By Now You are probably aware of piracy issue getting more attention recently as hot topic in Tarot Deck community & being addressed by Deck Creators Artist Authors Publishers & most of Tarot deck reviewers & social media influencers as well as rising number of online posts of unsuspecting Tarot enthusiast posting pic of their decks asking: “is my deck Original?”
Even If you are not particularly concerned if your deck is Original or Not,
This Blog post short & simple summary & guidelines on topic:
How To Know Difference between Original & fake deck & Why You Should Care?
Foolproof method for knowing original from fake Deck is:
Name of the Author Artist & Publisher printed anywhere on the box?:)
(mass printed decks will also have printed isbn as well)
you can google all these to find more info & official web page most deck creators & publishers will have there look into details like card description including size & extras like little white book etc & if these don’t match you are looking at fake listing!
Know How Things Are Made & by Whom
You may imagine Piracy as single individual printing decks on some shabby printer, then cutting cards & rounding corners & assembling tuckbox all by hand to ship from some shady part of the world as they receive orders on their listings on popular online platforms or shady web shops. You would imagine wrong! it’s far more complex & organized & happening in US as well as rest of the world & here is why:
Start with price; ever noticed Why pirated decks are (usually) so much cheaper compared to Original even mass marked decks even it’s likely all are printed in similar way in similar factories process & machines?
Easy Answer: Free Manual Labor & ignorance of other possible regulations including health hazard materials & eco environment!
Also history lesson about origin of *fake things likely invented by opportunistic traders seeing profit in mass produced *single use products made to look same as *original but intended to be burned by family members for deceased relatives as a part of funeral offerings sacrifice in some parts of the world & instead burning real *things. These *fake things are not intended for actual use (only afterlife!) & made from *most affordable material usually paper! Guess what else is made of paper?:)
fun fact actual playing Cards (including Tarot) are made of professional playing card stock that is actually: 2pieces of paper glued sandwiched with carbon based glue that serve as core (aka black or carbon core) & gives snap & durability & easy shuffle!:) Also 350gsm (or more) Art paper is popular kickstarter choice for Artist that prefer thicker Art print quality over standard playing card stock options! & in order for colors to stay on cards special transparent finish aka varnish is used to seal each card front & back & prevent smudges you may notice happen if you print something at home then try & clean it with dump cloth. Another option is lamination with thin layer of plastic sheet glued on cards to preserve colors. All these *finish options can be gloss (popular with mass printer), matte or silk touch (preferred by self published deck creators) & linen (aka canvas like) texture is my favorite!:)
As
a part of Deck Creator Community seeing different deck creators &
Artist in general deal with piracy issue in different ways &
implement Super Personalized Limited Edt & All Extra Perks in
order to distinguish Original. Not everyone can commit to
effort & time (my own Tarot deck is in creation over 2yrs!x,x
facepalm lol) so I got idea for This Simple hack: fight piracy simple &
easy by including this Extra Anti Piracy Statement Card
as it will be displayed & talked by youtube reviewers & social media!^^
if every deck creator decide to join we can have this card recognized as symbol of legit decks?!:D
Also here is What printers can do?
Sign a Non-disclosure agreement, a document that legally binds printer to not share your work or reprint it in any way without your permission.
confirm copyright & ensure tech & software they use is up to date & prevent data leak/theft.
Piracy is something we can end if enough people care about it.
more info about fighting piracy & why counterfeiting products are baf!
https://www.iacc.org/resources/about/what-is-counterfeiting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_consumer_goods
Visit Selfpublished Decks Online library with images and links to legitimate sellers here: Cult of Tarot curates a Library of Decks & Subscribe to World of Deck News here!
be sure to check this next time your order a deck & take a notes for future!:)
Thank You All for Your Support!^^
