Slightly bent cards - Laminating machine

Tanjamuse

Hello all.

I hope this is posted in the correct place. When I first bought many of my decks I think I may have stored them "wrong" in the sense of they were stored in some plastic that couldn't breathe. This has now resulted in many of my decks being slightly curved instead of the normal flat.

I read somewhere that someone has used a laminating machine to straighten out cards but it wasn't tarot cards, without the laminating pouches of course, and then adding heavy books on top for 24 hours or such.

I was wondering if any of you has any experience with this remedy before I try it on decks I can't afford to replace.

My thought was if I but the card(s) between 2 sheets of normal paper it wouldn't pick up on left-over plastic from when I use the laminating pouches.

Thanks so much in advance.
 

page of ghosts

Have you tried to bend them a little in the opposite direction? I like to riffle shuffle but I've not mastered it so I often just riffle them down on the table. A few times of that and they are slightly bent, but if I just do that face up (aka the other direction) or bother with the full riffle they are normal again. If the deck has very thick cardstock this might not work though, but working them a little one by one could maybe be an idea if that is the case.
 

Tanjamuse

I have, usually they bend back when I let go.

I give them credit for being persistent ;)
 

page of ghosts

Jerk cards! I have one deck that is very persistent like that... but it's my own fault since I put some contact paper on the backs after I trimmed it and that is not unusual :D

I don't have a laminating machine so I'm not of much help with that, but most decks have 1 or 2 extra cards that's like a title card and an info card so if yours have those you could let them be the guinea pigs for your experiment.
 

Tanjamuse

I'll go through them and see.

If anyone else has tried this or has another suggestion let me know.

Thanks
 

Alta

I take it that the idea would be to apply heat and pressure. Would a household iron on low temperature, probably with a light cloth between iron and card, work? If you do try this, experiment with the extra cards first.
 

Tanjamuse

I will have a look at my laminator later, but I think I may be able to turn down the heat on the one I have.
 

Tanjamuse

I was mistaken.

It was the thickness of the laminating foils I can adjust.
 

Zephyros

Someone here once suggested ordering the deck so that one card faces the other, and then placing a bunch of heavy books on top.
 

Grizabella

I take it that the idea would be to apply heat and pressure. Would a household iron on low temperature, probably with a light cloth between iron and card, work? If you do try this, experiment with the extra cards first.

If you use an iron, don't use steam in addition to the heat. That would probably be a disaster. Just use the heat. :)