Hi everyone,

 

Our reprinted shipment of Vibrating Tarot arrived last week.

Over the past seven days, I’ve been opening units, and the cards look spectacular!

None of the manufacturing defects I reported from the first batch are present in this batch.

So, we’ve started printing labels and getting everything ready for shipping.

 

We're getting everything out as fast as we can. A shipment of several dozen units are actually going out this afternoon. 

 

Keep an eye on your email over the next few weeks for your shipment confirmation and tracking number.

Colouring Book and Vibrating Font: We'll be fulfilling these digital items as soon as the cards have been shipped out. Watch for updates on these items in the coming weeks.

  

There was only one compromise that was made during the printing process. Now that the deck is here and I’m happy with the results, I want to discuss this detail.

 

It concerns the finish that was applied to the surface of the cards. 

The printer changed the finish on the cards from my originally selected Semi-Gloss finish to a Matte UV finish. 

Knowing that there were complications with the first printing, they did this to have greater control over their process and output quality.

And the cards came out excellent. 

 

So, for this First Printing of Vibrating Tarot, we’re all getting a vibrant and very mature looking deck of cards with a Matte UV finish. 

 

Matte UV is actually the more popular choice for Tarot cards, and many decks out there are made with a Matte finish. It cuts down on the glare, offers more durability, and protects against fingerprints and scratches.

The difference between Semi-Gloss and Matte can be seen in the way the deck looks under direct light, and in the way the deck handles in your hands. 

Let’s get down to the details.

 

 

In order to make a Matte finish, the card is coated with microscopic peaks and valleys that diffuse the light and scatter it in many different directions, thus creating a Matte finish with absolutely no glare. 

By contrast, the Semi-Gloss has an ultra-smooth surface and reflects light to a greater degree especially when directly opposing a light source. This can be distracting and cause fatigue for people who are reading cards for longer periods of time.  

Our new finish is also the camera friendly option as Matte UV significantly cuts the glare out of the picture. Because Matte cards are easier to photograph, this satisfies the high number of people who want to photograph their card reading.

Going back to my peaks and valleys metaphor, this formation causes the cards to grab hold of one another during the deck’s first handling. 

These peaks and valleys act like little fingers, with each card reaching out, grabbing at its neighbour and holding onto one another during the “factory seal” portion of the deck’s life.  

So, the deck can feel kind of stiff right out the box. It can be a bit clunky as soon as you open it up for the first time because it has never been handled before and it needs to break free from its rigid packaged formation. 

But the deck learns to loosen up as it explores the world. 

After it’s been shuffled from its initial formation, the deck starts to feel better in your hands and becomes more fluid with each use. 

With time and use, Matte cards offer a superior shuffling experience because of microscopic air pockets that form between cards, and this finish is often associated with a smooth, fluid, and professional feel. 

 

 

Greater protection against scuffs and scratches: Because the Matte application is made up of a tightly woven cross-hatching structure, it coats the card in a shield giving it protection against scuffing. Regarding outright scratches, while a Semi-Gloss finish will accentuate a scratch, making it pop out against the card’s otherwise smooth surface, the Matte card’s surface naturally works to hide a scratch and cause it to blend into the card’s network of microscopic cross-hatching.

 

Reduction of total surface contact: The microscopic peaks and valleys create small pockets of air, so the cards glide across one another, never really touching down on each other’s actual surface. Reducing the surface contact with its neighbouring card prevents the cards from ever sticking together if left untouched over long periods of time in a room with high humidity. 

 

Resists oil absorption from finger smudges: The textured surface allows finger oils to be distributed across many peaks, keeping it away from the deeper card surface. Across many readings, these natural finger oils build up on glossy cards and can become permanent smudge marks. 

 

Protection against warping due to atmospheric conditions: Matte UV also vastly improves the card’s structural integrity and significantly protects the card against warping due to humidity because of the way it keeps moisture away from the core of the card. 

 

 

 

There were complications with the first printing that resulted in several manufacturing defects. 

Part of the solution was to observe higher quality control, and the other part of the solution was to switch the finish from Semi-Gloss to Matte UV, which results in a better overall product with fewer complications during production.

I originally ordered Semi-Gloss. The proof was done in Semi-Gloss, and the (botched) first production run of 1000 units was in Semi-Gloss. 

 

As you all know, significant smudging occurred on several card surfaces in the first production run due to the printer’s manufacturing process.

 

Because they knew how crucial it was to get this reprint of the project right, as it had already been delayed due to their negligence, our printer recommended to change the finish from Semi-Gloss to a Matte finish, a superior finish that they are more experienced in producing, and a finish that they have more control over in their factory.

 

The change was serendipitous because of all of the added benefits of a Matte finish described above. 

A lot of people prefer a Matte finish and in this case, the Matte finish is a pleasant surprise. 

I hope it’s a pleasant surprise to all of us. 

A ton of Tarot deck creators select Matte for their finish. If you are a collector, it would be a good experiment to see how your own collection breaks down. 

Do you own more cards with a Matte finish? Or Semi-Gloss? 

Which finish do you prefer?

 

As I said, I’ve been printing out labels and packing up boxes, and as you read this, I’m standing in line at the post office sending out the first wave of this brand-new deck of cards called Vibrating Tarot. 

I hope it brings a smile to your face. That’s all I ever really wanted. 

Look forward to our October update, where we'll begin to see the deck of cards out in the wild, and I'll share where you can find Vibrating Tarot in the retail world.

All the best,

Frank Lawrence

Vibrating Tarot

by Pallor Publishing

 

@vibratingtarot

@pallorpublishing

Hello everyone,

Happy August, I hope you're all enjoying your summer. I don't have much scheduled for this update other than to say thanks again for sticking with us throughout our reprinting process.

In case you missed last month’s update, the entire Vibrating Tarot project had to be reprinted because a manufacturing defect was discovered in each deck of cards. 

The good news is that our printer has already reprinted the project, and the new shipment is scheduled to start its journey to us later this week. 

If we’re lucky, our new decks of cards should be here in late September, so look out for our next update, which will be coming on the heels of the delivery and hopefully full of good news. 

All the best,

Frank Lawrence

Vibrating Tarot

by Pallor Publishing

 

@vibratingtarot

@pallorpublishing

Hello all,

I hope you’re all having a good summer. I’m happy to be touching base with everyone for our July Update.

I'll give you the bad news upfront: we're officially experiencing our second major production delay due to manufacturing defects that appears in 100% of the decks that were delivered to me.

The good news is: our printing partner, WJPC, has taken full responsibility and has agreed to do a reprint of the entire project.

Aside from the defects, which I'll explain in detail below, the entire package looks great, so I trust in WJPC to pay closer attention to quality control through all stages of the reprint and deliver a superior product the second time around.

Our new estimated time of fulfillment has been pushed to October 2026.




In this update, I’ll be:

This shipment of Vibrating Tarot arrived in late June, as I had expected, and I started opening a few boxes of Tarot decks on June 30th to see what they looked like.

Unfortunately, there is a manufacturing defect that appears on every single deck of cards, and the entire shipment of 1000 decks of cards is a loss.

I’ve been in contact with our printer on a daily basis since July 1st. They have taken full responsibility for this issue and have offered to re-print the entire project at no extra cost, but of course, this will take time to achieve.

The reason I’m reaching out to you on July 16th is because it took two weeks from the point in time when I first discovered the manufacturing defects until I had time to contact our printer, report the issue, document the defects, discuss pathways forward, and settle on a solution for everyone involved.

I didn’t want to announce the problem without offering a solution. In addition to that, I wanted our printer, WJPC, to have a response to this situation before I made the problem a matter of public discourse.

So, in short, the announcement I have for today, as frustrating as it is for me to have to deliver to you all, is that we’re officially experiencing our second production delay in the project due to a manufacturing defect that originated with the printer. Our printer has taken full responsibility and has offered to do a full re-print.

The fulfillment timeline has been pushed to October 2026.

I’ve packed this update with a lot of details. So for those of you who want to know more about the specific printing defects I’m referring to, I have info and pics to share. 

For those of you out there who don’t really care about the details, I’ll recount the shipping details and give you some key points about our printer at the very least, and explain why I trust them to get us out of this jam. 

To ensure that we were prepared to begin fulfillment as soon as possible, we already took the steps to charge your credit cards for the cost of shipping your deck to you.

Most of you will have received notification emails from BackerKit to indicate this a few weeks ago.

We will be shipping Vibrating Tarot to you as soon as the reprinted cards are made available to us and pass our internal quality control inspection.

Our printer is WJPC. They are an industry giant in this field. I chose them because I know their reputation is good and I know that they have the capability to produce projects with superb results.

Please see their website and find them on social media. 
https://wjplayingcard.com


They came recommended to me by other Tarot creators that I trust. I also knew that because their name was so big that they could, and would, stand by the quality of their work.

WJPC has worked with me over the past three years and has solved many problems for us along the way as well as provided many solutions to help build our project into what it has become.

Because they have supported us in so many ways, I feel like I owe them the opportunity to follow through with making this situation right by re-printing the project (with extra care towards quality control).

Starting fresh with a new company would only introduce new problems at this point in time.

I want to give WJPC the chance to deliver what I know they are capable of delivering, and I want a swift solution for my backers who have been waiting patiently for this project.

WJPC’s schedule allows for the reprinting of the project to be delivered to Canada in early October 2026.

If all the decks are delivered, and pass our own internal quality control inspection, I’ll be mailing them all out to you in October.

I trust that when the ships return this October, they’ll be carrying a superior product. One we can all be proud of.

I’ve expressed to our printer many times, the quality of the product is the first priority. After all, it’s not only my artwork that is being represented here. It’s the intellectual property of 150 different brands out there who have put their trust in me to ensure that their product looks good on the final cards.

I’ve told WJPC that my backers would all understand that mistakes happen and we trust them to deliver a superior product this next time around.

Above all, we don’t want them to rush this re-printing!

Do you all agree?

We all want to have a good looking project rather than one that is delivered quickly but contains flaws.

So all we can do now is give WJPC the time and space they need to do it right this time.

Actually, there are two different defects…

Smudges on the Matte Finish on several various cards found in 100% of the decks.

Horizontal Scratch Line on two independent sets of 10 consecutive cards each, found in 100% of decks.

I’ll show you some pics below, but please be aware that I’m minimizing the pics I’m sharing here because this forum is accessible to the general public and I don’t want too many of these poor quality images to be out there. I owe it to the printing company, and I owe it to the adult brands on the cards, to show their work in a responsible way. So although there are literally thousands of different pics I can share, I’ve only selected a few that will get our point across.



Smudges on the Matte Finish

As soon as you tilt the card and catch the light’s reflection, smudge marks appear. This flaw is invisible when the card is not directly reflecting light.

If the card is not tilted at the exact right angle, this flaw remains unseen. This means that the smudge didn’t happen in the ink on the cards, rather, it happened in the matte coating stage of the process.

WJPC points to a responsibility to environmental issues that they are trying to cut back on using extra plastic. So they didn’t shrink wrap the decks of cards before they inserted them into their individual boxes.

But the first mistake was that they didn’t give the cards sufficient time to cure before shuffling them onto their next stage.

The uncured cards rubbed against each other in their respective boxes, smudging the matte surface in the days following their packing.

See image here:

Video is not supported by this update module, so my video evidence will be shared on social media.

My research points to many different discussions that support WJPC’s reason for this happening, including smudge descriptions, cards most affected, and location on affected cards.

To solve this problem, WJPC has told me that they will “strictly control the varnishing process, drying time, and curing condition before packaging to improve the final product and prevent the previous problem from happening again.”

They will also take the extra step of shrink wrapping all decks of cards before assembling them into the boxes with the guidebook. This will prevent the cards from freely sliding around in the box during transit.

So when you all get your decks in the mail, you’ll see that the cards themselves are shrink wrapped in addition to the overall box being shrink wrapped as well.



Horizontal Scratch Line

There is no excuse for this issue passing their quality control, but we’ll be kind enough to give them the benefit of the doubt and just say that they missed it along the way.

It's subtle, but it's noticeable. Here's a pic:

Video is not supported by this update module, so my video evidence will be shared on social media.

The cards that have the scratch mark are the same cards every single time. 10 consecutive cards in the middle of the deck, and 10 consecutive cards at the end of the deck.

With some detective work, this one was easy to figure out.

This line was in the same spot on all cards, so it looked like a problem that ran across the two parent sheets before the cards were cut.

Here’s how the cards were printed on the parent sheet. Shown here is the second parent sheet, containing cards 41–80:

Shown below in red is the location of the scratch line I found across all 10 cards:

So obviously there was something very small that touched down upon the surface of the paper during production that scratched into the surface of the page across all 10 cards in the row.



See my remaining images here showcasing the scratch line:

To solve this problem, WJPC has told me that they will “monitor production closely and strengthen their QC inspection through all stages.”

The good news is that the product box looked great, the lid fit very well. I was very happy with the construction of the Tarot box. WJPC achieved all of my objectives with the box. Because of that, I believe that we have one of the best looking boxes on the market. 

The guide book was also great. The cover was fantastic, the pages all looked great, all pages were in proper order in all cases, the margins were consistent, the typography was fine.

Even the cards themselves were amazing. The colours were fantastic, deep and rich but not too dark. The silver edges were perfect. The matte finish was very attractive. It disperses the light so the card doesn’t reflect it too sharply. 

The only problem was that there were smudges in the matte finish and there was a scratch mark across 20 of the cards in every single deck we checked.

It was heartbreaking to see so much good work go to waste because of a few details. 

I never wanted to trust any one single printer with this project, and to avoid putting all my eggs into one basket, I started relationships with a few different printers along the way, getting to know them and their companies better, and experiencing their customer service firsthand.

The first company I was introduced to by a fellow colleague was in Shenzhen, China. I worked with my rep from this company for years on the fine details, and they were the first printer that I allowed to take a crack at producing our first offset proof.

This was also the company that caused our first production delay because the offset proof they produced for us was not acceptable.

I won’t name them out of respect, but I shared the image of the Ace of Lube card from their offset proof in a previous update.

Their cards were too dark, and they all contained a reddish hue. This is best seen in the Ace of Lube card, which should be 100% greyscale.

As I reported at the time, the printer was defensive of their work telling me that I had to expect some degree in colour fluctuation. When I pressed for a more substantive discussion, they told me that they did not want to discuss colour profile or colour density with me. So I had to take this project to one of the other printers I had been building a relationship with.

WJPC, our current printer, was the printer who pulled us out of that mess. They heard of my issues, and reassured me that they would work with me to get the colours right.

And they absolutely did.

Take a look at the following line of cards that showcase the four key printing proofs of this project.

The Shenzhen produced card is the 3rd card from the left.

The WJPC produced proof is the latest one, on the far right.

Notice how dark and red the previous offset proof was (third in line), and then see how WJPC stepped in and solved this problem by being proficient at their job and knowing the ins and outs of their craft.

I’ll go back to saying that I was very impressed with all aspects of this project except for the manufacturing defects that were found. 

I’ve been impressed with their customer service for the past four years. 

I’m even impressed now with their offer to re-print and ship to me for free, reassuring me that I chose the right printing partner in the end.

But we’re not at the end yet, so we’ll just hang tight and see what they deliver next. 

Many of my colleagues, retail partners, and distributors have already reached back out to me in response to my personal emails to them. Thank you to all of you who have reached out to send me your care and support.

The confidence you have in me keeps me going.

For those who want to weigh in and let me know what you’re thinking, please know that you can reach me a few different ways.

You can email me anytime at: [email protected]

You can respond to my posts on social media, and I will always respond to you there.

You can even leave a comment directly to this update, but if you want to do so, do not try to reply directly to this email. In order to leave a comment on this post, you have to log into BackerKit and leave a comment on this update. I've provided the link below.

https://www.backerkit.com/



Are you frustrated? So am I. I empathize with you. I feel let down by the printer, but I have faith that they will make this right.

Have you been waiting a year or more? So have I. I have been waiting 6 years, working every single day, sending dozens of email a day for years on end to collect all the licensing signatures needed. Flying around the country on my own dime to attend trade shows to market the project. Challenged by every major institution along the way: restricted by Square, turned away by Kickstarter, shadow banned from Social Media. But I never gave up, and I’m not giving up now.

Do you think I should have asked for a refund instead of letting them do a reprint? I want to know what you would do in my shoes.

Please let me know what you’re thinking so we can continue this discussion. I’m not afraid of constructive criticism. I want you to voice your opinions and I want to be able to respond to them.

I’ve tried to be as transparent as I could be through this process and that has not changed.

As I’ve said before, delivering a high quality product that meets superior quality standards is my first priority. 

I'll be chatting about this setback online in a greater way, on social media, and in public forums. I invite you all to weigh in. 

But before this becomes a public discussion, I wanted to reach out to my backers to let you know where we are. 

I’ll keep up with the monthly updates from here on in. So by time August rolls around, hopefully I’ll have some news about the progress we’ve made. 

Until then, enjoy your summer.

All the best,

Frank Lawrence

Vibrating Tarot

by Pallor Publishing

 

@vibratingtarot

@pallorpublishing