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What do I need to make boards to sell?

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 11:44
Sintwar
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Joined: 02/09/2009

I am looking into creating cardboard game tiles, made from a strong and durable chipboard with about the same strength and thickness of a common board game, along with a semi-glossy matte paper cover.

This is not just a weekend project for myself, I plan on making these to sell online, and want to offer a quality product, while still keeping my costs and prices down.

I am hoping I can find some answers solutions for a few questions I have.

1: What exactly is it that I would need in order to get about the same type of material used in boardgames such as Monopoly? And where can I buy it cheap? Some people might suggest that I run down to the local craft store, but this is ultimately not the solution I am looking for. Remember, this is not a one time weekend project for myself, and I plan on selling these. I need bulk, wholesale product and prices.

2: The cover will be a semi-gloss matte textured paper. I am sure I can find this also in bulk, without the need to run to Office Max to buy a pack of 10 sheets for $20. Any ideas? I have no clue as to where to look. Also, I plan on using a laser printer for this project.

3: A laser printer. Based on the above criteria, I need to find a laser printer capable of printing high enough quality to justify selling them to people, while keeping the price of the printer under about $500 if possible. I also hope to print larger than the average 8.5x11.

Can ya help me? :)

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 14:55
#1
brisingre
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Joined: 01/21/2009
Self-manufacturing.

I've obsessed over this problem. I don't have any answers, but I'll dump the links and sources I've found.

Chipboard source
Various specialty papers
Looks like exactly what playing cards are made out of.

Those are the paper links. I've got resin casting, die cutting, and a few other things too. If you find a good printer, tell me. I'm probably printing at kinkos.

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 15:59
#2
Sintwar
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Joined: 02/09/2009
Awesome! Thanks! Definitely a

Awesome! Thanks! Definitely a push in the right direction.

What do you have the die cutting?

I am thinking that I will try Kinkos to see what comes of that, but I would much prefer to have my own printer. I just have to figure out what is the best one that I can afford. :)

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 16:04
#3
The Magician
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Joined: 12/23/2008
If anyone lives here in

If anyone lives here in Olympia WA and is designing, Doops is the best printer in town they rock the casbah.

Sintwar, there are some vary resourcful posts in the prototyping forum.

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 16:20
#4
MatthewF
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brisingre wrote:Looks like

brisingre wrote:
Looks like exactly what playing cards are made out of.

It may or may not be worth noting that playing cards are more traditionally made out of specialty playing card stock, a special paper that has three layers: white (commonly linen, though sometimes gloss coated, like you linked to), black or blue, and white again. This ensures that light won't shine through them, which can be a big deal. The 100# gloss coat you linked to will reveal the card unless it has a lot of ink on the back and non-clear info on the front (by which I mean, if it's a number and a suit then it will be fairly easy to tell, while something like a Magic card is too muddled).

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 16:51
#5
brisingre
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Joined: 01/21/2009
Die Cutting

Ah. I didn't know that...

These people sell hand-cranked die cutters. They will also make custom dies at a reasonable cost.
These people also do dies. These are also hand-cranked. I haven't found any professional die cutter that will do small runs, but for a small run doing it yourself shouldn't be impossible.

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Mon, 02/09/2009 - 17:42
#6
fecundity
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MatthewF wrote:The 100# gloss

MatthewF wrote:
The 100# gloss coat you linked to will reveal the card unless it has a lot of ink on the back and non-clear info on the front (by which I mean, if it's a number and a suit then it will be fairly easy to tell, while something like a Magic card is too muddled).

The Guild of Blades POD cards are printed on gloss coat cover stock, rather than playing card stock. In ordinary play, this is not a problem-- but it is definitely possible to see through it if you hold a card up to a light.

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Tue, 02/10/2009 - 09:09
#7
seo
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Joined: 07/21/2008
Don't worry

Don't worry about casino quality card stock (the one Matthew mentioned above) unless you really need casino quality cards.

Most published games use just a good thick regular card stock. Pandemic is a good example. If you want to go one step up in quality, look for linen card stock: it makes shuffling easier. Varnish or UV coating also add quality and durability, but you must get the right kind of coating, as some varnishes might result in stickier cards; always consult your printer and ask him for a sample to be sure they shuffle well.

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Tue, 02/10/2009 - 14:45
#8
MatthewF
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Pandemic also uses the trick

Pandemic also uses the trick of putting a ton of ink on the back and fairly indistinct things on the front. :)

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