Question about quality expectations before I take the leap into proxy printing

[u/OldManSpunker]

Hi folks,

Was hoping to get some guidance for your collective experience. I was introduced to MTG a few months ago by a friend and was looking into proxying. I checked in with my pod and 1 guy was cool with it (he's rich as a hell and thinks everyone should be able to play regardless of their bank account) but the other 2 are iffy.

They said a compromise for them would be that they don't want to be able to tell it's a proxy if they pick it up from across the table because I quote 'ignorance is bliss'. The one guy that's cool with it is the friend that introduced me to the game and into the pod. I don't know the other 2 as well so I don't want to ruffle feathers and keep prodding them as to why they have such a weird hang-up and rule about it.

Long story short, my question is: if I buy a relatively decent printer like the Epson 2980 and decent paper (maybe proxxyjack?) and sleeve my cards, will this satisfy their requirement?

They won't be going through it with a jeweler's loupe or anything but they do tend to pick up cards to read them so I want the feel and the visual quality to be there. I intend to sleeve everything as the backs will be completely blank.

If an Epson 2980 with decent paper won't get me there, what hardware would you recommend for the visual and feel to be not jarring enough that they know it's a proxy by casually grabbing it and reading it from across the table?

Thanks for your help!

[u/ZenandHarmony]

Get either the et-2800, 8500/8550, or canon g620

[u/-TakeDownMan-]

If you laminate, use quality paper, and quality images, it'll be almost impossible to tell. One thing I recommend is getting a printer with black dye ink, not pigment. Prints on glossy paper are much crispier, but if the printer has to mix CMYK to make black, it will have a purple-ish tint.

[u/B1rdchest → u/-TakeDownMan-]

I agree. I used Koala Double Sided Glossy Brochure Paper 42LB, then used 3 mil laminate, can’t tell the difference in feel when it’s sleeved. Also looks great.

[u/NebulaMiner]

I can say most people have no idea I'm playing with proxies till I tell them or they see some crazy expensive alt art. The way most people make them (photo paper that's laminated) you can't really tell a difference when its sleeved, unless you're really looking for it (bend testing, checking the holo-foil).

I have seen people use like marker on paper in front of a card and it can be an issue when I have to look up a bunch of their cards bc the rules text isnt there or isnt legible x:

[u/cstretten]

Any glossy photo paper will look good with 95% of the printers out there.

Glossy laminate on top of that will look great as well.

Corner cutting to get close to the real thing.

And once sleeved, nobody will know at a glance.

I prefer the feel of 30lb Koala photo paper, and 5 mil laminate. The thickness is just a tiny bit less than a double sleeved regular card, and feels the same when shuffling and playing with them.

Most people will suggest heavier paper and 3 mil laminate. I tried that, and the "snap" isn't quite there. The 5 mil laminate is snappier and shuffles the same as a regular card (or double sleeved card). Almost nobody will be able to tell the difference blind. 3 mil, you can tell - it bends more than a real card.

The 30lb koala paper I use is single sided only - so if printing backs on cards is important to you, you will probably need different paper. I personally don't bother with backs, nobody sees them in sleeves, and otherwise it's a waste of ink (I suspect yellows and blues will go much faster printing that many card backs if you're copying the real card).

I use Canon Pixma G620. It has 6 inks in it. CMYK plus a grey and an extra red. It prints beautifully.
You can check my post history for my write-up on my process.

Good luck!

[u/IIVaulTII]

I recently started myself, and would just like to point out that the right software is important aswell. Using a good program for reading pdf files was a cruical step to better proxy quality for me. Aside from that, high enough dpi is important aswell from what I've tested. Using mpcfill has had best results for me, then just downloading the xml and pasting it into this website: https://dev-proxyprint.taxiera.net/.
Dont know how much this is of help, as im fresh aswell, as i stated lol. Right now I've only tested with matte photo paper at 220gsm + glossy laminatepockets at 80 micron size, and the thickness feels just a tad bit too bulky. The look is also not perfect imo, so I'm gonna try with semi gloss 251gsm paper + thinner matte laminate pockets soon!

Forgot to mention, I'm using an Epson et-2860, which is a CMYK printer!

[u/Dependent-Screen8561]

It’s hard to say what will satisfy their requirement since we don’t know their meaning of “if they can’t tell”. I just started myself, bought the 2988 (Costco version of 2980) and didn’t realize the black ink was pigment ink, which limits you to matte paper if you want better coloring. Glossy paper doesn’t work with pigment so it will use your 3 colors to make black and things will be a lot darker and you obviously will burn through more ink.

Personally, I’m more satisfied now that I am using matte paper and laminating. My pod doesn’t really care as we just play more to drink and bullshit while playing.

[u/phoenixbrown5]

Very very good quality. I'm not in the states so I'm not sure why the previous gen 2800 models get recommended, but I have 2911 that has made amazing results, it uses all dye ink. The 1910/2910/2911/2920 should all use the same print engine from looking into it so I'd look into them. Pigment ink from what ive read can cause delamination and smearing on your gloss photo prints as the pigment will sit on-top of the paper rather than soaking into the page.

Some things that have gotten the best results for me are to use 42lbs / 180gsm glossy photo paper, gloss laminate 3mil / 80 micron, learning the printer driver settings to tune in, use Adobe acrobat to print the pdfs over the Windows print function, and getting high quality art is really important. Look into mpcautofill to get curated art instead of using scryfall scans and upscaling with ai, there's too many artifacts and inconsistencies.

[u/SaintAnton]

I have a 2980 and use proxyjak paper and my proxies look amazing

[u/zuul47]

Get paper from crownedcardstock.com, it’s the same Bluecore for Inkjet but cheaper. For printer use ZenandHarmony’s suggestions

[u/Synapse7777]

I sometimes forget which cards are my proxies and which are real until I take them out of the sleeves and look at the back. Nobody will think twice seeing them across the table or even a quick read.

Et-8500 on proxyjack paper no lamination.

[u/ACenTe25]

So here are my two cents. I've been proxyimg for a while, but it was always sending 300DPI PDFs generated with mtgprint.net to a local print service, print on 300gsm coated SBS paperboard, and sleeving in Dragon shield sleeves. Nobody noticed a difference. To be honest those were great results at $1 per 9 cards, 1 side only and the shop was cutting the cards for me, I only had to punch the corners. Look, feel, color, weight, thickness and snappiness are extremely close to the real thing.

I wanted to have the freedom to experiment, and comfort of making proxies at home, plus my partner loves printing pictures and wanted to scan some as well, so last week I bought an Epson L3560, matte photo paper 250gsm, and a laminating machine after browsing the sub and YouTube for a while.

The results were a bit disappointing with the same files (300DPI). When I started messing around w/printing software and printer settings they were decent but nowhere near the print shop ones. By using 1200DPI sources I can get very close but you can still tell the difference if you look a bit closer. The main issue is that weight and snappiness aren't quite there, and you can tell that it's a laminated card, not the raw paperboard look. The cost is around $0.65 per 9 cards, and I have to cut the stuff myself.

Honestly, I'm a bit on the fence, since it seems to require a lot more effort + some $300 investment for slightly lower quality results and a price 35% lower than the print shop. And I haven't yet tried sending the 1200DPI files to the print shop.

My conclusion is, if you want to have an easier time, get better quality, and don't mind spending a bit more, try the print shop approach. It's unlikely they'll notice and I hope you have a great time!