SOVEREIGN Exquisite Playing Cards (Jody Eklund)

[Harvonsgard]

In a few hours, the Sovereign campaign will be funded with great success, but I backed out at the very last moment. I've sent a message to Jody for the reason I backed out, but I think it might be a worthwhile consideration for us as a user's community to voice our concerns over the USPCC registration issue, so here is my feedback:

Hi Jody,

Eventually, I decided to back out of the project (the Exquisite deck) at the last minute, sorry about that...

I have to say though that it's not because I don't like the project, but it's due to USPCC's increasing horrendous registration issue. The MetalLuxe, artistic-wise, would definitely be great for the deck, but if USPCC is not going to address its registration issue or that creators can't guarantee Q1 quality from USPCC, I think as a customer and a member who hopes that qualities could remain decent in the field, that actions have to be taken to voice our concern... Heck, even USPCC can't guarantee their Q1 quality is well-registrated as it seems on threads on UC like the Theory11 decks.

Therefore, I hope to let you know that this is my rationale for backing out and not towards the project itself. As a wee customer, our voice won't be recognized by USPCC, but creators like you might make a difference if you could convey your frustration toward the printing giant. Hope you could understand this, but my most sincere congratulations for the success to come in a few hours!

Kind regards,
Ted

A decision I can understand and support. I see Jackson's point when he mentioned that even he and others like Chris Ramsay are small fish for USPCC since, their main business are standard and not custom playing cards. But I as well can't sit ideally by when the QM goes down and endorse designers to print in Taiwan or with LPCC and EPCC or Cartamundi, Belgium.

[Bradius]

30 minutes left in Kickstarter, so final call. I ended up backing two each of the standard decks and one exquisite edition. Jody has an astonishing 1,797 backers and raised $125,000 so far. The art is so exceptional, I can’t miss this one even if I have to sit out the gilded sets. Folks have a point about poor registration at USPCC, but their handling is still great.

[Decknowledgy]

Folks have a point about poor registration at USPCC, but their handling is still great.

Yeah, but I truly think that if people are still compromising on saying that "USPCC has the best handling" and therefore purchasing their decks, all the complaints about registration are just whining and holds no substance. So don't expect USPCC to change

[Harvonsgard]

Sure the USPCC handling is great. So is the handling on all EPCC/Cartamundi/Hansonchien/Bombmagic decks I own. And while I personally don't like the stiff diamond finish cards from LPCC, they handle great as well.

[MagikFingerz]

Sure the USPCC handling is great. So is the handling on all EPCC/Cartamundi/Hansonchien/Bombmagic decks I own. And while I personally don't like the stiff diamond finish cards from LPCC, they handle great as well.

Exactly.

The differences in handling between the big printers is much smaller than the difference poor registration makes to my enjoyment of a deck. For me, anyway.

[Bradius]

Hey, I still buy decks made by NPCC designed by Nicolai mainly, so I have little taste when it comes to card manufacturers. However, if you are trying to get USPCC's attention, good luck as like 0.0000001% of their production goes to the kind of custom cards we like.

I agree though that so many others are really improving their handling such that there are a number of good handling deck manufacturers out there, including MPC. I am not a huge fan of Cartamundi's thin stock, so I am hoping that they can get a good replacement similar to the B9. Lotrek is also getting his cards handling much better.

[Harvonsgard]

However, if you are trying to get USPCC's attention, good luck as like 0.0000001% of their production goes to the kind of custom cards we like.

I wouldn't say it's about getting USPCC's attention. It's about A) putting my money where my mouth is; voting with my wallet and influencing creators to choose the best printer for us as collectors. Some creators feel urged to print with USPCC (especially in the cardistry scene) since their reputation is still high in the playing cards scene. And B) it's about putting the info out there that a lot of collectors are fine with better printers and don't necessarly need Bicycle and Bee stock since, the others are on par with them.

[Eric Lee]

Folks have a point about poor registration at USPCC, but their handling is still great.

Yeah, but I truly think that if people are still compromising on saying that "USPCC has the best handling" and therefore purchasing their decks, all the complaints about registration are just whining and holds no substance. So don't expect USPCC to change

Interestingly, I met up with Kage X yesterday. He found an old Aladdins deck of cards printed in Ohio with the blue seal. It's about 30-40 years old. These were the decks those of us in South East Asia grew up with from USPCC instead of Bikes. The first thing I noticed about the backs were that even then, the registration was off! Something similar to the Mandarin monarchs! Not very off, but noticeable. I told him to take a shot and post it on UC when he can.

So USPCC has ALWAYS been having registration problems, even back in the good old days in Ohio! Is that a good thing or bad, I leave it up to you.

[CollectADeck]

Interestingly, I met up with Kage X yesterday. He found an old Aladdins deck of cards printed in Ohio with the blue seal. It's about 30-40 years old. These were the decks those of us in South East Asia grew up with from USPCC instead of Bikes. The first thing I noticed about the backs were that even then, the registration was off! Something similar to the Mandarin monarchs! Not very off, but noticeable. I told him to take a shot and post it on UC when he can.

So USPCC has ALWAYS been having registration problems, even back in the good old days in Ohio! Is that a good thing or bad, I leave it up to you.

I think they really just want people to pay the extra for their 'higher' QA service, at $. 25 per deck.

I ended up reducing my pledge on this to 2x of the Red and Blue, no exquisite. Sadly the Gold only back just didn't resonate as well as the original Blue + Metalluxe. I hope USPCC can figure that out for future decks.

[OVSUB]

I ended up reducing my pledge on this to 2x of the Red and Blue, no exquisite. Sadly the Gold only back just didn't resonate as well as the original Blue + Metalluxe. I hope USPCC can figure that out for future decks.

Yeah I went back from red and blue with 2 exquisite and 1 metal card to just the red and blue the metaluxe just didn't vibe well with me. I didn't know if the mteal card would be good or not so I also dropped it. Hopefully USPCC will get their stuff together.

[Eric Lee]

Yeah I went back from red and blue with 2 exquisite and 1 metal card to just the red and blue the metaluxe just didn't vibe well with me. I didn't know if the mteal card would be good or not so I also dropped it. Hopefully USPCC will get their stuff together.

After seeing what Lotrek can do with multiple foils and colours and Carta with their cold foil, USPCC seems stuck in the 20th century. Having problems with foil on the edge (Ramsay's V1), wide borders and less details for their metaluxe, and now this.

Come on, someone close to USPCC should tell them to hire Lotrek as a consultant and let him advise you on how to do magic with foil!

[OVSUB]

Preach

[supernova]

photos of the new deck were posted in the first update on Kickstarter. Keep in mind these are renders. The actual cards haven't been printed, so you have to use your mind a bit based on other cold foil decks as well.

unnamed(1).jpg

unnamed.jpg

Sorry for bumping an old thread. I recently got interested in the Sovereign KS project, especially since I can still back it on BackerKit.

Wanna discuss the Exquisite edition with Metalluxe foil. Notwithstanding all the known downsides of Metalluxe - no full border (although Giovanni’s Italia Divina seems to challenge that), registration issues etc - I’m wondering if the Exquisite version will look better with gold foil/white background, or if the background had other colours eg metallic(?) blue ink like the earlier render @bradius posted.

I don’t think it’s possible with the blacks given registration issues, but some colour is definitely doable. For reference, I’m attaching 2 metalluxe cards I own, the Rose Gold Gatorback and the Gold Artisan. I’m wondering if Gold and blue would have worked better.

[jodyeklund]

photos of the new deck were posted in the first update on Kickstarter. Keep in mind these are renders. The actual cards haven't been printed, so you have to use your mind a bit based on other cold foil decks as well.

unnamed(1).jpg

unnamed.jpg

Sorry for bumping an old thread. I recently got interested in the Sovereign KS project, especially since I can still back it on BackerKit.

Wanna discuss the Exquisite edition with Metalluxe foil. Notwithstanding all the known downsides of Metalluxe - no full border (although Giovanni’s Italia Divina seems to challenge that), registration issues etc - I’m wondering if the Exquisite version will look better with gold foil/white background, or if the background had other colours eg metallic(?) blue ink like the earlier render @bradius posted.

I don’t think it’s possible with the blacks given registration issues, but some colour is definitely doable. For reference, I’m attaching 2 metalluxe cards I own, the Rose Gold Gatorback and the Gold Artisan. I’m wondering if Gold and blue would have worked better.

-image snip-

So I was only going by what USPCC told me. They said they can’t do multiple colors due to poor registration with metalux. I know it can be done, but USPCC won’t do it. It can be done with Cartimundi, but they didn’t answer my emails.

For my next project Umbra I will be doing cold foil with Legends PCC

[supernova]

So I was only going by what USPCC told me. They said they can’t do multiple colors due to poor registration with metalux. I know it can be done, but USPCC won’t do it. It can be done with Cartimundi, but they didn’t answer my emails.

For my next project Umbra I will be doing cold foil with Legends PCC

Thanks for the reply! Didn’t know USPCC was so sticky. Personally I think hot foils are nicer than cold foils tho Jackson Robinson and Lotrek seem to have pretty good success with EPCC.

[Bradius]

I think both hot foil and cold foil have their place. In fact, one of the best decks to see this is in the 2019 52 Plus Joker deck, The Entertrainer, which EPCC produced with both cold foil and hot foil. It is an amazing deck. The hot foil is much more reflective/shinier (if that is a word) than cold foil. However, cold foil can be applied with great precision. Also, silver cold foil can be colored to create a near infinite variety of colors on each card. From my experience though, USPCC does not apply hot foil well using their MetalLuxe process with poor consistency. EPCC seems to be able to do a much better job applying hot foil. Lotrek though is still the master of hot foil.

I think Legends is a good choice.

[jodyeklund]

I think both hot foil and cold foil have their place. In fact, one of the best decks to see this is in the 2019 52 Plus Joker deck, The Entertrainer, which EPCC produced with both cold foil and hot foil. It is an amazing deck. The hot foil is much more reflective/shinier (if that is a word) than cold foil. However, cold foil can be applied with great precision. Also, silver cold foil can be colored to create a near infinite variety of colors on each card. From my experience though, USPCC does not apply hot foil well using their MetalLuxe process with poor consistency. EPCC seems to be able to do a much better job applying hot foil. Lotrek though is still the master of hot foil.

I think Legends is a good choice.

Yes, it will be either Hot Foil or Cold Foil. We will make the decision probably once I send the files to Lawrence. I think Hot Foil is a choice depending on what outcome you want. There are some great aspects to both.

[hsbc]

Got my three decks today

[portcullis]

Haven't got mine yet. I don't think I've even got a tracking number. I'll have a look later and ping Jody if not.

[Harvonsgard]

Yummy. Texture of the tucks looks superb. The clash between the very nice embossing and the sovereign letters on the standard editions is meh though.

[james001a]

Fantastic embossing. The green one looks amazing. My only issue is that "Sovereign" is kind of hidden on the red and green decks because it is too flat against the embossing. Otherwise, I am very excited for this release. I backed the gilded set in the custom carat case so that should be cool.

[macstrat]

Full Deck Scan, Red and Blue: https://www.flickr.com/photos/167981955 ... 7160335902

[rousselle]

I received a tracking number some time ago, but USPS says they still haven't received the package (or that the number is in error, depending upon which USPS app I'm using.) These do look nice; I hope I receive mine soon!

[macstrat]

I received a tracking number some time ago, but USPS says they still haven't received the package (or that the number is in error, depending upon which USPS app I'm using.) These do look nice; I hope I receive mine soon!

I think everyone I know has been having trouble with shipping recently. More than usual, Present circumstances accepted

[Bradius]

My decks arrived today and I picked up their metal card as well. It is just super artwork. I think everyone will be pleased if USPCC doesn't mess up the registration.

[BaconWise]

The metal card turned out amazing! I am tempted to get TGW's Tempest metal card after seeing this one in person. The decks are amazing as well!

[steampunk52]

That does look really nice! I'm pretty new to collecting and not a poker player, so I didn't give much thought to the metal card for this project. I will have to rethink that going forward.

[hsbc]

The metal card even comes with a case?? Are there extras for sale?

[Bradius]

The card guard isn't up on his website, but I am sure he will have at least a few for sale shortly. I got one as well, and I agree that it is really nice. I don't really collect coins and such from card campaigns, but this one was hard to pass up.

[masagin303]

So this package ended up in FedEx's hands and their charges are quite harsh. With customs and their storage and customs declaration services it's extra $60 for me. Anyway, should get the package this week finally!