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FTAMagician Loyal user 291 Posts |
I remember reading a post on here where somebody talked about ways to remove the pips and all from playing cards, making them "blank faced".
Anybody know what the methode for this is and what chemical works for that?? Also, any other good and cheap way(s) to make "homemade" (is that one word?) blank cards?? Maybe some white spray paint or???? |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Ways to make blank playing cards.
Use 0000 Steel Wool, use like an eraser to remove the pips. Good pencil eraser, not the junk soft plastic stuff in the dollar stores, but a real pink eraser from the stationary store. Use like an eraser and remove the pips. Any kind of chemicals will destroy the playing card as it is plastic coated. No paint is not an option. "Homemade" is 1 word according to my dictionary. The other way is to order blank cards from a dealer, or buy card stock and cut your own cards, of course that would be blank on both sides. Blank card stock available from Lybrary dot com. But being you used the word "CHEAP", the 1st 2 is your only choices. |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Many years ago, I used erasers and/or steel wool to remove parts of cards to make a poker size set for a Sidewalk Shuffle-type routine. I have also done this so that I could hand paint my own designs on the faces. Another reason was to make a sequence of duplicate cards with gradually fading faces. When used with rapid-fire color changes, the effect was the card face slowly and visibly dissolving away.
This was done at a time in my life when I had more time on my hands than sense. The only benefit was to be able to say that I did. Nothing else was gained, over the fact that back then, blank face decks were not as easy to get as they are now. The problem with making the cards blank face is that you would have to remove the entire surface of the card. Erasing just the pips makes those areas void of the shiny coating, resulting in dull blobs where the pips used to be. Under most lighting conditions, these will stand out like a sore thumb. The solution is, as I said, remove the entire surface. But if you expect the cards to handle well, you'd need to recoat them with a gloss finish. This in itself is complex and starts to add up the costs. The only logic in doing this (in my opinion) would be if the back design was important, and black face versions not being available. Save yourself the time, aggravation, and possible expense of ruined decks, and just buy a blank deck from a dealer. Think of all that time you'll have to explore the tricks you can do with them.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Problem is - that I cannot find jumbo blank bicycle cards (or any other for that matter).
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Jumbo Blank facePlaying cards........ http://wizard-headquarters.amazonwebstor......he005-20
Blank face playing cards (poker size)..... http://www.thefind.com/family/info-blank-face-bicycle
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Thanks for the links. I misspoke a bit. I was meaning to write that I cannot get jumbo decks in blank face. $8/card is a bit steep.for my needs, as I would need quite a few.
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Charlie I have to agree that $8.00 a card is a bit steep. If you do some research I am sure you cand find them much cheaper. There used to be a guy by the name of Neil Lester (cards by martin) Who specialized in gaffed cards but he has since passed away and I am not sure if anyone else picked up on his work. There was another guy doing the same but for the life of me I can not remember his name. I did a quick search but didn't find anything but I know they exist...
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
I have made my own "speical" face cards by applying self-adhesive labels. The problem I faced was, I needed to begin with a blank face substrate, or the image below would bleed through. It also adds substantial thickness, especially when multiplied to an entire deck.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
FTAMagician Loyal user 291 Posts |
Great replies to this...especially to MagicB1S for the source for ready made blank cards so cheap!! I was thinking they'd be around $12 or so a deck.
This is a lot easier to buy them than to erase and make 'em! Now I have another question about where to find some "special" cards...but I'll do another topic about those (cards that are 1/2 one card and 1/2 another on the face divided across the center width wise!) |
stevegreene New user 97 Posts |
http://www.magictrickstore.com/jumbo-bic......859.html
$3 a pop not bad.. What's the best way to put your image on these? |
Cardstuntman New user 97 Posts |
The best way to erase pips from cards is with an electric eraser with the white/ink tip on it. they are very precise and you can control what you take off a lot better than any other sanding method. I made cards for a while and realized the amount of time that went into making a "nice" card was never going to be worth the pay.
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-04-14 09:30, Cardstuntman wrote: I can easily agree with this. There are a number of props that I have made that I would only do for myself. Sometimes pain is more tolerable when it is self-inflicted. Ha!
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-04-14 02:08, stevegreene wrote: I have never seen photo quality printing on playing card stock. There has been photos on the backs of playing cards that were none magical. If you know how to use the search engine on the Café, do a search or go to Lybrary.com and look up making playing cards. There is several web pages explaining the process. They also sell playing card stock. |
Scott O. Inner circle Midwest 1143 Posts |
Do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest, if you do not give up. Galatians 6:9
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Ihop Inner circle Glen Spey, NY 1604 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-04-14 02:08, stevegreene wrote: I have successfully printed photos on blank playing cards for a mind reading effect. I printed individual pictures of my family using a HP inkjet printer. Make sure the blank card is NOT glossy. After printing, let the ink dry and spray with a matte finish to protect the ink from exposure. I enhanced the photos with Photoshop. Used removable tape to position the card. I did this a while back and the photos still look good
Ihor
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glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
Here are a few tips about printing an image onto a blank playing card:
1. Use an ink jet printer (they do not use heat as does a laser printer). 2. Put a small mark "FTE" (means Front Top Edge) on a 8 x 11 sheet of paper so you can later re-feed it the same way. 3. Print your trial image on the 8 x 11 sheet of paper. 4. Center a blank playing card face up over the trial image on the 8 x 11 sheet. 5. Use some "Scotch" tape to tape the front leading edge of the blank card onto the 8 x 11 normal paper. 6. Put the 8 x 11 sheet (with taped card) back into the top of the feed tray making sure your "FTE" mark is the original way. 7. Print the image again this time for real onto the playing card (the card's taped leading edge should allow it to feed smoothly thru the printer). Note about step 4 above: centering the image can be difficult because as you place the card over the trial image the card blocks your view of the trial image and you may have to make several printing attempts (wasting blank cards) to get it just right. Here is a way to print it perfect the first time on the card: First cut a clear piece of thin plastic the same size of the playing card. Then temporarily center the clear piece perfectly over the trial image on the sheet of paper (since you can see thru the clear piece this is easy to center it over the image). With a pencil, mark the outline of the clear card around the trial image (now you can discard the clear card or keep it for future use). Now you can tape the blank playing card perfectly on the penciled outline around the trial image. I like to do sci-fi routines and made a "Jabba the Hutt" card to be the kicker card on a color monte routine (used an ink jet printer to make the card). One time I tried to print an image on a 8 x 11 sheet which I had cut from a Fedx envelope. I thought it would last forever but I failed terribly. The sheet never appeared from the printer. I thought the sheet was jammed somewhere inside the printer. Pulled all the removeable pieces out of the printer and there was no jam, the sheet had just "dissappeared". After thinking that perhaps Houdini had returned and was playing a prank, logic set in. "The paper must be inside the printer somewhere". I re-scrutinized all the printer parts and noticed something strange about the drum. The sheet had partially melted and wrapped itself around the drum. Since this was the office business printer I thought "Oh no! they are going to fire me". I spent the next hour tediously and carefully peeling the "sheet" off of the drum with little hope the printer would work thinking "there is no way it will work again". I tried a sample print on normal paper and lucky for me the printer worked fine. Boy, was that a close call. I did not realize that the Fedx envelope has a middle layer of glue that melts when very hot! Bottom line: laser printers are not forgiving, use only paper meant for them. In contrast: ink jet printers are more forgiving. |
glowball Special user Nashville TN 832 Posts |
Correction: the Fedx envelope probably had a middle layer of mylar that melted.
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vampiro Loyal user Atlanta 240 Posts |
Hi Michael,
Thanks, your sense of humor off the charts-- I can't read some of the things you say without laughing. You know that reality is the greatest humor. "back when I had more time than sense" "sometimes pain is more tolerable when it is self-inflicted" Oh, how many projects have we done where these things were true. Thanks for the tips and the laughs too, Scott |
alkazam New user 50 Posts |
I've found that nail polish remover and cotton balls work well, just don't soak the card.
I've also used an eraser with the nail polish remover method (the pink school eraser seem to work the best). |
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