Self-Publish a Tarot Deck: Your Printing Checklist

1. Define the deck you want to publish

Write a short specification that describes what someone will receive: the cards, the back design, any box and any printed booklet. Decide which parts you will supply ready and where you need preparation help. Keep the same specification beside your artwork and your order so a late change to one does not get missed in the others.

Start with these decisions:

• Cards: the finished size, card count, front sequence and back design.
• Packaging: whether you want a box and which available option fits your deck.
• Booklet: whether you want a physical booklet, with its text and artwork prepared as a separate component.
• Quantity: how many complete decks you are ordering, with a separate allowance in your own plan for copies you will keep, review or give away.
• Artwork preparation: what is already print-ready and which optional preparation services you want included.

For new printing, Dark Forest currently supports 12–192 decks per design in multiples of 12. An online order can contain no more than 200 newly printed decks in total; larger production orders need an enquiry. Packaging and a physical booklet are optional selections, so check the actual contents of your configuration rather than assuming that every deck includes them.

If you are producing original illustrations, use the printing route for your own artwork. If you want branding on an eligible existing Dark Forest design, choose Our design, your brand. Those are different starting points for the artwork.

2. Gather the artwork and keep a clear master copy

Make a folder for the approved card fronts, shared back, packaging, booklet and editable source files. Use filenames that identify the component and revision. A simple record of the version sent and the version approved makes later corrections easier to follow.

The B2B artwork terms require you to have the rights and permissions needed to submit the material for printing. You retain ownership of the artwork you supply; permission to fulfil the order does not itself give Dark Forest permission to display it publicly.

Check the whole project, including supplied illustrations, logos and booklet text. If different people contribute files, appoint one person to collect corrections and give the final approval. That is a practical way to avoid approving one component while another person is still editing it.

3. Prepare files from the matching templates

Use the current tarot card, box and booklet templates for the configuration you are ordering. Preserve the supplied page size and construction. Bleed belongs outside the cut line; the safe area keeps important content inside it. Do not substitute a generic bleed measurement from another printer's guide.

For the supplied 78-card deck template, pages 1–78 are unique fronts and page 79 is the shared back printed on every card. Do not alternate fronts and backs. If your chosen card count or back arrangement differs, confirm the file setup for that order before preparing the complete export.

The downloadable booklet has 48 pages including covers. Choosing to use that file does not add a booklet to your order: select the physical booklet in your configuration if you want one printed.

Before sending the artwork:

• Keep an untouched technical copy and a separate editable master.
• Extend backgrounds over the template's required bleed and keep important text and imagery inside the safe area.
• Remove labels, placeholders and visible guide lines from the artwork export.
• Use raster images at 300 dpi at their final placed size. Check every word, and outline final text where your editor supports it.
• Export the card or booklet pages as PDF Print without adding a second bleed or crop marks, then reopen the exported file to check its page count and exact dimensions.
• Keep box geometry unchanged and confirm the fit for the complete combination of cards, finish and any booklet.

The file guide holds the exact dimensions and editor instructions. Keep it open while you work instead of relying on a screenshot of an old template.

4. Review the order and pay in full

Confirm the selected components, quantity and preparation services before payment. Check the delivery information and which taxes or other charges are included in the confirmed order. An estimate without confirmed delivery and tax information is not a final delivered price.

For a dated example of how the selected components and delivery form an estimate, see the tarot deck printing cost and MOQ guide.

Dark Forest orders are paid in full through Shopify. You do not need to finish uploading files or approve the proof before payment. If the artwork is ready, you can share it earlier; otherwise, provide it through your saved project or arrange the handoff in correspondence after ordering.

We contact you by email after the order to confirm the artwork and any preparation help. If you later request a change to the agreed configuration or scope, its effect on price or timing is explained and agreed before work continues. The current order terms explain this sequence.

5. Check the digital proof as a complete product

A proof is the version you are being asked to approve for production. Review it against your order specification and your master files, not just the most recently edited card. Dark Forest manufactures the approved version, so this is the point to check the relationships between all the parts.

Work through the proof in order:

1. Card count and sequence: every intended front is present, with no accidental duplicates or missing cards.
2. Text: titles, numbering, spelling and small print are correct.
3. Backs and orientation: the approved back belongs to the intended cards and the orientation is correct.
4. Packaging: the title, panel text and artwork match the deck inside.
5. Booklet, if selected: the covers and all pages are present in the correct order.
6. Configuration: the artwork and components agree with the order you are approving.

Send a single clear correction list that identifies the affected page or component. Check the revised proof before approving it. Changes after approval require another review and may affect cost or timing.

Is a digital proof the same as a physical sample?

No. A digital production proof is for reviewing the artwork; a physical sample is a separately produced item you can hold. The current Dark Forest terms distinguish them, and sample purchasing is not enabled at present. Do not make a sample shipment a required step in your launch plan unless its availability and terms have been confirmed for your project. See the physical sample terms for the current position.

6. Plan approval, production and delivery separately

Your artwork preparation and proof corrections take place before production approval. Their duration depends on how ready the files are and how quickly revisions are resolved. A production estimate should not be used as a promise for the entire period from your first draft to a deck arriving at your door.

The current Dark Forest shipping and timing terms give a planning estimate of 3–4 weeks (15–20 business days) for production and delivery after artwork approval for custom printing and Made to Order. This is a combined estimate, not a separate allowance for each stage and not a guaranteed arrival date. Carrier service and destination can affect it; use the production and shipping ranges confirmed for your order.

If you plan to print a tarot deck for a Kickstarter campaign or another launch, build your own schedule backwards from the point when you need to send finished decks to customers. Include time for completing the artwork, reviewing revisions, approving production, receiving the order, checking the goods and packing your customer shipments. Do not turn the printer's arrival estimate into a fixed delivery promise to your backers.

7. Receive and check the finished decks

Compare the delivered components with the approved order before allocating them to customers. Keep the order reference, approved files and delivery information together so any issue can be described precisely. Save the specification for a future reorder, then recheck available options and the current quote when that time comes.

If the parcel arrives damaged, photograph the outer packaging, shipping label and affected goods promptly and keep the packaging while the issue is reviewed. The damage and manufacturing defect terms explain how to report it. Approval of artwork does not remove the remedies stated there for a confirmed manufacturing defect.

Ready to turn the specification into an order? Configure your tarot print run, then keep the order reference and this checklist beside your working files through final approval.