UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

@Bdawg923

Oh, please don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the honest feedback and when I was referring to you not liking the cards, I meant the cards themselves. I'm super happy that you like the tucks, design and colours and I'm even happier to have you as a part of the series as a whole, it means a lot. Please know that your feedback also hasn't been ignored and some of the points you have mentioned will be looked into, I simply wanted to highlight the difficult process that's involved in collecting and managing the feedback I get and make clear why not all requested changes can be made.

Again, I really appreciate the support, Bdawg923.

All the best,
Dave

SneakrativeD wrote: ↑I also wonder if it is actually possible to have perfect registration on every deck when they are mass-produced. I will ask this question tomorrow.

Hey Dave,

your open communication is very much appreciated. Keep that up! Way too much printers/creators/designers wanna hide their short commings behind the veil of silence.

As for your question regarding registration. Yes, it is possible. NPCC and WJPC excel here. They have decks with almost perfect registration 10/10. Runner up are Cartamundi and LPCC/EPCC and the other suspects. Their registration is pretty good, I'd say 8-9/10. USPCC's best registration and Uranium are more realistically at a 5-6/10-level; which is imo still acceptable for a deck of cards.
But yah, it's always good to be better than USPCC to have an advantage over them.

Just today I purposely dropped cards and aimed for the corners (Sorry for doing that to your deck but it's gotta get tested ). No splitting of the layers - which means the stock is actually pretty good. I understand if folks don't like the stiffness but I always say a stiffer stock can become softer by breaking in; a soft stock will never get stiffer.

The ability to interweave (faro shuffles) drastically improved on the second day. I guess pretty much due to being broken in now.

For a first timer, this deck is pretty good, imo. This is not to take a shot at others or to deminish their achievements, but this first try is way better than e.g. the first printed in Greece decks by Oath (forgive me Lotrék for having betrayed/failed you ).
Keep in mind, WJPC was absolute crap in their beginning. NPCC is still, despite being for years in the industry now, considered the worst of the well known printers (in regards to handling). The just recently, by the high praised TWPCC, printed Fontaine Raspberries have very cloudy tuck boxes. So, every company has points to improve.

I for my part like what you're doing and the recent results. While I'm not being able to support your endeavour financially atm, I'll keep my eyes on your project(s) and try to support with feedback.

Hey Harvonsgrad,

Thank you very much. I really appreciate the kind words and again the feedback. It's very helpful indeed.

I agree. Many people do hide issues or problems with production which in my opinion is a mistake. Especially for me as I was using a first-time printer, it would have been a bad move to hide anything. I figured that people having insight into the production workflow (warts and all) would not only be interesting for those that backed the project but would demonstrate the complexity of what's considered to be quite a simple product on the surface, after all, it is only 56 bits of cardboard and a box.

Following the meeting with the printer yesterday...

We are looking into registration and there are a couple of things the printer thinks they can do to tighten things up here. So hopefully we see improved results with the next decks.

With regards to the stock, I'm pretty sure it is the exact same stock used by the USPCC (and others). Well, I know for a fact it's purchased from the same company, but they do have a number of varied stock options. I personally think it may be the varnish that makes the stock feel both a little thicker and a little stiffer, but as mentioned, this is also currently being tested and I'm no expert with this aspect of production. The testing of the new varnishes should yield some decent insight for myself, here.

The Faro shuffling point is pretty much all down to the bevelling of the cut. During the project, I did make it clear that this would be a limitation of the deck simply because the machinery isn't easily acquired. But, like you, for me, the faros and even spreads/fans became a little easier/better after the decks are broken in. At least with the 4 decks I have broken in, this is the case.

Again, thanks. I'm glad that for most, the decks have been received as a positive first try and although not perfect, the feedback given by yourself and many others will go a long way to improving them and boosting that rating up so the cards can be more competitive in the market.

I also appreciate any kind of support regardless of the financial part of it. I don't necessarily do this for the money, obviously, the money is needed and allows me to do it, but I genuinely love doing it. If all I wanted was money, then I would just stick to my day job as it's a lot less stress.

Thanks again, Harvonsgrad I look forward to hearing all of your future feedback.

All the best,
Dave

Dave,

I love the fact that you're continuing to engage here. For me, I love the card stock, and I think the varnish is the most obvious place where some improvement will really make Licorice (sp?) Press cards start to sing. As it is, the varnish is nowhere near as bad as NPCC (which, otherwise, produces damn near perfect cards. But the varnish! Ugh!)

If Licorice is able to keep an open mind and continue improving with each project, they really could become a contender, and for a playing card enthusiast, that's the best possible news.

Thanks for all you're doing!

rousselle wrote: ↑Mon Nov 02, 2020 3:03 pm Dave,

I love the fact that you're continuing to engage here. For me, I love the card stock, and I think the varnish is the most obvious place where some improvement will really make Licorice (sp?) Press cards start to sing. As it is, the varnish is nowhere near as bad as NPCC (which, otherwise, produces damn near perfect cards. But the varnish! Ugh!)

If Licorice is able to keep an open mind and continue improving with each project, they really could become a contender, and for a playing card enthusiast, that's the best possible news.

Thanks for all you're doing!

Thanks, Rouselle,

I really appreciate the feedback. We'll definitely be working on the varnish, in fact, we already are. I believe that new samples are already with the LP and ready for me to review (just waiting on lockdown to allow for it). It's good to know that the quality of the varnish is already rated better than the NPCC (at least for yourself), so I really do appreciate that insight.

I can assure you that the LP are absolutely determined to get this right and produce competitive quality playing cards. So, rest assured they will do everything they can (I wouldn't be using them a second time, otherwise).

Again, thanks so much for the vote of confidence and the feedback, it means a lot and I am always happy to engage with the people who invest in me and help me to do something I love doing. It would be rude not to.

All the best,
Dave

Full Deck Scan:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/167981955 ... 6970898891

Finally got time to do a overview of the handling after some time. Keep in mind that the red Biohazard has been handled for some time, and the lime Uranium is fresh out of the box.

① Glossy Surface
② Powdery feel
③ Fan perfectness 85% / Spread and spring perfectly
④ A little less than Expert Classic finish's snappiness
⑤ Cut direction back to front without bevel cut (can't faro), although after some breaking-in, the Biohazard deck can sort of faro from back to front, but not the other direction
⑥ Smooth edges, great cutting
⑦ Registration perfectness 85% (if TWPCC is 100%, USPCC at 60%, Expert at 90%) .
⑧ Card size is slightly larger than a poker size
⑨ High vibrant colors

Here are all the handling videos mentioned above:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CITBxkgMWbz/

SneakrativeD wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 12:30 pmI can assure you that the LP are absolutely determined to get this right and produce competitive quality playing cards. So, rest assured they will do everything they can (I wouldn't be using them a second time, otherwise).

This is great to hear and I'd love to see another option for printing cards - my priority would be getting the size to match USPCC/Cartamundi exactly. I have a stack of double-sided and ad cards from any deck that has those, and USPCC, Cartamundi, MPC, and NPCC cards all combine smoothly into a stack. Oath, Licorice, VXD, and Shuffled Ink are all just slightly larger

Fifth and sixth (last two) decks in this series, Frostbite and Rebirth:




...and two special editions Shelter and Vault

Kinda sucks that the branded carat case was an x6 but now theres 8 decks.

Campaign for no.5 and 6 online.

I forget where I got the Uranium Deck from but i really liked it. Im in for a Frostbite. Would also be in for a complete set if it was offered.

macstrat wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:37 pm I forget where I got the Uranium Deck from but i really liked it. Im in for a Frostbite. Would also be in for a complete set if it was offered.

David is offering the remaining stock of the previous decks to the campaign as add-ons on 5th April 2021 - 22:00 (BST)

Poor printing on the top flap. The ink looks like it's not fully printed on, on the frostbite, rebirth and vault decks

Are those metallic inks? How effective are they? Did the quality of the cards change from the beginning of the series through to the end? Inquiring minds want to know!

bdawg923 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 6:38 pm Poor printing on the top flap. The ink looks like it's not fully printed on, on the frostbite, rebirth and vault decks

Keep in mind that's where the seal was that I peeled off so I think that removed the ink

rousselle wrote: ↑Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:51 pm Are those metallic inks? How effective are they? Did the quality of the cards change from the beginning of the series through to the end? Inquiring minds want to know!

To my layman's eyes the gold and silver seem to be very slightly metallic. The cards feel the same to me as the first two decks in this series

the silver and gold tucks nearly feel like real metal. its pretty cool. the rebirth also has a red and green pearl/holo to it that doesn't really show well in pictures.

Printed in the UK but cut by USPCC?

Somehow I missed the Shelter and Vault add-ons to this campaign. I guess this goes to the frustration of backing too many campaigns and not reading through campaign updates. It looks like I can still get the Shelter decks from his website but the Vault is sold out. Not having these decks annoys the completionist in me.

brownsl wrote: ↑Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:06 am Somehow I missed the Shelter and Vault add-ons to this campaign. I guess this goes to the frustration of backing too many campaigns and not reading through campaign updates. It looks like I can still get the Shelter decks from his website but the Vault is sold out. Not having these decks annoys the completionist in me.

another example as to why i am against and speak out about the mid campaign additions of surprise decks. as a playing card campaign, all decks should be shown and available at the beginning of the campaign. shown, locked stretch goals are a bit more tolerable as it lets you know to check back later but still annoying. add as many surprise trinket rewards as you want. coins, uncuts, mugs, t shirts, fuzzy dice, pins, plushies, whatever. nice quality custom pens would actually be something i would like that i have not seen.

STLBluesNut wrote: ↑Mon Nov 15, 2021 12:10 pm

brownsl wrote: ↑Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:06 am Somehow I missed the Shelter and Vault add-ons to this campaign. I guess this goes to the frustration of backing too many campaigns and not reading through campaign updates. It looks like I can still get the Shelter decks from his website but the Vault is sold out. Not having these decks annoys the completionist in me.

another example as to why i am against and speak out about the mid campaign additions of surprise decks. as a playing card campaign, all decks should be shown and available at the beginning of the campaign. shown, locked stretch goals are a bit more tolerable as it lets you know to check back later but still annoying. add as many surprise trinket rewards as you want. coins, uncuts, mugs, t shirts, fuzzy dice, pins, plushies, whatever. nice quality custom pens would actually be something i would like that i have not seen.

+100

The other issue with releasing shelter and vault add-ons was there was a 6 deck carat case and if you include the shelter/vault decks, that'd be 8 decks. Part of the reason I chose not to try to get them. I wanted to display these altogether.

Resurrecting this thread to share my display for the full set with coins. Dave actually had these cool acrylic inserts that hold a coin inside a carat case as part of his Annihilation campaign. I snagged eight of those and put them to good use! I used a 4x2 carat case display and this sucker is HEAVY now. Just wanted to share in case you were looking for display ideas

Nice.