How To Make Laminated Print and Play Cards with Good Front-Back Alignment

In which Martin shows you the procedure for duplex printing your print and play file to card stock with good alignment of the front and back images. If you find this video useful, why not buy me a coffee? ko-fi.com/MartinG
Links to tools and supplies featured in this video:
Gate by Jason Glover (PnP version): www.pnparcade....
Neenah 65 pound (176 GSM) card stock: www.officedepo...
Fiskars Surecut Paper Trimmer: www.michaels.c...
Kadomaru Pro Neo Corner Rounder: www.jetpens.co...
Scotch 3mil Laminating Pouches: www.scotchbran...

[@Naeddyr]

You said you were using the "cut inside the frame" method and you are! :D This video is basically exactly the same method I use when doing laminated cards, except I've kind of just decided on using normal thin office paper. The laminated end result is actually pretty close to a normal plastic playing card, at least with the pouches and settings I use. Also, I wish I could get as good alignment when printing...

[@zennozangetsu1164]

What are teh pouches and settings you use? :)

[@madmarshman]

That's pretty much how I do mine, I find I getter better alignment if I manually flip the pages, instead of letting the printer do full auto duplex. For those cards you did in this video, I would add a 5mm bleed of black round the whole block of 4x4, as the backs were all black round the outside anyway, then cut accurately from the front. I prefer cards with full bleed, how Iron Helm is, just dropping the hint as I know you are doing the expansions for Jason. Thanks, keep up the good work.

[@kristoonz]

I love your videos Martin! Thanks for the info!

[@PnPHideaway]

You are very welcome! :)

[@bankingonmoney8224]

I was able to get a duplex printer under $100 on sale. This saves alot of time and headaches with re-aligning the cards in the tray. Thanks for sharing.

[@PnPHideaway]

Thanks for sharing!

[@TenInfi]

So... What specifically have you done to align this?

[@danielecroce8841]

Any tips on aling the cards in the document?

[@afrank525]

Beautiful job - thanks for the pro PnP tips!

[@PnPHideaway]

Thanks for watching, and for the kind words!

[@Mernaya]

I think i have to combine your tricks but not sure about my strategy yet but i hope u can tell me if it would work. I cant do duplex cardstock but i think i have to do two pages of 80 gsm which is total of 160 gsm (90 lbs) and glue them together with spray and go for 5mil laminate instead of 3mil, not glossy but half matte version. Those laminate sheets are expencive but so is 3 mil glossy versions, just bit cheaper.

[@Wchapel88]

Hello, I like to know, what is the name of the program you use. To either view and or edit your pdf files and if it can convert files like png to pdf or vice versa. Thank you for the information in the comments, about the printer you use, my printer though reliable is no good for card making. Thank you for this great video..

[@PnPHideaway]

Hello, to view PDF files I use Preview on the Mac. To edit PDF files I use Adobe Acrobat. :) Most any image editor can open and edit an image file such as PNG or JPG and export to PDF. I use Pixelmator Pro on my Mac.

[@Wchapel88]

@@PnPHideaway I thank you for your reply and letting me know. I don't use a Mac, I will see what I can do on my computer and what my image editor can do for PDFs. I found your channel by your original video, on How To Make Laminated Print and Play Cards and subbed then and there. I thank you for all the tips and tricks you give everyone. I look forward to any future videos you'll create. Thank you again.

[@perivar22]

Nice tutorial! So is that pro neo corner puncher much better than the original kadomaru pro puncher?

[@rohankapoor1836]

hey Martin, No matter what i do, i can never get my front and back to perfectly align, atleast not when directly printing from a pdf like you did. My printer seems to print towards the left rather than centring the image on the page. Any tips and tricks to avoid this?? I had to take my images into a word doc, add a few spaces to the left to get perfect front back alignment in about 20 tries

[@PnPHideaway]

Hey Rohan. I empathize with your issue. The ability to achieve good front-back alignment is very printer-dependent, and every printer is different. Some printers, like my current HP Officejet Pro 9018 gets very good front-back alignment, using the manual duplex technique. Other printers shift front or back relative to the other side. If your printer has a predictable shift between front and back, then you can measure the amount of shift, then edit the pdf to compensate. It’s a pain in the butt, but necessary to get good front-back alignment if your printer shifts alignment.

[@remram44]

So the tip to fix alignment problems is, have a printer for which this is not a problem?

[@MundoXboxer]

Not doble laminated like your other video?? Not 5 mill??? Can explain me why , please

[@PnPHideaway]

I have found that one laminating pass is sufficient. I have never used 5mil pouches, only 3mil. :)

[@MundoXboxer]

TY PNPGOD!!!

[@NinjarioPicmin]

@@PnPHideaway while you have used 3 mil you said in another video you still run them through with the 5mil setting, have you changed your mind on that?

[@PnPHideaway]

@@NinjarioPicmin Yes, I use the 3mil setting nowadays, and enjoy good results :)

[@felipealvarez1982]

Would you recommend Matte laminating sheets for easier shuffling?

[@PnPHideaway]

I’ve never actually used matte laminating sheets. Personally I’ve never had any issues shuffling regular non-matte laminated cards.

[@TimelessTunesRewind]

How can i design cards in canva and do this?

[@pa.....]

could you tell me what are you using printer model

[@PnPHideaway]

In this video I was using an HP Officejet Pro 9018. Now I have replaced it with an HP Smart Tank 7301.

[@razomax2724]

Great job man

[@PnPHideaway]

Thanks for your kindness and attention! :)

[@panahss]

Today I purchased gate, will you make PNP for expansion (gates)?

[@PnPHideaway]

Thanks for purchasing Gate! That decision is entirely up to the game designer. If and when he reaches out to ask me to format the expansion, I shall gladly do so. But I have no influence over when (or if) that might happen.

[@Mernaya]

Do you have anywhere list or know where to find a good list where can be found good PnP files. I want my frist files for practice so i dont want to start something that takes 100 sheets :)

[@PnPHideaway]

Join my Facebook group, I have many sources of great legit print and play files. Facebook.com/groups/pnphideaway

[@ramanmehlawat7742]

Bro which Printer do you use and which printer (cheap) do you suggest to print playcards?

[@PnPHideaway]

I use an HP Officejet Pro 9018 with the HP Instant Ink subscription plan. :)

[@giorgoskirkos4282]

Have you ever tried a matte laminating pouch?

[@PnPHideaway]

Nope. My understanding from folks who’ve tried them is that they cost more than regular laminating pouches.

[@Dallas_AWG]

Amazing!!

[@Shwartzer]

Bro, waht happened I was expecting to hear your voice uwu. It makes it easier to follow what you are doing

[@PnPHideaway]

Just experimenting with a different style of video. Don’t worry, I’ll use narration in future vids. :)

[@dirtydwarf69]

Hmm... I run mine through the laminater on the 5m setting twice. Maybe I been doing too much? Great video tho! Thanks!

[@PnPHideaway]

I’ve learned that there are no hard and fast rules. Just experiment with different settings and do what works best for your setup.

[@madmarshman]

I put mine through once, but sometimes when cutting, corner rounding or playing I may get a flappy corner .... then I fire up the laminator and feed them through, this normally fixes them. This probably happens to less than 1% of my cards. We all use different machines and pouches, so whatever works for you is right.