Gilded cards

obeygravity

I've been mulling the idea of making a tarot deck for a while now and something I absolutely adore is the rise in tarot decks that have either gold or silver guiding on the sides. I was wondering if anyone's had any experience with doing this and if they had any good resources/printers that do this as well? I know that getting foil on the artwork itself is a bit easier but the sides seem to be a bit harder to come by.
 

HudsonGray

I wonder if it could be hand applied on each card separately. Sort of like using one of the rubber stamp pads with metallic inks, lightly slide each side of every card across it and let dry? A stamp pad shouldn't blurb up the ink very high.
 

obeygravity

Oof, I'd consider it but I'd likely end up doing a fairly large short run and I know myself well enough that there's no way I'd do that for every deck :laugh:
 

Nepenthes

More than two options

Please also consider the use of other metallic options, such as copper or brass, to round out the options or being able to assign different colors to suits, minor/major, etc.
 

DDwarks

Please also consider the use of other metallic options, such as copper or brass, to round out the options or being able to assign different colors to suits, minor/major, etc.

Ooh! I like that very much!
 

Arthurdubya

Hello!

Arthurdubya, dream murderer here.

Gilding the sides costs a fairly big chunk of money, and is most cheaply done with a printer overseas in asia for obvious reasons. Depending on who's doing the job, it could take a couple of dollars per deck to 10 or 15. Quantity also matters, as a per-deck cost would be much higher for a run of 100 decks vs a run of 10,000. If you're printing decks overseas at say $5-7 per deck, an extra $2 per deck for gilding would be an extra 30% cost-adder.

A good chunk of money, but definitely worth it if you're planning on selling your deck at a higher price, or attracting a pricier market segment.

It CAN be hand applied to each card, but the process for 78 cards will take a devastatingly long time, and there would be little reason to do so. This would be a similar reason why doing different colors for different suits would cost more money. The process of edge gilding a deck is applied per-batch, so every group or color of cards would incur a separate charge.

Here's a video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvHph0FrUY
 

Nepenthes

Similiar to per color costs

Similar to per color costs, anything adding additional factors adds cost. But as mentioned below, it can make a difference when aiming for a higher quality deck and a resultant clientele that supports it. I think you will find that a customer base exists for all aspects of pricing, especially with many using Tarot as something significant.

Alan

Hello!

Arthurdubya, dream murderer here.

Gilding the sides costs a fairly big chunk of money, and is most cheaply done with a printer overseas in asia for obvious reasons. Depending on who's doing the job, it could take a couple of dollars per deck to 10 or 15. Quantity also matters, as a per-deck cost would be much higher for a run of 100 decks vs a run of 10,000. If you're printing decks overseas at say $5-7 per deck, an extra $2 per deck for gilding would be an extra 30% cost-adder.

A good chunk of money, but definitely worth it if you're planning on selling your deck at a higher price, or attracting a pricier market segment.

It CAN be hand applied to each card, but the process for 78 cards will take a devastatingly long time, and there would be little reason to do so. This would be a similar reason why doing different colors for different suits would cost more money. The process of edge gilding a deck is applied per-batch, so every group or color of cards would incur a separate charge.

Here's a video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvHph0FrUY
 

starlightexp

Having applied 24k gold to the edges of several decks now I can tell you it takes a LOT of sanding and clamping, and patients like you wouldn't believe. They take days to do each deck. The end result is quite amazing I will say but get a few practice decks in first.
 

obeygravity

Thanks everyone for your input! Yes, I know it'd cost extra but that's a lot of why I'm trying to scope out options at the moment. I've done a few successful campaigns so far and while I do not plan on doing it particularly soon (way too busy) getting the support isn't something I'm currently worried about.

But yeah, the time consuming aspect is exactly why I'd rather not do it by hand. Even when I'm likely to have the time to complete the deck, I'll likely be prioritizing shipping out the decks over anything else. Also... Terrible attention span so chances are it won't go over well if I tried :laugh:
 

EmpyreanKnight

Please also consider the use of other metallic options, such as copper or brass, to round out the options or being able to assign different colors to suits, minor/major, etc.

Different metals for different suits would have made any deck the ne plus ultra of gilt-edged decks. Just wow.