What ever happened to Die-cut cards?

lordsepic · Feb 24, 2010

Why did companies stop making the Die-cut cards with cool designs...only thing I remember seeing like it since a while back were the recent superfractors from finest in 2007 or so which had the, "Just ripped out of a 3 ring binder siding. Some of my favorite cards had the crazy sharp cut designs.

isotopes4 · Feb 24, 2010

lordsepic said:
Why did companies stop making the Die-cut cards with cool designs...only thing I remember seeing like it since a while back were the recent superfractors from finest in 2007 or so which had the, "Just ripped out of a 3 ring binder siding

cost

thefatguy · Feb 24, 2010

There's diecut in 2010 UD. I pulled one. Hot dice I think or something is the name of the insert set.

I think EEE is still diecut

lordsepic · Feb 24, 2010

springfieldisotopes4 said:
lordsepic said:

Why did companies stop making the Die-cut cards with cool designs...only thing I remember seeing like it since a while back were the recent superfractors from finest in 2007 or so which had the, "Just ripped out of a 3 ring binder siding

Click to expand...

cost

]

really??? with what they charge per box? Take out the 3 centimeter jersey patch that may have been farted on at one point and make some sweet designs again... that is my take

isotopes4 · Feb 24, 2010

i liked them to, part of the reason 90s inserts are still popular. the blades arent cheap, especially the intricate ones. the life expectancy of the blades is limited more than people realize as well. im sure cost isnt the only factor, but theyre not missing paying for the blades

EDIT: cutting with a dull blade can damage the card.(look at the bottom diecuts on EEE) they need to be sharp & the diecut blades cant be sharpened. cards themselves are cut with a guillitiene(sp) style cutter with very sharp & heavy duty blades. i used to work at a printshop, i ran a cutting machine as well as a folding machine

Tomlinson21RB · Feb 24, 2010

2010 UD

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smapdi · Feb 24, 2010

UD still does it. 2009 SP Authentic had the Platinum Power insert set like 1993 and 1995, and UD X has the X-shaped parallels. I think it was just one of those trends that eventually went away. Topps and UD were never that big in it, compared to Fleer and Pacific, or Donruss to an extent (thinking of 1997 Leaf Fractal Matrix stuff). They just have different design philosophies, or house styles as it may be. I don't think cost is that much of a factor. Whatever the cost is goes into the cost of the product, and boxes are more expensive than ever. Something like Triple Threads is heavily die-cut, except the cut card has a piece of jersey and a whole card glued onto it.

G $MONEY$ · Feb 24, 2010

Upper Deck still makes a bunch of different di cuts in Hockey as well.

Jaypers · Feb 24, 2010

Maybe I'm alone, but my favorite die-cuts of all time were the 1996 Donruss Power Alley's.

Those cards looked schweet.

Adamsince1981 · Feb 24, 2010

I just got a Tulo from '10 UD that was die-cut.

BowmanChromeAddict · Feb 24, 2010

springfieldisotopes4 said:
i liked them to, part of the reason 90s inserts are still popular. the blades arent cheap, especially the intricate ones. the life expectancy of the blades is limited more than people realize as well. im sure cost isnt the only factor, but theyre not missing paying for the blades

EDIT: cutting with a dull blade can damage the card.(look at the bottom diecuts on EEE) they need to be sharp & the diecut blades cant be sharpened. cards themselves are cut with a guillitiene(sp) style cutter with very sharp & heavy duty blades. i used to work at a printshop, i ran a cutting machine as well as a folding machine

Donruss has been using the same die-cut design in Elite for several years...and it looks like they haven't sharpened or replaced the blades in a long...LONG time.

ChasHawk · Feb 24, 2010

Some of the ones from the last few years are meh, at best.

Pretty sure the OP was talking about the more intricate 90's stuff.

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isotopes4 · Feb 24, 2010

while im sure it wasnt the only factor, cost was higher than people realize. depending on the cardstock, most in the 90s was thin, & the design of the blade, some were fairly fragile. it could take 50 or more blades to cut the print run. each blade was custom designed then, some were even card specific. youre looking at paying skilled craftsmen both to operate the machinery & produce the blades.

ChasHawk · Feb 24, 2010

springfieldisotopes4 said:
while im sure it wasnt the only factor, cost was higher than people realize. depending on the cardstock, most in the 90s was thin, & the design of the blade, some were fairly fragile. it could take 50 or more blades to cut the print run. each blade was custom designed then, some were even card specific. youre looking at paying skilled craftsmen both to operate the machinery & produce the blades.

Pretty spot on here. My grandfather worked in the tool & die industry and some of the more intricate cutting dies could run into the $1,000s.

Case in point is this set right here. Different blade for EACH player.

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mrwhitesox30 · Feb 24, 2010

Instead of paying artists a couple bucks to do a quick sketch, give each player 25 blanks and tell them to do their own design and sign it like artwork. Give them some scissors and bam, die-cut! The outcome would look bad, but I'm sure they'd sell.

1995BBRefractorGuy · Feb 24, 2010

die-cuts were awesome

magicpapa · Feb 24, 2010

Jaypers said:
Maybe I'm alone, but my favorite die-cuts of all time were the 1996 Donruss Power Alley's.

Those cards looked schweet.

Fandruw25 · Feb 24, 2010

While cost may have been part of it, I think they died out because collectors stopped caring so much for good design and cool cuts and started going after the game used cards. 2001 GU cards really started taking off and die cuts pretty much ended in the 00/01 range. I think the focus just shifted.

jay1065 · Feb 24, 2010

'07 SPx has a 90's feel:

011873 · Feb 25, 2010

Youll notice that DC cards dwindled down with the rise of GU and autos.

Collectors fell in love with GU and lost interest in nearly all inserts (except Ref's) which didnt feature GU or autos.

Companies knew this and started putting their money into more and more GU which then turned into more and more autos. Then, the cost for autos skyrocketed and the hayday of DC cards were over.

Keep in mind that only a decade ago, most products did NOT include an auto or GU a box. NOT EVEN ONE.

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