Singularity Deck Back Issue Update 2

Hi all,

Quick update on the status of the card back issue with the singularity Deck.

The short of it is the most recent test print still has enough variation between card backs that I think it's a problem. It's way better than the previous version so reducing the magenta channel has helped.

For the curious, here are all of the card backs that have been test printed so far:

The most recent version of the back I've received is the one in column 5. Column 6 shows the versions I just submitted to be test printed.

I ordered enough copies of each version in column 6 that I should be able to test both for color preference and color variation. I think from there it will still be wise to test print a subset of cards with the chosen color to double check that the back is working across print runs and then do the full-set test print.

Like I've mentioned before, I'm frustrated by how long this is taking, but in the long run it will be worth it because it will mean folks wont have random cards that stand out against the others and they can pick up new cards that will match.

I'm trying to channel the sentiment "A Delayed Game Is Eventually Good, a Bad Game Is Bad Forever."

So why has this all been such a challenge?
The quick answer is that printing is difficult. It's an analog process where liquid color interacts with paper. You can try to control it as much as possible, but it will always have some variation.

That said, I'm still a little surprised at the amount of variation Drive Thru Cards seems to be producing. They're not the only printer that struggles with this though. I have a good number of board game expansions where the cards look totally different from the base game. This is usually the result of the publisher switching to a different printer, but can also come from a printer getting new hardware or changing settings.

When printing, there are typically two main methods: spot color and process color.

Spot color uses premixed inks of the specific colors you want to use. Think of it almost like when you pick up paint for your wall. There can be variation when mixing up the color across batches, but within a batch you should have consistency. If you've heard of the Pantone color system, It was developed to help create a standard that mitigates this color variation across printers. Spot color is typically only done for huge print runs or for things with very limited colors.

Process color printing uses a few colors that are printed in tiny overlapping dots on the print surface to create a full spectrum of color. The colors are typically cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (denoted CMYK). This method of printing is what Drive thru Cards (and a million other professional printers use). Here the individual colors are very consistent, but variation can occur when combining them during printing.

CMYK colors are designated by percentages of each constituent color that makes up the final color. For example green is 100% cyan, 0% magenta, 100% yellow and 0% black.

From going back and forth with Drive Thru Card's printing technicians it seems that their printers produce more variation in the magenta channel. Meaning that if it should be printing 80% magenta, the result could be plus or minus 10% or so. This means that the more the final color relies on the magenta channel, the higher the expected variation.

The worst case scenario for this is large blocks of purple or blue on a part of a design where consistency is absolutely key, which is of course exactly what the back of the Singularity Deck is. It was less of an issue when the deck had a white border, because the border made it harder to notice the color variation as the purple/blue color couldn't be compared directly against each other.

I've learned a lot over this process that I wish I could take back in time, but unfortunately knowledge is never retroactive. For the main background color of the cards in column 6, I've cut back the magenta channel even further (down to 50% and 75% depending on the card), and completely cut out the yellow channel. I don't think the yellow channel was the issue, but the fewer the variables the better.

Hopefully this fixes everything, but I'll keep you all up to date.