I do like borderless decks, if it means larger images for my long sighted vision to feast upon.
However..
Having had cards printed I FULLY understand why white borders are favoured and are the norm. To allow for a bleed area, and to allow for a slightly off centred cut (even a single figure pixel difference) borders can help prevent key areas of the image from being cut away. Borders protect ALL of the image, but do make the image smaller. And as for coloured borders, they look great. but when the card starts to chip or become worn, they show the damage a lot quicker. Years ago, a well worn card was just a sign of something that had been used and had character. I rarely see anyone who uses one deck for 20 years + where this happens, so any wear is often seen as an irritant. How often have we seen postings here, where owners of decks with black borders are bemoaning the issue of wear showing?? Quite often.
If I were to design my own deck (I wish, but there lies a story) I have learned to have ALL key aspects inside the card, with the outer edges being part of the story but not prevalent parts of the image. Thereby I would opt for borderless printing, and would be happy in the knowledge the key image was safe during the printing and cutting process.
But I do understand why in recent years, white borders have been popular with publishers. Less ink used, and less chance of there being a blemish on the border. Also safe in the knowledge the image is entirely protected. And wear will not show.
The print site I use advise 36 pixel for bleed, and another 36 pixel for safety. Therefore, if the blade is off by 36 pixels, (which is unlikely) the whole image is still guarenteed.
So I guess I am seeing both sides of the debate...lol but would opt for borderless at the outset. Especially if I were self publishing, and knew which site I would be using for the printing. Knowing the ratio and dimensions of the upload would mean knowing what to to use for the artwork, from day 1.
Hey, this is basically some of what I was going to say. The bleed area I had to work with was 3mm all round. So horizontally or vertically, 6 mm could be lost top or bottom or from either side worst case scenario (though the full loss all on one side is unlikely). Someone else said not accounting for that is just being lazy. I don't think it is that simple. Not only do you have to make sure that critical parts are not trimmed, but that the symmetry of the image is not compromised as some cards are very centrally oriented, being a meditative type image.
That said, I account for bleed in my tarot art but still am unlikely to do a borderless deck, because I don't want wear on the image edges. The wear would not bother me for a deck for my own personal use, and it is not that I do not want to see wear on my art. Having printed a deck with black borders, I now know there are three types of people: those who will be bothered by tiny spots of wear showing on the edge of a black deck and will email and complain about it in a shocking and disturbing way, those who won't be bothered by it or would not dream of emailing about it, and those who know how to use a Sharpie to fix it in less than a few seconds
With a borderless image there may not be a simple fix like that, and I can imagine that having the art itself show any wear would bother more people. I see some people read with well worn, obviously long-term-loved decks, but some are really disturbed by any sign of wear yet also hate the plasticky card stock designed not to show wear. Hard to make any decision knowing you can't please all of the people, all the time.
I doubt it is that white is cheaper as the paper is white (though maybe who knows if one was printing thousands of them) but more likely that white shows no cutting flaws on the edge of the paper, and no wear.
I also want to address the comment that wear on a deck is due to a faulty printing process. i don't believe that is so, all decks wear they just do so in different ways depending on the manner of printing and type of card stock etc. I am by no means an expert, but it was explained to me by someone who is or as I interpret what they said, that with offset printing, the ink sinks into the paper while with digital printing the ink is baked onto the surface like enamel. So with offset you get less immediate edge wear and fewer (but still some) marks from slight cutting flaws on the edge though the cards still wear with use, but very slightly less vibrant color than digital due absorption and definitely less color consistency pack to pack. An artist also likely is doing smaller runs, and offset is not cost effective unless printing thousands, not hundred, of cards. If printing thousands it is cheaper than digital, if printing hundreds it is more expensive. So it is only usually chosen by mass producers. Plus even if you did want to use offset for a smaller run, the printers won't set up the press to run you a physical proof, you have to get a pdf proof and what the hell good is that, as it is basically what you already sent them and tells you nothing about what the finished product will be like. Yes some deck designers getting picked up by a publisher get to approve proofs for a mass produced offset run, but that is because the printers are committed to setting up the press already for a big job.With digital you get a proof even for a small job, you get consistent and vibrant color, and cost effectiveness for smaller jobs. But since the color lays on top of the paper, it can show wear on the edge easier. And the card stock probably matters too, the plasticky laminates peel, and the aqueous coatings on offset printings can be faulty, while digital printings are not aqueous coated.
Probably more than you wanted to know, lol.
Now as far as your other question as to whether I ever saw a deck enhanced by white borders, well not any I have purchased unless you count black and white decks
i do like borders in general but only if they are very thin on the sides and unobtrusive overall unless they have a design that just really goes with the art.
But the deck I am currently working on, oddly enough, I like the way the images look when I print them on super white paper, white borders and all. I think the vibrant India inks I am using really glow against the white. And I am used to seeing art, like watercolors with a white border masked off and it does not bother me. I thought about doing a thin white border because I actually do think they look good that way, but probably won't since there seems to be a default hatred of white due to so many doing it poorly or only for economic or convenience reasons. Maybe a nice parchment or cream instead, lol, but that is a whole different look. My last deck had black, I want to do something else this time...
