A deck looks like the easiest thing you will ever print. Four decisions separate a deck that gets played with from one that gets photographed once.

Start with the back, not the faces

Rotate your back artwork a hundred and eighty degrees. If the two versions are distinguishable, every card tells the table which way round it is being held.

Build a repeating or rotationally symmetric pattern that carries your mark instead, and keep the border wide enough that a millimetre of cutting drift cannot show on one edge alone.

Ask whether the stock has a black core

Three-ply stock has a black layer glued between the printed face and back. That is what stops a card being read through when a light is behind it.

Any deck used in real play needs it. A giveaway does not, and paying for it there is money that would do more on the tuck box.

Ask what the finish actually is

Air-cushion and linen are embossed patterns, not coatings. They trap air between the cards so they separate.

A smooth varnish looks better in a product shot and sticks together in a warm room. If a quote just says “gloss finish”, ask which one it means.

Pick the size from the game, not the habit

Poker size, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, is right for almost everything. Bridge size, a quarter inch narrower, is right when a player holds a large hand — bridge, whist, canasta — or when cards are held rather than dealt.

Tell your printer the game rather than the dimension and you will get the right answer.

What to send when you ask for a quote

Back artwork, your faces if they are custom, the quantity, and what the deck is for. That last answer decides the stock, the finish and whether the box needs to be sealed.