By Cara Bommarito, sustainability manager, RadTech
The global sports trading card market has experienced major growth in the last five years, and it is going to heat up even more. In 2024, the estimated trading card market was 14.9 billion, and it is projected to scale to 52.1 billion by 2034, with collectable trading card games growing to 10.9 billion in 2030. It is safe to say there is demand for the creation and development of trading cards, and UV/EB printing is the preferred option for printing because of the limitless designs UV/EB can create.
The manufacturing process of these cards is complex. Many important details go into the creation of collectible trading card games. To help guide potential card creators, Corey Lewis founded his company, Card Juice. Lewis is a lifetime card collector, enthusiast and creator. With over 15 years of experience in printing, packaging, trading cards and design, he is the ideal person to help bring trading card ideas to life. I was excited to get more insight into Card Juice.
What is Card Juice?
Card Juice is a design and production company that helps with all stages of trading card development, from concept ideas to gameplay, production, distribution and everything in between. It is a one-stop shop for someone to come with an idea and have it brought to life.
Lewis also is hands-on when it comes to artist development. He favors real artistic works over AI-generated pieces. Most importantly, it is his passion. He truly loves working on these projects and seeing the ideas manifest.
What inspired Lewis to start Card Juice?
Card Juice was inspired by a market gap. The printing and card market caters to large-scale production, according to Lewis. It is a challenge for an aspiring card creator to know where to begin. With his past experience working at Hallmark and Pokémon, Lewis is the perfect person to help guide creators through the process. He has contacts and knowledge of the entire supply chain. He chooses to work with the smaller creator, explaining that there is a lot of potential with the smaller creators because you never know who is going to come up with the next big trading card line.
What is Card Juice’s position on sustainability?
Sustainability is a core value for Card Juice. It is intrinsic to every branch of the card production process. It starts with creation and concept. As mentioned earlier, Card Juice never uses AI to create art for the cards. AI is well documented as using a significant amount of water and energy resources. AI drains natural resources, but it also removes the human element from the card creation process.
Not only is the protection of natural resources important for the creation of art, it also is prioritized when selecting Card Juice materials. Lewis always utilizes FSC-certified paper and fiber materials from properly managed forests. Card Juice encourages the client to make those choices as well. As far as manufacturing and End of Life (EOL), Card Juice also will advocate for solutions that lead to greater recyclability, such as selecting cold foil processes. Finally, Lewis is mindful about working with suppliers that practice robust reporting methods, including Scope 3 emission reporting. These are just a few of the sustainable practices Card Juice participates in. To learn more, visit the company’s website.
What are the advantages of printing with UV/EB for Card Juice clients?
One of the most significant advantages of using UV/EB curing is the energy and carbon savings. It is a great sustainable advantage. The additional benefits are speed and adaptability. It is vital that the Card Juices customers can create without limitations. UV/EB curing is extremely versatile and grants endless design options.
From Corey’s perspective, there is very little that UV/EB printing can not do, and it is the go-to choice for printing cards, as well as shrink sleeves.
What is the future of trading cards?
The future of trading cards and collectibles is bright! The resurgence in interest first started during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis explained. When people weren’t able to go out, they turned instead to hobbies they could safely do at home, such as baking bread, knitting and collecting. The card industry more than doubled each year during the pandemic, and that interest hasn’t abated – it has only continued to grow at amazing levels. During uncertain times, people often invest wealth in tangible items such as gold, sneakers, gemstones. Cards are no exception to this rule. Collectibles resonate across so many levels with collectors – whether it’s the brand they love, the underlying game they like to play with friends or just regarding them as items of value worth collecting.
Corey Lewis and Card Juice are bringing a great opportunity to the small creator. This is just the beginning. It is exciting to know UV/EB technology is a catalyst for helping small businesses become a real contender.
To learn more about Card Juice, visit www.card-juice.com. Have an interesting sustainability story? Send an email to cara@radtech.org.
