Making Handmade
Playing Cards
From September to December of 2023, I set out with a goal to hand print a full set of 52 playing cards themed after the native flora and fauna of my home in the North-East United States. In the end, I was not able to complete the playing cards, but I learned some very useful skills, and I did still have something to show for it.
The print of the card forms, along with numbers, letters, and more decorations. I scanned this print into the computer to continue designing my deck.
1. Letterpress
I spent many hours carefully setting metal type forms for each of the four suits.
After many grueling hours in Adobe Illustrator,
I finally had all of my numbered cards designed and formatted
Once the files were prepared,
I got the card designs printed on transparent mylar. I was then able to take that mylar and, using a photo-exposure process, transfer the card designs onto an aluminum lithography plate.
Time to Print!
Time to Print!
Lithography, while it can be a tedious and repetitive process, it is still one of my favorite printing methods!
The “Finished” Product
Although I didn’t finish the cards, I think it was a really valuable lesson in time-management as well as a thought-provoking exercise in exploring the historical practices of the craftspeople of yesterday. I am also still very happy with how they turned out, I certainly plan on coming back to them at a later point when I have more time!
