Every so often a print job comes in that means a bit more than most. That was the case when EPIC (Empowering People in Care) got in touch about a card game called Hear Me Out!, part of their wider Know Your Rights in Care resource. EPIC and the young people they work with did the hard part: they designed the game, chose the rights it teaches, and shaped every word and symbol on it. Our part was to finalise that design so it fit our printer’s card templates and specifications, then print and deliver a deck a young person could actually hold, shuffle, and play with.
A card game designed by young people, for young people
Hear Me Out! wasn’t designed by a marketing team or a games studio. It was created with children and young people in care, working from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a set of 54 articles that set out what every child needs to grow up safe, happy, and healthy. From those 54 articles, the young people involved picked 18 rights they felt mattered most in everyday life in care, things like the right to be heard, the right to privacy, the right to education, and the right to relax and play. Each right got its own card and its own simple symbol, so the game is quick to pick up and easy to remember, whatever age you are.
The wider project also included a companion poster, Know Your Rights in Care, laying out the same rights in a clear, colourful format for care settings and services to display, and an art exhibition where young people from EPIC’s Care Community worked with artist Dani Gill on pieces exploring identity, privacy, and belonging using clay, paint, yarn, LEGO, and wood. The whole resource launched this July at The Gaff in Limerick. EPIC Board Chairperson Conor Brophy put it well at the launch: children in care have the same rights as every other child, but are often navigating decisions and systems that can be hard to understand. That’s exactly what this project set out to fix.
Where Simply Design came in
EPIC came to us with the game’s design already worked out: the artwork, the wording, and the symbols, all done by their team and the young people involved. What we handled was the printing side, starting with finalising that design to fit our printer’s exact card templates and requirements, then sourcing the right production partner, checking the files were print-ready, getting proofs approved, and managing the job through to delivery, so EPIC’s team could focus on the launch rather than the logistics of getting a finished deck made.
How we printed a custom card game for a charity
Printing a card game is a different job to printing a poster or a brochure, and it’s worth walking through what actually happens between finished artwork and a finished deck. EPIC’s design arrived as artwork and content, but not yet built to our printer’s exact card templates, so the first step was finalising it to fit those requirements: correct bleed, trim lines, colour profiles, and card dimensions, so nothing shifted or got cut off once it hit a real press. That kind of prepress work matters more on a card game than most print jobs, since a small error gets multiplied across every single card in the deck. From there we specced the job: card stock weight and finish (usually a matte or soft-touch laminate for a game that will be shuffled a lot).
For card and board game print runs, we work with a trusted print partner in EU that we use regularly for this exact type of job. We get physical white sample proofs made and signed off before committing to the full print run. Once the samples are approved, the full run goes to print, gets quality checked, and is shipped to wherever it’s needed, in this case straight to EPIC ahead of the launch in Limerick.
What makes children’s card game printing different
A card game aimed at children and young people has its own practical demands that a standard print job doesn’t. The cards need a stock and finish that can take repeated shuffling and handling without the edges wearing or the print rubbing off. Corners get rounded so the deck is comfortable and safe to hold, especially for younger hands. Inks and coatings need to be safe for the intended age group. And because charities and schools often need smaller print runs than a commercial games publisher, we work with partners who can produce a few hundred decks cost-effectively rather than insisting on a huge minimum order.
The creative concept, the content, and the rights chosen for the deck were entirely EPIC’s and the young people’s, and we’re glad of that. The strength of Hear Me Out! is that it comes straight from the people who understand what it’s like to be in care, not from an agency guessing at it. Our part was making sure that concept translated cleanly onto a printed card, fitted the printer’s requirements exactly, and held up in the hand once it reached the young people it was made for.
Why this one mattered
We print a good few card and board games for clients, from prompt decks to educational games for schools, but this project stood out. Knowing that these cards might end up in the hands of a young person in care, helping them understand a right they didn’t know they had, is the kind of print job that’s easy to feel good about. It’s also a good reminder that print brokerage isn’t just about box counts and unit prices, it’s about making sure a piece of work with real purpose actually reaches the people it was made for, in a form that lasts.
Frequently asked questions about custom card game printing
How long does it take to print a custom card game in Ireland?
Timelines depend on run size and whether a sample proof round is needed first, but a typical custom card game project, from approved artwork to delivered decks, usually takes a few weeks once printing partners are confirmed. Building in time for a physical sample check is always worth it.
Can you print small batches of card games?
Yes. Charities, schools, and independent designers often need runs of a few hundred rather than several thousand, and we work with print partners who can produce smaller batches without the cost per unit becoming unworkable. Our MOQ (minimum order quantity) is 100 units.
Do you only handle printing, or design as well?
Both. Simply Design offers full card game design and board game design alongside print brokerage, so we can take a project from concept through to a finished, packaged product. For this project EPIC had already developed the creative design and content themselves, so our part was finalising that artwork to fit print specifications, then printing and delivering the finished cards.
What card stock is best for a game that will get a lot of use?
For decks that will be shuffled and handled often, we generally recommend a heavier card stock with a matte or soft-touch laminate finish, which resists wear better than an uncoated or gloss finish and feels good in the hand.
Working with us
You can see the full Know Your Rights in Care resource, including the Hear Me Out! card game and poster, on EPIC’s website at epiconline.ie/know-your-rights, and read more about the launch at The Gaff in Limerick in EPIC’s news post here. You can browse more of our print and design projects on our work page.
If you’re a charity, school, or organisation with a card or board game you need brought from artwork to a finished, well-made product, or a game idea you’d like designed from scratch, get in touch. We handle card and board game design and print brokerage end to end, from concept and file setup through sourcing, proofing, and delivery, so you can focus on the design and the message rather than the logistics of getting it made. Have a look at our full range of print design services for everything else we can help with.