How to Handle the Missing 2016-17 Perth Heat?

I commented previously about how I wouldn't get the opportunity to get shots of the Perth Heat during the 2016-17 ABL season - that I was travelling interstate through the season and my travels wouldn't line up to be near when they were playing. Being a bit of a completist this of course has bugged me no end.

Originally I thought I'd just have to "suck it up" and only have cards for the other 5 teams for 2016-17, however I realised that there was a possible solution. I have a number of my unused shots from the 2015-16 ABL season of Perth Heat players that I could use for their 2016-17 cards. Unfortunately, the uniform is a little bit different between the two seasons - the Heat logo on the chest was smaller in the 2016-17 season uniform compared to the 2015-16 uniform and there were some other minor variations, however they were otherwise fairly close. If I didn't care about the uniform at all, there were additional unused shots I could have used from earlier years as well.

Here's a shot of the 2016-17 uniform from off the web.

However, despite the uniform issues, I've decided to use some of my unused 2015-16 season photos to produce my Perth Heat 2016-17 season designs. Obviously, I'm limited to those players who appeared in both seasons, but I should at least be able to get some Perth Heat 2016-17 card designs for the returning local players.

2013-14 ABL Set - First Batch to the Printers

Well, I've forced myself to finally get off my butt and work on the card backs for my 2013-14 ABL card designs over the last 5-6 weeks. I've completed 108 designs so far, which is enough cards to make it economical to send to the printers. That's over half of my designs for last season finished, covering all of my designs for the Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne players, plus a couple of Perth Players thrown in for good measure.

Looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Back from the Printers - 2012-13 ABL In Hand

Well, I received the my first batch of 2012-13 ABL cards from the printers on Friday, containing just over 50 cards. Here's quick review of how they came up:

I've already got my fisrt part of my 2012-13 ABL cards into a binder.

• Matte finish. Historically I've had my cards created with a hi-gloss finish. The matte finish on the cards is noticeable, making them appear a bit duller to what I'm used to in previous season's cards.
• Card stock. Again a lighter card stock than what I've used in the past, but they're acceptable. As I suspected, the cards have very much a "Playing Card" feel about them, especially with the rounded corners. I'm actually quite a fan of rounded corners - the number of cards I've gotten in the past with corner damage from shipping, even from new printed cards, is annoying and has sold me on rounded corners.
• Size. Despite the "playing card" design, they do have the normal 3½" x 2½" size sans corners. Happy with that as some printers offer the ability to print trading cards, but they're often non-standard sizes. 
• Centering. Is pretty good - not every card is 50/50 - maybe a couple of 55/45, bur most seem to be good. The US printer had always been good until my last batch where there were a bunch of 70/30 centred cards. Despite taking my design over the bleed markings there were occasionally a few slivers of white in the bottom left hand corner
• Colour. The colouring appears consistent, but some of the backgrounds seemed a bit oversaturated for teams like the Cavalry, and the matte finish made the Bite's cards seem a bit lacklustre in comparison.
• Clarity. The photos appear reasonably crisp with only a slight reduction in clarity from the on-screen designs Whilst the American printed cards were always very crisp image wise, it always felt like there was a bit of "Colour bleed" in the images.

Close up of the printed copy of my 2012-13 Adam Buschini card

Close up of the printed copy of my 2012-13 Stefan Welch card

So, how would I rate these Chinese printed cards compared to the American printed cards in the past? There are some greater strengths (rounded corners, not as dark), and some negatives (matte finish, slight inconsistency in where bleed edging finishes), but overall, definitely an acceptable standard, especially at roughly a quarter the price of the American cards. Now I've got to get the card backs for the next 50 cards finished so I can send them off to get printed.

First Batch of 2012-13 ABL Cards Sent to the Printers

I've decided to try and use a different printer to get last seasons card designs printed up for myself. The first two years I used a printer in the USA. The cards were printed on a high quality, glossy, almost plastic like stock. They were professional looking. My only complaints were that the images printed up a lot darker than they appear on screen, and secondly - it was expensive.

I recently discovered a Chinese printer online that does custom cards that are a lot cheaper. I suspect it'll be a lighter card stock, and the cards have rounded edges (which I don't mind.) And whilst the American cards are more expensive, I can only order 54 cards at a time from the Chinese printer (presumably because they're using playing card templates/stock for the cards.).

The printer seems to have a hit and miss reputation - still, it was a lot cheaper (about 75% cheaper than the American printers) so if these cards print up OK, I'll get the rest of last year's set printed up via them as well. If they don't print up well, it's been a relatively inexpensive mistake.

The first batch of my custom made 2012-13 ABL cards ready for printing.