Sourcing a deck
Who Manufactures Tarot Cards, and What to Ask a Maker
Almost nobody who sells tarot cards makes them. Decks come from three kinds of maker — publishers who own a catalogue and print through someone else, large card factories that print to order at high minimums, and smaller regional printers who run short batches — and the one you want depends entirely on how many decks you need and how much of the deck you want to control. This page names no company. It gives you the seven questions that separate them, and our own answers to all seven, with today's live figures.
The three kinds of maker behind a tarot deck
Publishers. They own the artwork and the brand, hold the catalogue, and almost always send the physical printing out to a factory. You buy finished decks from them in cases. You cannot change anything about the deck, and the minimum is set by their trade terms rather than by a press.
Large card factories. They print to order and usually start at 200, 500 or 1,000 copies of one design, because that is where their press economics begin. They will print anything you send, at a low unit price, with a long calendar and a shipping and customs problem attached if they are on the other side of the world from you.
Smaller regional printers. Short runs, higher unit price, a shorter calendar and a person who answers email. The question with this kind of maker is always whether the card itself is actually specified — stock weight, core, lamination, trim tolerance — or whether "cards" just means heavy paper cut into rectangles.
We are the third kind, with the catalogue of the first: we print our own 24-design tarot catalogue and we print other people's decks, from twelve.
The seven questions
Ask these before you pay anyone, and ask for the answers in writing.
1. What is the real minimum order? Not the advertised one — the minimum for your card count and size.
2. What is the unit price at my quantity, delivered? A per-card price with the box and the shipping added later is not a price.
3. What is in that price? Cards only, or cards plus box plus booklet? This is where most quotes diverge by 40%.
4. What is the card itself? Weight, core, lamination. A black core is what stops a card showing its face through the back.
5. Is there a proof, and what kind? Digital, physical, or none at all.
6. Where is it made, and who is the importer of record? That decides duty and who signs for it.
7. Who owns the artwork afterwards? Ask explicitly. Read the answer twice.
Our own answers to the same seven
| Question | Dark Forest, 24 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Real minimum | 12 decks, then multiples of 12 up to 192 per online order |
| Unit price, delivered | $15.90 a 78-card deck at 12; $190.80 goods + $36.00 insured delivery = $226.80 into the US |
| What is in it | 78 printed cards, a printed folding box and a 48-page booklet |
| The card | 350 gsm laminated card with a hidden black core |
| Proof | A digital production proof you approve before printing. Physical samples are not offered today |
| Origin | Made in Ukraine. On an international shipment the buyer is importer of record unless duty is prepaid |
| Artwork | Yours. We do not license, resell or train on it |
| Decks in the order | Per 78-card deck | Goods total |
|---|---|---|
| 12 — the minimum | $15.90 | $190.80 |
| 24 | $14.90 | $357.60 |
| 48 | $12.90 | $619.20 |
| 96 | $11.90 | $1,142.40 |
| 192 | $10.90 | $2,092.80 |
One ladder, the same for ready stock, Made to Order and printing under your own brand. Insured delivery is quoted separately by destination and is not inside the deck price: twelve decks to a United States address is $36.00 of delivery on top of $190.80 of goods, so $226.80 delivered; to Great Britain the same twelve decks are $33.00 of delivery, $223.80 delivered. Read live from the pricing service on 24 September 2026.
Overseas factory or a smaller maker: what actually differs
| A large overseas factory | A short-run maker | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical minimum | 200–1,000 of one design | 12–50 |
| Unit price at that minimum | Lower per deck | Higher per deck |
| Cash at risk on a first run | Four figures | Two to three figures |
| Calendar | Longer, plus sea or air freight | Shorter |
| Duty and customs | Your problem, at volume | Your problem, at a smaller declared value |
| Proof step | Often physical, often chargeable | Usually digital |
Read that table as a question about risk rather than about price. A factory is cheaper per deck and more expensive to be wrong with; a short run is dearer per deck and survives being wrong. If this is your first edition and the artwork has never been printed, the unit price is not the number that should decide it. Our own comparison of the routes is in batch printing versus print on demand, and the full cost breakdown is in tarot printing cost and minimum order.
Where our decks are made, in plain terms
Made in Ukraine, printed after you order, on 350 gsm laminated card with a hidden black core, at a finished 2.76 × 4.72 in (70 × 120 mm) with a 2 mm bleed on every flat side. A complete 78-card card file is 156 pages — fronts 1 to 78, backs 79 to 156 — and the booklet is a separate 48-page file. The templates are free and need no signup; they are on the printing specification page. The longer origin statement, including what a finished kit weighs, is in where custom tarot cards are printed.
Our own calendar, for comparison with whichever maker you are weighing us against: a ready-stock design goes out as soon as the order is confirmed, and a new run is 15–20 business days of production, starting from your approval of the proof rather than from the order, followed by 5–9 business days of insured UPS transit. Both are planning estimates rather than guaranteed dates. The proof is digital; a physical printed sample is not something we offer at present.
Common questions
- Who manufactures tarot cards?
Three kinds of maker. Publishers own the artwork and the catalogue but send the physical printing out. Large card factories print to order, usually from 200 to 1,000 copies of one design. Smaller regional printers run short batches at a higher unit price and a shorter calendar. Dark Forest is the third kind and also holds its own 24-design catalogue: we print in Ukraine, from 12 decks.
- Which company is known for making tarot cards?
The names most people recognise on a tarot box are publishers rather than manufacturers - they own the deck and its artwork, and the physical cards are printed by a factory under contract. That is why asking a seller 'who prints this' and asking 'whose deck is this' get two different answers. What matters for your own order is the seven questions on this page, not the name.
- How much does it cost to make your own tarot cards?
With us, $15.90 a complete 78-card deck at the 12-deck minimum - $190.80 of goods plus $36.00 insured delivery, $226.80 delivered to a US address - with the printed box and 48-page booklet inside the deck price. A large factory will quote a lower unit price at a minimum of several hundred decks. The comparison to make is cash at risk on a first run, not price per deck.
- What is the minimum order for a custom tarot deck?
12 decks here, then multiples of 12 up to 192 per online order. Large card factories typically start at 200 to 1,000 copies of a single design.
- Do I get a sample before the full run?
A digital production proof, reviewed and approved by you before production starts. Physical printed samples are not offered today. Production begins only after that approval, and cannot be changed once it has started.