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==Preparing the sheets== Once [[R&D]] has finished a card list for a certain set, [[Editing]] sends the cards off to get laid out by the CAPS team of [[Wizards of the Coast]] (Creative and Professional Services). They are the ones that physically lay out the cards.<ref name="Life of a Card">{{DriveRef|drivetowork190_cardbeingmade.mp3|190|A Card Being Made|2015/04/1915-episode-190-life-of-card.html}}</ref> They also have to take account of new [[card frame]]s, [[watermark]]s and the like. And then Editing checks the card to make sure all the components are put together correctly and then gives the final go ahead. The correct digital files are sent off to the printers. During printing, four printing plates are used for each sheet: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. ===After printing=== [[Foil card]]s have an extra foil layer on the card that highlights certain parts of the artwork over others. A print coating - a very thin, clear protective finish - is applied over the top of all printed materials.<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/playing-card-coatings-2018-04-26|Playing Card Coatings|[[Tom Wänerstrand]]|April 26, 2018}}</ref> The corners of the cards are cut with a radius of 1/8 inch (3 mm). ===Collation=== CAPS and R&D work together on the ''collation'' of the cards (the number and order of the cards on the sheets<ref name="Even More R&D">{{DailyRef|making-magic/even-more-words-rd-2022-01-10|Even More Words From R&D|[[Mark Rosewater]]|January 10, 2022}}</ref> ). All the cards are evaluated for how good they are, and the good and the bad ones are distributed evenly over the sheets. After the sheets are cut up the cards from each sheet are (almost) randomly sorted, assembled with the cards from the other sheets and then packaged. Once the boosters are made wizards does do some sort of pseudo random collating to get in the way of people who would "map" boxes based on the order of the print run.<ref>[http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/4945/are-cards-of-the-same-rarity-level-really-equally-rare-in-mtg Boardgames.stackexchange.com (October 2, 2011) Are cards of the same “rarity level” really equally rare in MTG?]</ref> Although the cards are equally distributed by rarity, there have been times when issues involving sorting and packaging have made certain cards more likely to appear together, or in the same booster box, or even be more likely depending on the area of the country you are in. Other than Zendikar, the particular print run for a given set never really mattered. WotC's Japanese printer produces boosters that have a reversed order of the cards (starting with the token).<ref>{{WebRef|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/dd0sfp/eld_backwards_boosters/|title=ELD Backward Boosters|date=October 4, 2019|publisher=Reddit}}</ref> These cards also have a different coating and are notably darker. ===Multiple printings=== While many sets are have a limited amount of sheets printed, some sets, like Core Sets, are available for a certain period of time. Extra sheets are printed if there is sufficient demand. Other than ''[[Zendikar]]'', which contained [[Priceless Treasures]], the particular print run for a given set has never really mattered. Sometimes the first run would have minor errors or packaging problems, but they wouldn't be major enough to make having "first run" cards a significant thing. Barring statements about supplemental print runs, WotC hasn't ever really talked about first or subsequent print runs for sets. They want any card from any print run to be equivalent. ''[[Mirage]]'' is notable because it had two significant different printings: one dark print with a rough finish, and one light print with a smooth finish. The dark Mirage was printed in US, the light one in Belgium at Carta Mundi.<ref>[http://forum.magiclibrarities.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5752 Magic Librarities (Mar 05, 2008) Question about different Mirage printings]</ref>
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