La Catrina Dead Edition KS

[Räpylätassu]

Another Dia de Los Muertos themed deck. Printed by NPCC with a limited run of 250 decks. Pretty good design, but the court cards are almost repeating and no foil or embossing on the tuck box and 1 deck to Finland would be 22 €. Thanks but no thanks.

[JuFiN]

Love the art of these cards beautiful! Unfortunately the cost with shipping is too high for me to justify.

[vasta41]

Yes, very expensive. But VERY beautiful artwork- some of the best I've seen lately!

[Justin O.]

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

[rousselle]

The mostly repeating courts is holding me back. Yes, I agree, the art is quite nice, but the courts aren't different enough to feel like I'm getting twelve excellent pieces of art. Rather, it's more like getting three excellent pieces of art... replicated with truly minor variations. Not quite enough to get me to pry open my wallet at this time.

Still, a tip of the hat to the artist for doing a good job on those three images.

[NoirArts]

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

Justin O, what is your problem?
If I remember it right - you don't possess ANY of our latest decks. How you can make conclusions, not having an idea about what you are talking about?

Your constant hate speech (yes, hate speech - because you are not writing anything constructive) is unreasonable and not supported by facts. That is the only thing I see from you on every single post, every time.

I'd like to hear CONSTRUCTIVE information, suggestions, ideas, but NOT unfounded mud flow. This is very unprofessional and dishonest from your side firstly!

-Roman

[Cardians]

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

Justin O, what is your problem?
If I remember it right - you don't possess ANY of our latest decks. How you can make conclusions, not having an idea about what you are talking about?

Your constant hate speech (yes, hate speech - because you are not writing anything constructive) is unreasonable and not supported by facts. That is the only thing I see from you on every single post, every time.

I'd like to hear CONSTRUCTIVE information, suggestions, ideas, but NOT unfounded mud flow. This is very unprofessional and dishonest from your side firstly!

-Roman

See Justin.O, it doesn't just take me to point that your a *MOD CENSOR*, not just here, but from other previous threads you comment on as well...

[JuFiN]

NPCC is scary to back just because I don't own any NPCC decks and the unknown is scary. I will be getting my first NPCC deck any day now though (bone & ebon) so that will inform my future backing decisions. I'll be sure to share my feelings on that deck in the appropriate thread when I get it. I do agree with half of what Justin said though, all the best artists do seem to be using NPCC!

[Justin O.]

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

Justin O, what is your problem?
If I remember it right - you don't possess ANY of our latest decks. How you can make conclusions, not having an idea about what you are talking about?
Your constant hate speech (yes, hate speech - because you are not writing anything constructive) is unreasonable and not supported by facts. That is the only thing I see from you on every single post, every time.
I'd like to hear CONSTRUCTIVE information, suggestions, ideas, but NOT unfounded mud flow. This is very unprofessional and dishonest from your side firstly!
-Roman

I said something profoundly constructive, I said

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

The art is great, I love the style and the execution. It's NPCC I have an issue with, and until proven otherwise what I have heard is your quality is below makeplayingcards.com's, a novelty online printer, all of the negative information I have is aggregated from people who do have first hand experience with your quality. And I have backed three separate projects of yours, two of which were run directly by you if I recall correctly, just to fact check myself. When I get them, If I am impressed with the deck quality (Which really isn't going to take much, as long as it is better quality than makeplayingcards.com), I will turn on a dime, not only will I cease the vitriol, I will take every opportunity to express how wrong I was and sing your praises on every project I see you guys doing. But I'm not a professional, and I'm not being dishonest (I'm not making anything up, and I'm not lying) at worst you can say I'm negatively biased as a consumer by other consumer opinion.

See Justin.O, it doesn't just take me to point that your a *MOD CENSOR*, not just here, but from other previous threads you comment on as well...

Cardians, you crack me up man, in PM's alone I have a wealth of 'Don't listen to him, he has always been a "*MOD CENSOR*' " from so many users it makes it impossible to take you seriously. I think you're good for the community, and I know you really don't like me, but I hope you know I really appreciate what you are.

Edit:
Although after a little reflection, Cardians, I gotta say that despite the fact that we joined the forum around the same time I have been a much more active part of this little community, have made a lot of great friends here online and while you may only see the negative posts I've written, they are few and far between the majority of my posts (although maybe a bit unfairly towards NPCC, who has gotten the brunt of it from me), I would offer less than 5% even, where a large portion of your posting has just been criticizing other members. Not to be antagonistic, but I felt the need to defend myself.

[Mike Ratledge]

Without going with out on a limb, the mods would all appreciate it if we kept the discussion about cards, not personalities.

[vasta41]

I wish these were printed by one of the *big 3* companies, preferably USPCC. However, even if they were I still wouldn't pledge because of the high price (which would only get higher with a different printer). Even though there are about 50 day of the dead decks this is one of the more beautiful ones and I do still hope it funds.

[sinjin7]

why do some of the best artists use the crappiest printer?

There is one primary reason why artists don't use the USPCC or the Taiwanese printer that's used by EPCC/LPCC and others: Profit.

My opinion has always been that if the deck you put out has great design, and it's priced correctly for a quality custom deck ($8-$12), and you promote and market it in the right way, you should be able to easily reach a funding level sufficient to be able to afford the best printers. If you put so much time, effort, and love into a deck of playing cards, why wouldn't you want it to be the best quality it can be and follow through with the best printers?

When a deck designer comes to UC and he's using a printer other than USPCC or the Taiwanese printer, he always uses one of two justifications: 1) This printer is as good, or better than the USPCC, or 2) This printer's quality is good enough, don't worry, you'll be satisfied. Those who use justification number 1 are delusional and the resulting substandard product proves them to be liars and their career as a deck designer is very short. Those who use justification number 2 prove to me that all they want to do is sell me something sufficient instead of exceptional, and that tells me all I need to know about that designer.

So let's talk about NPCC, since this is the printer that's relative to this discussion. I have no issues with their stock. Its stiff and of substantial enough thickness with decent snap, and they seem to exhibit good resistance to atmospheric variation (eg. humidity levels). Since they have not been around long enough, I can't speak as to the long-term durability of the stock, but based upon what I feel after handling their cards in the short term, I think they project to be fine. The quality of printing is good, with sharp definition and good color brightness and contrast. Where NPCC falls short is their finish. Fresh out of the box, they seem to have decent slip, but when you fan and spread the cards, they are inconsistent and somewhat clumpy. For whatever reasons, the calendaring (dimpling) pattern and chemical composition of the finish do not produce an even enough coefficient of friction for the cards to spread and fan in an exceptionally even and consistent manner required for more demanding manipulation of cards. Do NPCC decks handle well enough for regular card play? Sure, you can get though an evening of poker sufficiently. Would cardists consider NPCC decks as a first, or even second or third, option for cardistry? Probably not. To call NPCC one of the "crappiest" printers is overly harsh and inaccurate. But with all due respect, NPCC does not belong in the same class as the USPCC, or even EPCC/LPCC.

So for me, the only reason a deck designer would opt for NPCC rather than the USPCC or that Taiwanese printer is that NPCC decks have a lower price point to produce, which in turn means more profit for a deck designer if he hits his funding goal. There is nothing wrong with this and I don't even fault the deck designer because I don't walk in his or her shoes. But let's be clear, regardless of how exceptional the art is, they aren't offering you the highest quality product they can, and that's most likely profit driven.

[Justin O.]

I wish these were printed by one of the *big 3* companies, preferably USPCC. However, even if they were I still wouldn't pledge because of the high price (which would only get higher with a different printer). Even though there are about 50 day of the dead decks this is one of the more beautiful ones and I do still hope it funds.

Agreed, I think the selling point on NPCC is their pricing, they offer a printing solution that is much more cost effective than the top 3, and because of that, unless the deck is truly spectacular, It's hard to get on board when the creator is charging Top 3 prices, arguably more at $16/deck, $25 with shipping (although from what I can tell, shipping is the same for everyone at 9 Euros? Which is nice for some of our international backers, rough on us US guys that are accustomed to being spoiled in this regard), but the design isn't diverse enough despite the great artwork, and the price is much too high for what I assume is a more than reasonable cost through NPCC for a deck without bells or whistles. I assume because it's a print run of 250 per their page? I would love to see more work by this artist though...

[vasta41]

So for me, the only reason a deck designer would opt for NPCC rather than the USPCC or that Taiwanese printer is that NPCC decks have a lower price point to produce, which in turn means more profit for a deck designer if he hits his funding goal.

I agree but would add one more reason- experiments. Didn't Lortek use them because they were the only printer that allowed him to foil or use black stock or do *something* only Lortek can do? Or maybe I'm just splitting hairs...

[RichK]

So for me, the only reason a deck designer would opt for NPCC rather than the USPCC or that Taiwanese printer is that NPCC decks have a lower price point to produce, which in turn means more profit for a deck designer if he hits his funding goal.

I agree but would add one more reason- experiments. Didn't Lortek use them because they were the only printer that allowed him to foil or use black stock or do *something* only Lortek can do? Or maybe I'm just splitting hairs...

Does creator location count? Any NPCC deck I've backed were based in Europe. I figured it was easier (cheaper) to get the decks sent to them in Europe vs. Taiwan.

[NoirArts]

When I get them, If I am impressed with the deck quality (Which really isn't going to take much, as long as it is better quality than makeplayingcards.com), I will turn on a dime, not only will I cease the vitriol, I will take every opportunity to express how wrong I was and sing your praises on every project I see you guys doing. But I'm not a professional, and I'm not being dishonest (I'm not making anything up, and I'm not lying) at worst you can say I'm negatively biased as a consumer by other consumer opinion.

Justin,
First of all, I'd like to apologize if you get my words wrong. We don't expect any praises or overexcited comments. My point is that it would be more fair and professional to keep it NEUTRAL, but not negative. Unless you had really bad experience and considering it to be reasonable for sharing it with the community. Your negative attitude is hurting us as a company, unfairly, because when new person comes and sees such comments right away - they judge us as a ''crappy'' printer

I agree that we currently have weaknesses, but you may be sure that we work hard every day, to bring something awesome to all cardists community - new features, designs, material combinations and so on. We like what we do, and improvement process won't stop until we reach same quality in every aspect as USPCC/Legends

By the way, all NPCC decks, produced after Oct 2016, will feature new, improved varnish and better(sharper) cards cut.

[rousselle]

I, for one, look forward to trying out those new decks, once they become available.