How To Make Playing Cards - Dining Table Print & Play

Three different options to make your own playing cards for print & play games - a really easy option that anyone can do, a better option that's a little more costly, and a higher-effort option that turns out cards nearly indistinguishable from commercially-printed decks.

Method 1:

Method 2:

Method 3:

Download templates for laying out cards for Method 3 from this page:

[malteiwa]

00:01 Introduction
00:40 Method 1, The Easy One
10:15 Method 2, The Better One
19:43 Method 3, The Awesome One
21:14 Step 1, varnish
23:52 Step 2, fold
25:58 Step 3, Spray glue
28:22 Step 4, card stock
31:33 Step 5, cut
36:16 Step 6, corners
41:07 Step 7, test
41:30 Summary

Thanks for the video

[obsidiazen]

This channel is a hidden gem. thank you! I look forward to watching your other videos.

[bol]

Fantastic information. Years upon years of experience and knowledge given to us for free. Thank you!

[rachaelace]

This video has helped me so much. I’ve been creating a card game for Graphics at uni and couldn’t have done it without these tutorials. Thank you!

[ASimpleNest]

This is such a good tutorial. Thank you for being so specific and thorough

[doomsire]

If you score the page VERY lightly with a ruler and knife, you can fold the page perfectly with little to no effort.

[OldManRogers]

Literally the first google result I came across and it was perfect! Thank you so much

[kosterix]

19:16 you can prevent this by pushing the sticker outer borders into the card itself.
Also pair up the faces of the cards and let the deck rest under some crushing weight for a week.
This merged both parts of each card and counters any possible warping.
The drawback is of course that you cannot play for a week.
My cards rest a least 1-2 nights under weight.

[mikemacd]

I truly love watching your videos. I have been trying out different ideas that work but yours are simple and consistently better than I have found. Thanks.

[DaftDude]

Thank You so much for all of your videos. What a wealth of knowledge you've shared. You're an excellent teacher and I look forward to You making another batch of videos.

[Grejam]

Well done... sunsbcribed. I been doing nearly the identical technique as your method #3, with one exception that you may wish to try. Instead of using 210gsm for the card's center, I use a 3mil lamination sheet (split into two 1.5mil sheets and each cut into 5.5" x 8.5" strips) for the cards center. Once glued and dried they give a nice snap to the cards when riffle shuffling. This mimics the plastic center used in commercial playing cards.

[RobertKonigsberg]

I've watched this video maybe three times, and I keep relearning useful things.

[nicolaiswordart]

Awesome Video. Wow it captures so many needs in one go. Brilliant. =) I love that you give reason to every decision, tool, meterial, etc. It gives a very good perspective of what to expect from which method. This helped me with a costum Birthday gift for a Friend. SO> you basically made at least two People happy with one Video. Great Work

[Toranaboy]

This is an outstanding tutorial. I confess I became quite inspired as the video progressed. Congratulations.

[MiauMichigan]

Thank I want to make a Hanafuda deck so that mini sleeves are just

[NVRMTmotion]

This is awesome info, and we'll presented. And let me tell ya, my wife is going to LOVE this new hobby /s.

But babe, think of the money I'm saving by not buying a new game, I'm just going to spend a bunch on new art supplies instead!

[ektopia]

Fantastic tutorials. Thanks so much. I've been procrastinating with getting started but I'm now on it! All set out with my first deck (in Inkscape) and ready to get it printed on linen paper. Thanks.

[mccrispy]

This is an excellent tutorial - especially as it's a UK-products-based one (apart from those darned Oregon corner croppers!)
I've always found the colours to be a bit "muted" on a linen finish paper and prefer a "presentation paper" (essential ~100 gsm single sided coated/photo paper - HP do a "high resolution" paper, Epson do a "photo quality ink jet" paper). What weight linen paper do you use - can you provide an example product. I ask this because when you add 2 x 100+ gsm paper stock to a 210 gsm card you have the potential to end up with a very thick playing card. So how does a deck of 52 cards compare in thickness to a stack of Waddington's or MTG cards? I use a Canford Black Paper core, which at 150 gsm gives me a card at about 360 gsm, and about the same thickness as commercial cards, but with not quite enough "snap" to riffle shuffle.

BTW, I find that lining up the fold by using a light box to align the card edges is a lot more straightforward and a lot less time consuming that the multiple pinch and crease method you show. However, my ~100 gsm presentation paper may be easier to see through than your linen finish (and of course it's dependent on having a clear printed edge to the card).

[robbieplanet]

Wow you really rock, really professional explanation the best by far !!! thanks so much for your definitive how to video. I love it !!!

[JurassicMatt]

Thanks for sharing Jake! Those cards look absolutely fantastic. Have you considered a short tutorial on how to turn a standard 9-card PDF into your 4-card front/back template? I assume this is something that can easily be done using free software such as GIMP, but with the amount of experience you have I'd have to image you have it down to a science!

Keep up the videos, I very much enjoy this series!