What Card Stock to Use?

[russbrett]

Hey, guys!

Is there a preferred card stock to use for playing cards (poker size)?

It looks like we'll be printing through makeplayingcards.com (because cost and convenience - and by all means, feel free to direct me to a better/comparable manufacturer), and they have several options:

270 gsm (promotional)
300 gsm (smooth)
330 gsm (superior smooth)
310 gsm (linen)
310 gsm (linen air)
Plastic (100%)

We're just looking to make a typical (playable) deck of cards, and not sure which stock to choose.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[ksi]

My personal preference is 330gsm paper and linen air finish.
Sadly there is no such combination for me to choose.

[Don Boyer]

Hey, guys!

Is there a preferred card stock to use for playing cards (poker size)?

It looks like we'll be printing through makeplayingcards.com (because cost and convenience - and by all means, feel free to direct me to a better/comparable manufacturer), and they have several options:

270 gsm (promotional)
300 gsm (smooth)
330 gsm (superior smooth)
310 gsm (linen)
310 gsm (linen air)
Plastic (100%)

We're just looking to make a typical (playable) deck of cards, and not sure which stock to choose.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

To give you an idea of what stocks are like, Bicycle in use today for mass-produced decks is about 300 gsm.  It used to be a little heavier but I heard they were having problems with the press.  It's adequate, not great.  330 gsm is more like it, but as a smooth stock, it's hard to gauge performance.  The coating and the cut can make a difference as well - a badly cut deck on cheap stock won't faro/weave shuffle, period.

The better option is to use a better printer.  Failing that, use the 310 gsm.  I have no idea what different if any there is between "linen" and "linen air" finishes.

[ksi]

Hey, guys!

Is there a preferred card stock to use for playing cards (poker size)?

It looks like we'll be printing through makeplayingcards.com (because cost and convenience - and by all means, feel free to direct me to a better/comparable manufacturer), and they have several options:

270 gsm (promotional)
300 gsm (smooth)
330 gsm (superior smooth)
310 gsm (linen)
310 gsm (linen air)
Plastic (100%)

We're just looking to make a typical (playable) deck of cards, and not sure which stock to choose.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

To give you an idea of what stocks are like, Bicycle in use today for mass-produced decks is about 300 gsm.  It used to be a little heavier but I heard they were having problems with the press.  It's adequate, not great.  330 gsm is more like it, but as a smooth stock, it's hard to gauge performance.  The coating and the cut can make a difference as well - a badly cut deck on cheap stock won't faro/weave shuffle, period.

The better option is to use a better printer.  Failing that, use the 310 gsm.  I have no idea what different if any there is between "linen" and "linen air" finishes.

Thanks Don.  You just pointed out one important thing.

Me also have no idea what different between "linen" and "linen air".
I was mixed up with those "air-flow" finish.  And have a preconception which made me think that those with the words "air" is better.

Sorry about that.

[Don Boyer]

Thanks Don.  You just pointed out one important thing.

Me also have no idea what different between "linen" and "linen air".
I was mixed up with those "air-flow" finish.  And have a preconception which made me think that those with the words "air" is better.

Sorry about that.

Don't assume anything about the paper.  ASK.  Only MPC can give you anything approaching an accurate answer.  I wouldn't count on the different being huge, but there may be some kind of difference, if nothing else but price.

[russbrett]

Thank you, Don and KSI.

This forum is the best!

[deepfry3]

Linen has tiny little dots - or air pockets - that help make the card glide better.
Linen Air has more dots, and they are  more dense, making it glide even more. It is also more expensive.

[Don Boyer]

Linen has tiny little dots - or air pockets - that help make the card glide better.
Linen Air has more dots, and they are  more dense, making it glide even more. It is also more expensive.

I wouldn't count on an increased number of air pockets necessarily adding up to better performance.  The holes on a golf ball are the size and quantity that they are for a specific reason - optimal, best-possible aerodynamics.  If one added more holes to that golf ball, they're likely to be smaller and actually have a detriment to performance, not an improvement.  At most, you could expect unchanged performance between the two stocks - shelling out extra money for more, tinier pockets in the embossing doesn't sound like a worthwhile investment to me.

To play devil's advocate about linen versus smooth - linen and similar embossed stocks have their embossing by means of being pressed between steel rollers that place dimples in the surface of the card, structurally weakening the surface just a little.  A smooth-stock card of the same thickness will be more firm and stiff.  Try it yourself, go find some of the old CARC Bee and Bicycle decks that came in Cambric or Air Cushion (embossed) and Ivory or Smooth (smooth) stock finishes.  Same paper, but the smooth ones are stiffer every time.

[russbrett]

As always, the information on this board is invaluable.

Thanks, guys.