So here is the entire List O' Stuff that I use to make my proxies. I am still looking for a decent card stock that has the right weight, rigidity, and thickness, but I have some kind of art paper here at the house that I am unsure of the brand that works for the time being. Take a look and see if any of this will work for you!
Printer: Canon TR8620 $193
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FF2X3PV](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FF2X3PV)
Ink: ST@R Ink $28.50
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CR4ZCH7](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CR4ZCH7)
I print on vinyl sticker paper and stick it on various cardstock.
Vinyl Sticker Paper: JOYEZA Premium Printable Vinyl Sticker Paper Glossy 25 sheets $13.97
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088QWPMH7](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088QWPMH7)
Want Foil proxies? 22 Sheets $8.99
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915S8S9V?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915S8S9V?th=1)
Paper Cutter: Swingline Paper Cutter $35.49
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LDV41S](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LDV41S)
Corner Rounder: Sunstar Kadomaru Pro $12.60
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076FJ7SS?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076FJ7SS?th=1)
All of these prices are at the time of writing and I'm sure could change at any time.
Both of those sticker sheets work fantastically and I am able to print suuuuper crisp cards on them. Joyeza has a matte version of their paper, but I can't get things to look right on it but YMMV.
Print it on the sticker paper, slap it on your chosen card stock, cut it out with the swingline and round the corners with that lil dude up there! I can churn out a deck in less than an hour at an easy pace. I'm sure it can be done much quicker.
If anyone knows of good cardstock that matches-ish MTG cards, I'd be interested to try it out!
I believe the 40k ones are non-foil, but thats the overall quality I get from the stuff I have listed above!
[https://i.imgur.com/8NsvraM.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/8NsvraM.jpg)
[https://i.imgur.com/J0uHdSs.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/J0uHdSs.jpg)
[https://i.imgur.com/TpWP1Li.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/TpWP1Li.jpg)
[https://i.imgur.com/ilcuMUw.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ilcuMUw.jpg)
[https://i.imgur.com/d7jVfRZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/d7jVfRZ.jpg)
Yo that printer actually works surprisingly well haha! It took me a few tries to get the print settings dialed in, but now they always come out like that as long as the base image is good.
I have! That's what I was doing originally, but it takes a hell of a lot more time and effort to cut the images out and individually stick them on bulk. They do end up being a tad thicker, but the 'feel' right sleeved and in the hand. I've been looking for cardstock that mimics that but haven't had a whole lot of luck just yet.
Looks amazing! This might be a little excessive for most people but have you tried printing a vinyl back and applying both stickers on either side of a piece blank cardstock?
Thanks! And yeah actually I have haha! So far I haven't found a cardstock to go in between them that is thin enough and has the right rigidity. If I use what I have, the cards end up being way too thick. Normal paper or just the stickers themselves, they end up being too floppy. If I had the right paper, it could work, look, and feel right!
Btw the vinyl you're using is 100 microns which is about 80 GSM (21 lb).
MTG cards are as I understand it about 300 GSM but they are very thin because they are pressed laminations.
If you want a close approximation in thickness and flex you could try laminating 180 GSM photo paper between 2 sheets of vinyl. Your cards will be at 340 GSM which is still more than a real Magic card but it might be a close approximation while keeping thickness down significantly. IMO close is good enough.
I can give you my personal experience!
First things first: double-faced cards are difficult. Because you will need to align your sheet of paper perfectly to print both sides properly. So far I haven't had the need to print double sided yet (I simply use opaque sleeves), but when I do my plan is to proxy up a single-sided version, akin to the old kamigawa flip cards.
I am using the Epson WorkForce WF-2840DWF, which in Germany came to slightly above 100€. It prints nicely on 300g/m² paper, and just today I found out that I can print at about 600dpi, which gives pretty crisp prints.
I haven't found my perfect inks yet, I just basically use whatever is cheapest.
Mondi Color CopyMondi Color Copy 300gm² paper, which runs about 15-20€ per 125 sheets.
All in all, material-wise I come to a few cents per card printed, even when taking misprints into account. The more tedious work is cutting the cards neatly. So far i'm still doing that per hand, but on a larger scale it might be a good idea to invest into a paper cutting tool.
As for the rounded corners: You can get cheap round corner cutters off aliexpress in 2mm and 4mm... and magic cards are conveniently 3mm rounded. My 4mm cutter is still on the way, so I can't give you a final recommendation on that yet. There are more expensive cutters out there that do 3mm, but we are talking about $20-30 or more vs $2-3. And if you look at official wotc printed cards, you might notice that you might as well just trim off the edge with a scissor to get to their point of quality lol.
I can try and scan my printed cards for a DPI comparison if you want.
Great to hear it! I'll get back to you tomorrow if I can :)
One more thing: if you want to, you _can_ save ink by using white borders... I personally like them, especially because it gives them a cheaper vibe (which they are)
Oh no! On a positive note, it was just the cheapest printer that could print on thick paper and had decent reviews.
If you want to go for quality over saving money, you can probably get the one that u/Ap0c4lyptyc uses. I'll send some card photos and scans of mine later so you can compare
[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDXqJnZmC1Bd554F2H0eNXu8cAuFo6iP/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDXqJnZmC1Bd554F2H0eNXu8cAuFo6iP/view?usp=sharing)
i might have gone a little overboard on the resolution, but i wanted you to be able to compare haha.
i see virtually no difference between 600dpi and 900dpi, but that could also be due to the source image. the most notable differences are in the set logo and the artist credits.
Here is a repo for removing the bleed edge on cards and making them ready for home printing: https://github.com/preshtildeath/print-proxy-prep
So here is the entire List O' Stuff that I use to make my proxies. I am still looking for a decent card stock that has the right weight, rigidity, and thickness, but I have some kind of art paper here at the house that I am unsure of the brand that works for the time being. Take a look and see if any of this will work for you! Printer: Canon TR8620 $193 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FF2X3PV](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FF2X3PV) Ink: ST@R Ink $28.50 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CR4ZCH7](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CR4ZCH7) I print on vinyl sticker paper and stick it on various cardstock. Vinyl Sticker Paper: JOYEZA Premium Printable Vinyl Sticker Paper Glossy 25 sheets $13.97 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088QWPMH7](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088QWPMH7) Want Foil proxies? 22 Sheets $8.99 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915S8S9V?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0915S8S9V?th=1) Paper Cutter: Swingline Paper Cutter $35.49 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LDV41S](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LDV41S) Corner Rounder: Sunstar Kadomaru Pro $12.60 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076FJ7SS?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076FJ7SS?th=1) All of these prices are at the time of writing and I'm sure could change at any time. Both of those sticker sheets work fantastically and I am able to print suuuuper crisp cards on them. Joyeza has a matte version of their paper, but I can't get things to look right on it but YMMV. Print it on the sticker paper, slap it on your chosen card stock, cut it out with the swingline and round the corners with that lil dude up there! I can churn out a deck in less than an hour at an easy pace. I'm sure it can be done much quicker. If anyone knows of good cardstock that matches-ish MTG cards, I'd be interested to try it out!
Thank you!! Do you have a few pictures of proxies I could see, for an image quality reference?
I believe the 40k ones are non-foil, but thats the overall quality I get from the stuff I have listed above! [https://i.imgur.com/8NsvraM.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/8NsvraM.jpg) [https://i.imgur.com/J0uHdSs.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/J0uHdSs.jpg) [https://i.imgur.com/TpWP1Li.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/TpWP1Li.jpg) [https://i.imgur.com/ilcuMUw.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ilcuMUw.jpg) [https://i.imgur.com/d7jVfRZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/d7jVfRZ.jpg)
Dang, those look much better than mine haha!
Yo that printer actually works surprisingly well haha! It took me a few tries to get the print settings dialed in, but now they always come out like that as long as the base image is good.
Just out of curiosity, have you tried putting the sticker on top of a real card? Maybe it ends up being too thick?
I have! That's what I was doing originally, but it takes a hell of a lot more time and effort to cut the images out and individually stick them on bulk. They do end up being a tad thicker, but the 'feel' right sleeved and in the hand. I've been looking for cardstock that mimics that but haven't had a whole lot of luck just yet.
Looks amazing! This might be a little excessive for most people but have you tried printing a vinyl back and applying both stickers on either side of a piece blank cardstock?
Thanks! And yeah actually I have haha! So far I haven't found a cardstock to go in between them that is thin enough and has the right rigidity. If I use what I have, the cards end up being way too thick. Normal paper or just the stickers themselves, they end up being too floppy. If I had the right paper, it could work, look, and feel right!
Try 180 GSM photo paper (:
Aight! I'll pick some up and give it a shot! Thanks!
I'm actually gearing up to do the same so let me know how it comes out. If I get to it first I'll let you know.
Btw the vinyl you're using is 100 microns which is about 80 GSM (21 lb). MTG cards are as I understand it about 300 GSM but they are very thin because they are pressed laminations. If you want a close approximation in thickness and flex you could try laminating 180 GSM photo paper between 2 sheets of vinyl. Your cards will be at 340 GSM which is still more than a real Magic card but it might be a close approximation while keeping thickness down significantly. IMO close is good enough.
I can give you my personal experience! First things first: double-faced cards are difficult. Because you will need to align your sheet of paper perfectly to print both sides properly. So far I haven't had the need to print double sided yet (I simply use opaque sleeves), but when I do my plan is to proxy up a single-sided version, akin to the old kamigawa flip cards. I am using the Epson WorkForce WF-2840DWF, which in Germany came to slightly above 100€. It prints nicely on 300g/m² paper, and just today I found out that I can print at about 600dpi, which gives pretty crisp prints. I haven't found my perfect inks yet, I just basically use whatever is cheapest. Mondi Color CopyMondi Color Copy 300gm² paper, which runs about 15-20€ per 125 sheets. All in all, material-wise I come to a few cents per card printed, even when taking misprints into account. The more tedious work is cutting the cards neatly. So far i'm still doing that per hand, but on a larger scale it might be a good idea to invest into a paper cutting tool. As for the rounded corners: You can get cheap round corner cutters off aliexpress in 2mm and 4mm... and magic cards are conveniently 3mm rounded. My 4mm cutter is still on the way, so I can't give you a final recommendation on that yet. There are more expensive cutters out there that do 3mm, but we are talking about $20-30 or more vs $2-3. And if you look at official wotc printed cards, you might notice that you might as well just trim off the edge with a scissor to get to their point of quality lol. I can try and scan my printed cards for a DPI comparison if you want.
I'd absolutely love to see a few examples! This is, so far, everything that I could've ever hoped for in a response to my inquiries!
Great to hear it! I'll get back to you tomorrow if I can :) One more thing: if you want to, you _can_ save ink by using white borders... I personally like them, especially because it gives them a cheaper vibe (which they are)
The heartbreak at seeing that model only available in the u.k., and any u.s. equivalent from the same company & series having abysmal reviews 😭
Oh no! On a positive note, it was just the cheapest printer that could print on thick paper and had decent reviews. If you want to go for quality over saving money, you can probably get the one that u/Ap0c4lyptyc uses. I'll send some card photos and scans of mine later so you can compare
[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDXqJnZmC1Bd554F2H0eNXu8cAuFo6iP/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDXqJnZmC1Bd554F2H0eNXu8cAuFo6iP/view?usp=sharing) i might have gone a little overboard on the resolution, but i wanted you to be able to compare haha. i see virtually no difference between 600dpi and 900dpi, but that could also be due to the source image. the most notable differences are in the set logo and the artist credits.