Should I print with NPCC for my Kickstarter campaign?
NPCC is often considered as an entry-level option for printing a custom deck. I worked with them on our first project, Colores de Colombia, and I would like to share my experience with them in this article.
Why printing with NPCC for Kickstarter?
NPCC is undeniably a solid player in the playing cards world, that in my opinion deserves more respect than it gets. Their card quality is definitely not on par with USPCC and Cartamundi. However, their price is substantially cheaper, and they have lower MOQ (500 vs 1.000). For these reasons, I consider that NPCC should be compared with smaller players, such as MPC and potentially LPCC, to have a fair comparison.
Playing Cards Quality: 6/10
NPCC is not famous for great cardistry cards. They are definitely behind all big players as far as card quality is concerned, and I would go as far as saying that even MPC has managed to overtake them. If you are looking to make a cardistry deck, look elsewhere. If you are targeting collectors, you can definitely think of NPCC for your Kickstarter campaign.
Tuck Case Options & Quality: 8/10
As said here LINK, NPCC is great because it offers solid foiling and embossing options, for rather small fees that make them a viable option. As far as I know, all of these are extremely expensive for bigger players. Therefore, it is easy to add stretch goals to improve the deck keeping costs under control and without the complexity of another party.
MOQ: 8/10
NPCC offers very low MOQ at 500, which is lower than most other players. Cartamundi does go all the way to 200, but their per-unit-cost on such small quantities is pretty high. The low MOQ means that the minimum funding goal can be around the half of a campaign with USPCC ($3.500 vs $7.000). This IS a big deal if it is the first campaign.
Convenience: 10/10
They print cards, solid tuck cases and take care of fulfilling. It does not get any better.
Communication: 6/10
Having worked with them, I have to say that their communication has been imperfect at times. Specifically, there was a delay at some point along the production process, and they were not quite responsive in giving me an actual delivery date. It was my first project and backers were breathing down my neck, so you can imagine my frustration.
There also was a minor incident, in which they did not save some uncut sheet that I had sold, which costed me $150 (not reimbursed by them). Their handling of that specific incident decreased sensitively this grade, which would have otherwise been very positive.
Printing with NPCC for Kickstarter – Final Grade: 7/10
To print with NPCC for Kickstarter is a solid option when starting up. Their low MOQ and all-in-one offer allow savings, low funding goal and convenience. They also offer affordable tuck cases that are hard to find.
The negatives of NPCC are the cards quality, which is definitely below their competitors, and some sloppiness at communication with customers.
I personally don’t consider the opportunity to go back to working with them right now, but it is not something that I am entirely overlooking. They have done a solid work for me, and I did not hear negative feedback on the cards.
