really very very fast in slipping

Though I already have mentioned this on other threads, here are some of the decks I really love to feel in my hands just because of this paperlike feeling:
. the no copyright RWS printed by Muller & Cie (about 1971)
(blue box with World dancer or yellow box with magician)
. early edition of the "1JJ" (also printed in Switzerland)
. Royal Fez Moroccan (also printed in Switzerland)

I dont know about other Meneghello decks, but I have the "Soprafino" and "I Naibi".
I find the cardstock and finish of both marvellous though the cards are quite thick.

From the newer decks I also have a new "Haindl Tarot" edition by Lotos with a really nice cardstock.

The deck with the worst cardstock and finish I have is "The word of one".
This is 1992 the re-edition of "T: The new Tarot for the Aquarian Age"
The cards feel like the cards you attach to your coat with your name and function when you got to a fair.
And the finish is so bad that the cards are almost glued together and it is almost "difficult" to put the card together in one pack.

On the other side, despite of this attraction for nice cardstock and finish, it does not lead me to appreciate the "life" of a deck more.
And I finally most of the time go back to the little "Linde Famira" because this is the deck that speaks to me the most, though it has a really cheap cardstock. Not so bad but quite thin and with a plastic lamination on it, a kind of deck for poor people (though it came with a book named "Tarot for business")
But I love it.

And so I sometimes take the other decks "I treasure" because of the beautiful cardstock and finish just for the pleasure to "feel" them with my hands but do not look at the pictures

Best regards

My green thoth is the slippiest deck I have ever had.
But I kind of like that.

My USG RWS is very card like, with just a slight sheen. I think that's the same as the ones in the blue dancer box (although mine do have the copyright on them)

The sticky Sherridan is so crap it cannot even be used, and seems to have been lacqured with a brush it's so thick.

I like the smooth way the Thoth shuffles. My hands are small and the cards are big, so that smooth shuffling is good for me.

The very old thoth is very different. Not slippy at all.

I really dislike that ultra-shiny laminate that many decks are coated with.

I recently bought my daughter a Hanson-Roberts tarot and was surprised at how shiny the cards are - don't like them at all. I have an older version that I bought second-hand and it's cards have a lovely papery feel to them - much nicer.

The deck from my collection that I like the feel of most is my old RWS - it's published by Rider and co and feels almost like fabric, it's lovely, shuffles like a dream.
The first edition Tarot of Prague has a very nice matte finish to it that makes the cards feel old and worn in too.

The deck from my collection with the worst lamination is without doubt The Glastonbury Tarot - I can't read with it because the cards feel so awful so I keep it for spell work. I love the deck though and hope that one day it'll be re-printed with a new and improved lamination.

Love

Sulis xx

I like paper. i love it when you use a deck to the point where the plasticy laminate wares down to a nicer more "used" sort of look.

My Königsfurt Edition of the RW and my Legend Arthurian have this old worn paper like feeling I highly appreciate.

@ Sulis: you should have seen me on Saturday struggling with the Sacred Rose: it is still pretty slippery but I am sure I will cope with that.

The other thing with this is that I look at it from a practical perspective.

Possibly because I am clumsy.

I look at a matt, card type deck and think 'If I spilled something on this it would be ruined'
But I look at a plasticy one and think 'This could very well wipe clean with minimum damage.'

Not that I have ever spilled something terrible on a deck, but it could happen...

Give me paper!

My absolutely favorite feel is Jean-Claude Flornoy's hand-stenciled TdM decks on custom paper. Second place would go to Il Meneghello's decks. For mass-produced decks, the Tarot of Prague first edition is perfect.

best,
robert

The worst deck I ever purchased was a Morgan Greer with such a think plastic finish that I think the deck was actually made heavier. Plus, the cards stuck together so badly that it was vitually impossible to shuffle. I sold it to a used bookstore almost immediately.

Like others in this forum, my favorite "paper" decks are my original Tarot of Prague and my recently aquired vintage Royal Fez Moroccan. I love the older feel of the Moroccan (and vintage decks in general...I've been searching forever for a blue-backed Morgan Press Aquarian in decent condition!), but I am afraid to make it one of my primary reading decks. It is in great condition, but I can't help but think that the flimsy cardstock will fall apart after constant shuffling. Does anyone else use this version of the Moroccan (the 1975 edition, orange window box with crazy purple backing)? If so, how does it hold up in your experience?

I agree that the feel of paper decks is much more soothing to the hands but I am a bit worried about the durability of these cards. I know than none of my paper decks would stand as much handling as my ultra-hard plasticized Voyager!!