To have a set of their own exclusive card, for every magician is a dream thing! As a close-up magician, I am a collector of cards, is it not the same? With this idea is very simple, but to do their own exclusive brand in addition to first have production funds, of course, but also have a good design and personal style characteristics into the integration! With the accumulation of personal income for many years, finally at the end of 2017, I began to start the production plan of my own exclusive brand MagicTigerDeck!
Since playing magic, collection of USPCC cards also 15 years, there is no small amount of money invested in cards every year! Although I am not the person who collects the most kinds of cards in China, I am definitely the person who unpacks the most kinds of cards to play! Some people ask me why? Because I feel that buying a card does not open the experience and appreciate the design details, then there is no difference from looking at pictures! The real collection of cards is not to buy cheap, sell high! All the cards differ only in the price at which they were bought, but to me the value of my personal collection is the same! I have opened nearly 2000 kinds of cards, it can be said that the knowledge of various cards should belong to the expert! Since we want to do exclusive cards, the experience of collecting cards over the years is the best guiding ideology and design ideas!
Everything is difficult at the beginning, I thought it was very simple to make a card, design a map, print it! It turns out that it is not what you think! First of all, you have to determine which manufacturer to help you make it, that is, what brand of poker you have! I had two choices: Made in the USA and made in Taiwan!
1. United States manufacturers: that is, USPCC, has a hundred years of experience in the production of cards, the quality is naturally excellent, but the production costs are high, freight and tariffs are expensive!
2. Taiwan manufacturers: In recent years, the emerging card manufacturers, although the quality is not as perfect as USPCC, but the technology has been infinitely close to the United States production, the biggest advantage is that the production cost is economical, the production cycle is short, convenient transportation!
At that time, my friends suggested that I use a manufacturer in Taiwan, because it can really save a lot of costs, and the design and communication is convenient! Later, after research, it was found that Taiwan's card cutting technology is still very different from the United States! In order to pursue the perfect feel, but also to own a pair of USPCC card feelings, finally chose to spend more money to the United States production! Although the budget has doubled, but considering that this card is for their own use, not to be sold as a commodity, the cost is not the focus of concern, who let us not the people who make do with it, haha, in fact, I still have perfectionism OCD!
After determining the manufacturer, start to work on the design of cards! Through the communication between friends and the United States, I know that card design must use AI to make vector files! Started to think PS on it, I personally will not AI have to find a graphic designer (it is recommended that if you want to design cards do not find designers through cheap prices, not to say that cheap no good goods, but really a point of the price of a point of goods, the level of designers and the attitude of late modification determines the final product quality). ! In order to pursue perfection, I went through three times to pay tuition detour, and finally found a satisfactory designer! Even my good friend magician CAI Mingfei thought it was courageous to be a designer for someone with obsessive perfectionism like me! Haha, to be honest, the hundreds of changes in various millimeter levels in the later period are worth the design cost...
At that time, the design plate was basically still using the classic pattern, because it was mainly used by magic, there was no new modified design, but it was printed with metal paint using the way and color of David Brian JQK's friends' heads!
The face design of 12 JQK is very interesting, and they are all participants in the circle of friends at that time. In return, the welfare is to promise several decks of cards and a full page of UNCUT for each person after the finished product.
The four Queen portraits are made from the facial portraits of four beautiful friends I know.
The four portraits of Jack use the facial portraits of four magic circle friends.
As for the color of the card, I learned from the concept of titanium gold medal of BICYCLE, and the main color of the card was metallic blue and metallic rose red, which I liked. In order to have a beautiful and rigorous color of the card, I also spent 1,000 yuan to buy PANTONE advanced metal color card to proofread the color! (Friendly tip: Do the card must be compared to the pantone color card color number choice of color, otherwise the finished color is very different.) After comparing the color cards and asking for the opinions of many friends, we finally chose 10110,10177,10273 and Black four kinds of metal paint as the exclusive color of the brand! Be aware that USPCC metallic paint is an optional item and is charged separately for each color! (Specific price metal paint a color per deck plus 0.8 US dollars.)
Talking about the design of the card BACK, I initially planned to use BICYCLE's classic RIDER BACK (angel back) as the card back of my card. Later, due to the copyright, I could not modify the pattern, and I needed to pay money ($1 per card) to use it. After discussion, I gave up the use of BICYCLE and RIDER BACK (angel back)! So I have to design a new card back! This is when the MagicTigerDeck began to take shape! Because my name is Tiger, so the design of the back of the card is "tiger" as the theme! Designing a brand new card back is too troublesome, many ideas are born in the case of overturning the original design idea over and over again! The whole card back took more than three months to form, and the revised design drawing is not less than 100 drafts! At that time, I spent two hours every night in front of the computer to communicate millimeter-level changes with the designer by voice, and finally I finally have the final product used in the back! To tell the truth, it is not easy, the most brain-burning thing in the whole design process is the design of the back of the card! (The essence is not too much to say!)
Then there's the design of the card box! The design of the card box incorporates all the favorite features of my card collection over the years! The box has MagicTiger as the main mark, and listen to friends in the middle suggest using the traditional Chinese small seal font "tiger" to be modified less, and the following is directly marked with the words of limited edition poker! The whole card box is printed on both sides, and there is a tiger head inside the card cover, highlighting the domineering! Different positions come with 5 prophecy effects specially designed for magic!
At the bottom of the box is a unique QR code based on the card's color, which can be scanned to access the MagicTiger website's prophetic link. (A 10-year use of the website was purchased specifically for the card.) ! The usual sweep should be a prophetic effect (do not change the prophetic content regularly, every year on my birthday will release a video about the special play of this deck of cards.) !
After the design is completed, it is to contact the United States USPCC production.
First submit the design, the United States to review the content (there are many things in this, whether the design is legal, not against religion, whether it is infringing, etc... Anyway, back and forth email communication has been delayed for a particularly long time, here we must laugh at the efficiency of Americans!) .
After passing the audit, proofreading the design is correct (it is recommended to add money to print to see the physical proofreading design.) Begin to communicate the printing quantity and the process used! The quantity is generally at least 1000 pairs, and there are 2500,5000,10000 and other quantities to choose from; The process generally refers to the selection of paper, pressing technology, ink selection, labeling and so on. (Here is like buying a car when the option, as long as the silver can be customized, and I this deck of optional items are all top!)
After the number of processes is set, USPCC will set the price of the brand according to your options, the more the number of printed cards the cheaper the unit price, the more the selection of processes the more expensive the price of the brand (some options of the price is expensive really will make you tremble), I feel that the general price of 5000 pairs is relatively economical, even if you choose to decorate the process, the price is still acceptable. But individuals do not do more for sales useless! Therefore, the number of personal cards is small and the choice of craft is really expensive! (A point of price, a point of goods, at that time smashed the pot to sell iron plus budget optional, get the finished product is still quite pleased, because all the people who have played this deck of my hand said that the top great!)
After everything is settled, the contract is signed according to the design requirements, the deposit is paid, and the production is arranged! Printing cycle and transportation is generally 3 months, after the payment is quietly waiting for the beloved card across the sea to see you...
Originally I this exclusive card is for feelings, but also for my usual magic use, at most a good friend as a gift, start really did not intend to sell! Because the production cost is too high (not surprisingly, it should be the most expensive card in China), I am not a famous magician, not as a commodity to sell! But a lot of magic circle friends asked, I feel that the color and design of this card is good, want to collect as a memorial, after the joint production company requirements, I am willing to take out 100 pairs to do public sales! Why 100 pairs? Because I said before that this card is a limited edition, it is not appropriate to sell more (in other words, many exclusive domestic cards are also limited edition, but you sell more than 500 pairs of limited edition is too far-fetched), the second reason is that this pair of cards lasted two years, I invested 100% of my ideas and energy to achieve, selling 100 pairs is just right!