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SneakrativeD wrote:glow in the dark stock quality available is a bit crappy

The decks will be launched in pairs through projects run in the same way as this one. The next project/pair will likely be launched later this year.

Azid wrote:Like in the update said:

The decks will be launched in pairs through projects run in the same way as this one. The next project/pair will likely be launched later this year.

I hope he delivers the 2 decks of the actual campaign BEFORE launching the next 2 decks.

SneakrativeD wrote:
It's also worth noting that the ideas posted are just very rough concepts and will need a lot more work, but are both the most requested colours from the pledgers, magicians and collectors I spoke with.

If you guys have any ideas at all about what you would like to see in the series, I'd love to hear them.

STLBluesNut wrote:I would like the v3 set to have an orange deck. Perhaps purple as well. I am not sure what hazards could be associated with those but I love orange!

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SneakrativeD wrote: Purple is also definitely on the list, I was thinking something along the lines of venom/poison which in my mind at least feels right. A black/white set is also something that could be really neat, someone has already mentioned using holofoil on black, which I really liked.

SneakrativeD wrote:Hiya all,

I hope you're all well.

I just wanted to assure you guys that I will not be launching the second set of this series until the first is completed and every single pledge has had their cards. Also, not until people have had a chance to review and feedback on the Liquorice Press' cards.

I may even launch the Highborn deck first (once U52/BH52 is fulfilled and feedback is obtained) to give me time to design the second set of the series.

It's also worth noting that the ideas posted are just very rough concepts and will need a lot more work, but are both the most requested colours from the pledgers, magicians and collectors I spoke with.

If you guys have any ideas at all about what you would like to see in the series, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

All the best,
Dave

Decknowledgy wrote:I think since the name of the first deck was called Uranium, it's worth revisiting the periodic table to seek out elements or compounds that produce different colors of flame, to look for the most unusual and probably to match the names for the forthcoming decks

CollectADeck wrote: David, glad you stopped by to provide these reassurances! I love the deck but was on the fence with the new printer, but after seeing this, I'm in for a few! Glad to see these decks getting made!

STLBluesNut wrote:Already filled out the survey but just wanted to chime in here on your choices. I did write in my own.

To me, black foil, and white, just look like shiny ink or spot uv. I would say, as a foil, they aren't really a foil. They aren't metallic in any way. If I were a designer, or producer, I would probably shy away from black and white foil altogether. I'm sure they increase the cost like foil does but you do not really get any of the benefits of foil visually.

I only bring it up here because iirc all your given options were some color stock and black foil. You may as well use glossy ink, call it a day and save some money. Perhaps that is not how it works but as a consumer that is how it appears to me.

My personal preference on foil goes copper>colors red blue green etc>silver>gold.

Prototypes

I've had the first deck prototypes and they are great! I mean, really great. I'm hugely impressed by what the Liquorice Press have managed to accomplish on their first ever test run of printing high-end playing cards.

The prototypes have been reviewed and thoroughly tested and there are a few tweaks I have requested which are:

1.) Paper grain direction: If you take any recent deck produced by a big playing card company you'll notice that the cards are easier to slightly bend from side-to-side compared to bending them top to bottom. This is due to the direction of the paper grain which is best when it runs top to bottom. Having the right grain direction helps a lot with things like riffle shuffling and a number of other card techniques, tricks and flourishes like the LePaul spread. On the first prototype, the grain ran from side to side, so I have asked that the cards are printed so that the grain runs top-to-bottom.

2.) Edge Bevelling (Cutting): This is something that won't make a huge difference to the deck for many of you and is only really practical to help perform a flourish/sleight called a faro shuffle. What this is, is a very very slight bevel to the edges of the cards (which you likely wouldn't even notice) which will allow the cards to be pushed into one another easily from the edge of the deck. Depending on who you ask, some prefer the bevel cut from the front of the deck and some from the back (it depends on whether the person prefers performing the faro with a face-up or face-down deck). The prototype does faro quite well and the edges aren't bevelled, so I have asked for some further tests to be run using a sharper punching tool to cut the cards, to see whether it will be necessary to fully bevel the edges of the cards. There is a downside to bevelling the cards and that is that you can't gild the edges when bevelled so, if I ever want to gild a deck of this series, I would have to use a different cutting process. The company that is cutting the cards assure me that you can easily faro with the cut they will use. So, I will test prototype 02 and see if I feel that the bevelled edges are necessary.

3.) Varnish / Coating: The coating of the decks helps the cards slide across one another and protects the printed artwork from rubbing off. The coating used in the prototype was pretty much perfect. I sat and intensively shuffled the cards for two hours and after each shuffle, I would spread/fan the cards to see if they clump or stick together when fanned (which gives some indication of the durability of the coating). Then I did exactly the same for another USPCC deck. The coating of the prototype became slightly sticky after 1.5 hours of intensive shuffling and the USPCC deck took 2 hours before it began sticking/clumping. As such, we will tweak the formula of the coating and test some variants of the coating out, to improve durability and longevity. This will involve things like adding some more hardener to the chemical mix, increasing the amount of varnish on cards, drying times, processes etc. (It's all very "sciency").

That's it. We will be working on those things over the next few weeks.

Paper Mill

One thing I didn't anticipate prior to the start of this project was that the mill who supply the paper (the same guys that supply USPCC and most casinos) would have a minimum paper order. Their minimum order is 5 TONNES of paper (that's a heck of a lot of cards)! The cost of 5 tonnes of paper is around £17K. So, I have put up half of the money from my own pocket and the Liquorice Press have contributed the other half to pay for the paper stock. I figured the worst-case scenario is that I have to sell my stock on to someone else should I never get to produce any more cards, ever.

The paper was ordered today and will take 8 weeks to be made and shipped to us. The only caveat here is that this order will be delayed if there is a second outbreak of COVID-19 as they will have to shut down the paper mill to protect their staff (which is completely understandable).

Delivery Dates

The 8 weeks for paper delivery will take us to mid-June, then the Liquorice Press will need two weeks to print, and package everything ready for shipping to the fulfilment company. So, providing there are no issues, COVID outbreaks or anything else out of my control, we will be looking to ship the bulk of the orders in the first week of August. Special orders such as signed decks may take a few days longer as I will need to collect decks from LP, package them and send them myself.

SneakrativeD wrote: ↑Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:11 pm

@Bdawg923