White Borders on Decks Opinions

[That Filthy Casual]

Hi there,

On various youtube videos, particularly Shuffle and Deal and Magic Orthodoxy, I've been quite vocal in that I feel that white borders often kill the look of a huge number of decks for me.

Case in point, the Animal Instinct deck by Darrin and Kodi White. You have these absolutely gorgeous, individually crafted front designs for every card, and an equally detailed and impressive back. And then they've shrunk the pictures on both sides to put these very thick and obtrusive white borders which, in my opinion, completely undermine the beauty and effort put into the artistry.

So many wonderfully designed decks, IMO, are completely ruined by white borders. This, I feel, is most obvious in predominantly black or very dark designs (take your pick of the thousands out there). And I'm almost exclusively referring to white. Some decks, such as the Tucans or Bicycle Koi decks have different coloured borders that help them blend into the designs. So far, I've been completely fine with that.

Don't get me wrong, I think that white borders do work for some decks. The Bicycle Moonshines benefit from them. But the number of decks that I have hesitated to buy has started to increase, now that I've begun to narrow down the type of decks that I like to use and look at, and am no longer in the honeymoon phase and just splurging on any and every deck I can get my hands on.

I'm still new to the playing card scene, so my understanding as to why a lot of people favor white borders is limited. I'm under the impression that many people mainly like them as it's easier to conceal hidden cards or do certain sleight of hands with borders. But still, why always white? Am I missing something very obvious here?

To clarify, I'm not trying to suggest anything wrong with people who do favor them. Hopefully this post doesn't come off in that manner. But, man, so many decks that I have bought have underwhelmed me with them. Do 80% of decks really need white borders?

[GandalfPC]

The slight of hands reason I can clarify…

If the edges on both the front and back of the card are white then you can hold two cards together as one, regardless of their orientation, and a slight misalignment will not flash

Flashing meaning showing what is not meant to be seen here (I guess it always means that) - as if the backs are borderless then misalignment of various orientations front to back will show the edge of color in a very eye catching way.

You can do these tricks with borderless, but I prefer the margin for error that a border provides 99.9% of the time.

The other times would be when the deck is edge marked or in some way a favorite (DNC) that makes it worth using, then you just have to play the hand you are dealt.


For tricks heavy in double and triple lifts, with front and back or double facers - you really want the white edge…

[rousselle]

It certainly is a contentious issue, which is funny given it mostly comes down to artistic tastes. I, for one, prefer borderless backs for most decks. I love it when designers offer a full bleed and a bordered version so that folks with different tastes can be appeased. That said, I'm just glad there are as many borderless decks out there as there are, given how much bordered decks seem to be favored.

(As Gandalf notes above, there are practical reasons for favoring bordered decks, magic among them, and sometimes the borders *do* serve an artistic purpose. YMMV, as always. )

[Honeybee]

Rightio I have taken some quick pics
I think all these backs could have looked good with or without white borders

I like wall art as well as cards and like for wall art the borders often help frame the art
Of course only a small percentage of paintings are framed in white (although their mounts are generally white)
Selecting a frame can make or break a painting
Most of these pics have white in the back so that probably helps the white border work

For the honeybee 17's I was not expecting to like them as much as the borderless No.15's but I do

I think it is just a matter of personal taste for a lot of decks but I appreciate your point of why 'white' would apply to plenty of decks

[GandalfPC]

I am a proud supporter of “Bees without borders”

[Honeybee]

As we all should bee

[GandalfPC]

Even AI cannot envision a world without bees - I asked it five times for bee removal and always the same…

[PiazzaDelivery]

Sleight of hand guy here. I greatly prefer borderless decks when performing table routines. In fact, whenever I have a choice between with or without, I will more often than not choose without. I've been using my Royales Player Edition during my poker nights with my buds and everyone loves the backs. Despite this, well I guess like most of us here I'm just used to the borders. They're ubiquitous and there's not much you can do about it. Maybe write to your favorite designer and ask for their consideration, but otherwise you've just got to come to terms.

[MagikFingerz]

While I agree that white borders, particularly thick ones, rarely add anything of value (aesthetically) to the design, I have to point out another reason that makes them so common: They're standard, and thus the cheapest option. Things might have changed in the recent past, but for a long time I'm pretty sure it was significantly more expensive to print colored borders or borderless designs, at least at USPCC.

[hsbc]

I also don't think we should understate the ubiquity of rider backs -- when the average person envisions a card back I'd imagine it has a border

[manu]

I used to be much more white-border-or-bust, whereas now it is entirely design-dependent

[montenzi]

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

But the majority of my back designs are borderless. I don't know how to explain this

[MagikFingerz]

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

I like decks with borders!

But the majority of my back designs are borderless. I don't know how to explain this

Something something the first step is denial

[That Filthy Casual]

Hi there everyone. Thank you all for your input, and sorry for the late reply to my own thread!

So, it really is mainly about sleight of hand. I mean, I appreciate this, but surely most magicians wouldn't use radically designed decks during routines in any case, so I'm still kinda scratching my head.

I do get the comment about borders being cheaper to produce due to less ink used, etc. But, yeah, if I'm going to pay a premium price for a deck, I would hope that they spare no expense.

I also don't think we should understate the ubiquity of rider backs -- when the average person envisions a card back I'd imagine it has a border

Honestly, I'm not sure the average person would even recall or notice whether or not a deck of cards has borders.

[GandalfPC]

It is rather amazing what can go unnoticed…

[Honeybee]

Honestly, I'm not sure the average person would even recall or notice whether or not a deck of cards has borders.

Surely you are joking
Does the average person have no interest in cards? This is probably true but I think designers are making cards for those that do.
(I still think anybody would notice if a back has a border)

[Harvonsgard]

Being an average person in the past, I certainly realised back then, if a back had borders or not, haha.
Most classic card backs in Europe come with borders as well so, I would echo @hsbc's statement not just in regards to Riderbacks.

May personal preference depends on the design. There're some backs that I would wish to be borderless and some few look better with borders. I'd say patterns look always better borderless.

[Evilgamer]

it depends on the deck, if your deck is designed to be a single large picture DONT PUT WHITE BORDERS ON IT.

same if the back in a lot of cases

or if there was no other white on the deck

[rousselle]

Casino cards often have simple patterns with no borders on the backs because when printed with precision, it makes "marks" easier to spot. The Bee diamond back is a classic example. That said, some casino cards certainly do have borders (Kem, Copaq, and other plastic casino card manufacturers often go this route), so it's not a universal rule.

There are some decks where having a border actually is the only logical design choice, although right this moment, I'm blanking on examples. When I think of some, I'll post them. In general, though, it seems to me it's all about design and the taste of the designer and/or the beholder.

[SRO]

I greatly prefer them without borders, but that's just one guy's taste. If someone else prefers them with borders, then that's cool. Last time I checked, no one made me the God of Playing Cards. If I was, my first Kickstarter would be doing better. LOL