Pearls of Wisdom: Printing Quality

Hedera

I've recently received this deck, and I really love it, it's great to work with!

Unfortunately, the printing on mine is a bit odd.
Not only are some of the cards a bit off-center (that wouldn't be the first time, and doesn't really bother me), but a lot of them, even most of them, seem to have tiny air bubbles trapped underneath the coating.
And by tiny I mean like a grain of sand, or even smaller.

Does anyone else's deck have this?
It only shows at a certain angle, and then it gives an almost shimmery, pearlescent effect - only on most cards it's in stripes, either horizontal or vertical.
It gives a bit of a pale, hazy quality to the cards which is a pity, because the ones that don't have it are much deeper in colour.

There are more cards that have this than cards that haven't, so I don't know if there would be much point in looking for another deck; I suspect it's just a general side-effect of the printing.

I am going to write an email about it both to Tarotgarden, where I got my deck from, and to the publisher, to alert them to it. Perhaps they can fix it if there's ever a second edition of this deck, or it might prevent similar problems in other decks they're printing.

So if anybody else has noticed the same thing, or other oddities, I would love to hear from you!
 

6 Haunted Days

My deck doesn't have any of those problems at all! No off-center printing and certainly no air bubbles that make the images hazy or paler in colour.

I would really urge you to get a replacement, your deck is quite obviously very defective and you deserve to have it as it was meant to be! 7th House seem very helpful and respond quickly....I'm sure they'd be happy to replace it.
 

Hedera

Hm, I'll ask them about it then...
But unfortunately, they don't ship to Europe, which is why I got my deck from Tarotgarden in the first place.

Thanks for letting me know, I was sort of assuming they were all like this!
 

MoonGypsy

Bright Blessings from the Woods of VA. Hedera!
i also want to say that my deck doesn't have any of those pesky flaws, either. i am so sorry that yours does, as this is such an incredible deck. It has fast become one of the top five in my collection. Good luck, Hedera and i do hope that you are able to receive a proper one.
 

Sulis

I have no off-centre cards but my 7 of Swords has an air bubble on it. It's not big enough to bother me but it does sound as if you may have got a faulty deck Hedera.

I'd contact 7th House and see what they say, you never know till you try.

The lamination on this deck isn't the best. It's not like a varnished or spray laminated deck, it's almost as if it's been done with one of those sheet lamination machines so that's where the air bubbles come from I think.

I've been considering emailing Roxy Sim or 7th House to suggest that they try matte lamination should they go for another print run. I'm going to eventually buy another copy of this deck but I'd love it all the more if it wasn't so shiny.
 

Hedera

Yes, it does almost look like it was done with one of those home-laminators.

I'm not too keen on the shiny look either - it makes the images harder to see sometimes (I find it hard to read 'glossy' magazines also), and the cards tend to be much more prone to scratching.

I've already emailed Tarotgarden; I'll also contact 7th House, see what they have to say.

Thank you all for your input! :)
 

Rede Seeker

Odd line on the Sun Card

My first deck had two Ace of Pentacles and no Queen of Pentacles. 7th House promptly replaced the deck.

This deck has an odd line on the Sun Card. I know what you mean about the lamination. In a certain light, I can see a difference in color.

This is a great deck. Well worth the trouble of requesting a replacement.
 

Hedera

Well, both 7h House and Tarotgarden offered to send me a replacement; 7th House responded quickest though, and still had decks in stock (unlike Tarotgarden), so I'm getting a new deck from them.

Yay!

I have to say, their responses were *very* fast, as well as friendly and helpful.

I'm looking forward to the new, un-hazy deck. :)

Hopefully, if there's a next printing, some of these quality issues can be solved.
 

thorhammer

I just got mine in the mail yesterday, too, and it has the same problems that Hedera pointed out in the original post. The lamination is a great let-down. The cards are unevely cut and have raggy edges and at least two of the cards are printed slightly off-centre, so that the small black border is not aligned with the image properly.

I got mine from Tarotgarden, which, apparently, is sold out of this deck, so I might contact 7th house. But I don't like my chances of getting a replacement to Australia. :( I might just have to put up with the nasty pearlescent shimmery (sounds so nice when you put it like that, but it isn't!) lamination.

I'm going to trim the deck - it's a bit big in the first place, and I hate the borders with a passion (I understand, Kissa, about your immediate reaction to them :)). So it's next on my list of trimming candidates! So that will remove the off-centre problem, but not the lamination. Oh well, I might just shuffle the living hell out of it, and do Umbrae's thingy with the table and maybe it'll either get better or entirely lift the lamination and then I'll at least have closure :D!

\m/ Kat
 

6 Haunted Days

I wonder why the decks being sent recently all of a sudden have these printing issues and weird lamination blur? None of ours who got it right off had this problem, that's such a shame!!

I'm so happy my deck was perfect in everyway, but am saddened that these bad ones are turning up and putting others off the deck. This is one of the best decks to be published in years.....and it desreves all the fans and people who use the deck the little underdog can get! :)

BTW I did vote for this deck in the "Best deck of 2007" poll.....it really was in my opinion!!

This deck has a very very special place in my heart, in my readings and spiritual life....and always will.....

To others, give it a chance, it might just surprise you and become a favourite. It sure did me.

Oh yes, and I love the borders....one of it's many charms! And I find the size perfect for me. :)