Playing card coating

Interesting topic! The actual formula for playing card varnish is a highly guarded secret among playing card manufacturers. Getting the "slip and feel" right is something that has taken generations in some cases. Just having a company that will sell you playing card varnish is a great accomplishment!

Unfortunately, it is only a small part of the battle. Printers have machines that apply the varnish and then special UV dryers to quickly turn the varnish solid with no warping of the cardstock. Each of these will be a challenge for you to accomplish without quite a bit of experimentation. You may be able to brush on the varnish, but I doubt the results will be as smooth and consistent as you would like.

Zzzzz has mentioned in the past a machine for varnishing cardstock in small runs, but that machine is quite expensive. You may have some luck applying the varnish with some sort of silk-screen type screen and squeegee. Even still, the varnish may be too thick to air dry without warping the cards. As I said, some experimentation is in order.

As Geoff mentions, many have used the spray varnishes (matte gives a better look and feel I am told) with varying degrees of success. Quite a few members here swear by the Xyron laminating machines. The laminte itself is quite a bit more expensive per card than any varnish would be, but the results are faster, easier, and much more consistent. Having never used Xyron laminate, I can't speak to the finished quality, but many on this board have raved about it.

My personal experience has me convinced that a 1.5 mil matte finish hot laminate is the best way to laminate a card (the finished product is in every way identical to a professionally produced card, both look and feel), but the laminate is more expensive and applying it is time consuming. This would be great for prototyping, but not really viable for pulishing a game (even in small quantities).

Best of luck and be sure to post any results you get with the varnish!

Yes, it can be daunting getting just the right varnish!

Actually, mil refers to thousandths of an inch. 1.5 mil = 1.5/1000" = .0015"

The laminate that I have had great success with is a roll laminate used with higher temperature clamshell type laminators (Seal-Lamin makes the laminate I have used in the past). I chose this type because of two reasons. The thickness means I can laminate 110# cardstock or 2-ply homemade opaque playing cardstock without being much thicker than a standard playing card. The second is because it comes in a matte finish (most other laminates are glossy only).

The problem with these types of laminates is that the polyester based adhesive coating melts at a higher temperature than used in home hot laminators (the kind that use pouches), so sealing the cards requires either a clothing iron and some patience, or a very expensive machine.

The pouches that you mention have been used by other members, though they will be thicker than regular playing cards. The typical laminate pouch that you buy at a home office store is 3 mil thick, the ID badge pouches are typically 5 mil and up.

On the other hand, the Xyron laminators are roughly 2.5 mil, which makes for a good, if slightly thick finished product without the expense of a commecial heat seal clamshell or the patience required to hand iron dozens of pages of cards. I don't have one and haven't tried one yet, but I hear a lot of good things about them and I'm anxious to see a sample for myself.