Singularity Deck Back Issue Update 3

After an exciting update from yesterday about the magnetic hex board, I return with less than great news on the Singularity Deck back issue, but I think I have what will likely be the final solution.

In the previous updates I talked about the issue with color-variation in the printed card backs I was receiving from Drive Thru Cards:

This is one of the more egregious examples. These should be the same color.

I've been going back and forth with Drive Thru Cards for the last few months on this trying to dial the color into something their printers could produce with less variation.

I most recently sent off an order with 10 different back colors with 10 copies each to test for color preference and color-variation. I really thought this would be the final test needed, but each color showed enough variation across the backs that they could still be distinguished from each other, particularly when the cards are fanned out. All of these color experiments have shown which colors have more or less variation, so it hasn't been a total waste. 

In the end my conclusion is that Drive Thru Cards is not able to produce cards with out some degree of color variation, at least for most colors I've tested. The exception is that the red hearts seemed identical throughout every printed copy I received, but that color doesn't really work for the back of this deck.

The color variation issue is greatly exacerbated by the edge to edge color. This is because it's much easier to tell the colors aren't the exact same when they're right next to each other- like when fanning the cards out.

Here is an example of what I mean:

Despite resisting this for probably too long, I think the only solution is to redesign the back.

Here is what I'm thinking:

While there will likely still be some color variation in the printed version, this new design should make them more indistinguishable in practice.

This new design adds a white border which comes from the card stock itself, so the edges will always match. For those who have been patrons for awhile, you'll remember the first version of the back also had a white border. The first design had an issue where any misalignment on the part of Drive Thru Cards would lead to the deck looking messy and again leading to some cards being distinguishable from each other. This issue led to the version with edge-to-edge color but exposed the issue with color variation. This new version combines the best of both. It has bigger margins than the first version, uses what I've learned about the color, and tries to integrate the white into the design a bit more.

Before I put in another proof order, I wanted to share the new design and see if anyone had any feedback.

The front of the cards will remain edge-to-edge color, like I've shown off previously.

For any fellow fans of Wintergatan, I feel a bit like Martin trying to build the marble machine (https://www.youtube.com/c/Wintergatan/videos).