is it time for us to love US Games ultra-lamination?

[Abrac]

sapienza

Good to know, thanks.

 

[sapienza]

Now I know how hard they are to find, I'm kind of scared to use mine.

 

[Mateo06]

I am not sure if my copy of the Hanson Roberts has the same plastic as mentioned above, but it does feel very plasticie, and when I recieved my Quantum and Revelation today, I was slightly disappointed to not find the same plastic feel. I feel the Revelations was weak/thin and would fray with too much work. I hated the feel at first (H/R), but after forcing the deck into submission it shuffles really well. I also feel my Hanson R. would survive soda, cake, and a nuclear fallout.

 

[Cactus Dahlia]

For so long, U.S Games uber-glossy lamination has been the bug-bear of many members, including me, but Im now beginning to question this. Has the time come for us to accept it and see the virtues?

I prefer a light lamination on the cards. The glossy lamination makes them too difficult to shuffle IMO. They slip and slide all over the place and sometimes stick together. I don't think heavy lamination makes the cards more durable except when used in 'high-spill' areas.

The cards I find a dream to shuffle are all just lightly laminated.

Heavy lamination might give more body to lighter-weight cardstock and the publishers can keep the deck price down because of this. I'm just guessing here.

So may be there are two virtues for glossy lamination: more durable in high-spill areas and cheaper to produce making them more accessible to buy. Can't think of any more virtues though.

If given the choice, I'll pick the 'once over lightly' lamination every time.

 

[Le Fanu]

I am not sure if my copy of the Hanson Roberts has the same plastic as mentioned above, but it does feel very plasticie, and when I recieved my Quantum and Revelation today, I was slightly disappointed to not find the same plastic feel. I feel the Revelations was weak/thin and would fray with too much work. I hated the feel at first (H/R), but after forcing the deck into submission it shuffles really well. I also feel my Hanson R. would survive soda, cake, and a nuclear fallout.

Hanson Roberts is one of those cases where it wasn't just the question of lamination. The newer, laminated printings lost out on colour. They are more pallid. I hate it when that happens. Happened with the Spiral, happened with the Universal Waite... The main point of heavy lamination is to make the cards non-biodegradable for future archeological study AND to make the colours pop. If the colours are more pallid, I mean what's the point?

And while we're on the subject, the Quantum has the most perfect lamination. If more decks were like this, I'd be happier.

But somebody somewhere won't like it...

 

[Sulis]

I don't like smelly ultra-laminated decks and I don't use them. The only deck I use which has more lamination than I like is the Illuminated - I made an exception for it, because it is so beautiful and because its method of hand-painting means it has to be protected by more sturdy lamination.

Snap .
The Illuminated is the only heavily laminated deck that I use and for the very reasons that Fudugazi has given. If a mass produced deck was that heavily laminated there is no way I'd use it.

And Baba-Prague, please don't consider changing your beautiful, matte / satin varnish to something heavier and shinier. I love that your cards actually age. My Victorian Romantic deck looks like an antique and I love it that way .

 

[Sophie]

And while we're on the subject, the Quantum has the most perfect lamination. If more decks were like this, I'd be happier.

So true! Well done, Kunati.

 

[nisaba]

I have some unlaminated decks whose feel I love, and one or two highly laminated decks whowse feel I love - the Hudes, with its shine, comes to mind.

Then there are others, like the new edition Sheridan-Douglas, where the lamination makes them feel like surfboards - I'm tempted to sit outside on the front step and wax them, just like a board.

But in even the most plasticky decks I have now, I've never encountered a smell.

 

[shamoness]

I abhor the laminated decks! I find the plastic repelent like others do. But I really like my Transparent and that is entirely made of plastic! I actually didn't but it for quite a while because it is made of plastic. I really thought I'd hate it. Cards should be made of cardstock. But the Transparent is a special deck. If all decks were made like this I'd never buy another new deck!

 

[baba-prague]

They are paid so little and work in such poor conditions that what someone the other side of the globe might think of a crease - possibly made at the end of a long shift - is really not at the top of their priorities. If tarot producers and customers want quality control, it comes with a price.

To be honest Fudu, I think it's human error and comes in whatever you pay and however the conditions are. Our beloved Vassa (who we miss very much) packed most of the Bohemian Gothic and she was well paid and said she enjoyed the work - and did it with real care. Even so, some faulty cards were packed and a few got creased. I think it just happens with anything hand packed. Of course, I agree that the worse the conditions, the more likely people are not to care.