Custom playing cards glossary
Every term we use in quotes, file reviews, and product specs — defined in plain language so you can confidently spec a job.
An embossed linen-pattern coating on playing-card stock that traps tiny air pockets so cards glide instead of stick.
Card paper with an opaque black middle layer that prevents light from showing card faces through the back.
"Coated 2 sides" cardstock — a clay coating applied to both faces for sharper printing and a smoother feel.
Extra artwork extended 1/8" past the trim line so background color reaches the edge after cutting.
The inner 1/8" margin where critical artwork — logos, text, icons — must sit so it isn't clipped at trim.
A physical pre-production sample printed on the actual press and stock that will run your full job.
The smallest number of decks a printer will run in a single order — Mr. Playing Card's MOQ is 15 decks.
A small-batch print run — typically 10 to 500 decks — sized for prototypes, events, and small brands.
The folded paperboard case a deck ships in — front, back, top, bottom, and two side flaps of full-color print real estate.
Grams per square meter — the standard unit for measuring how heavy and thick playing-card paper is.
A finishing process that presses a thin metallic film (gold, silver, copper, holographic) onto a card or tuck box.
Painting or foiling the cut edge of a card deck — most commonly gold or silver — for a luxury collector finish.
A pressure-based finish that raises (or recesses, as deboss) artwork off the surface of a tuck box or card.
An embossed crosshatch texture rolled onto card stock that mimics woven linen and reduces glare.
Ready to print your custom playing cards?
15-deck MOQ. Free file review. Digital proof before press. Printed in Orlando, FL.