Does anyone have experience with or advice for making high quality proxies? I want to be able to approximate the size and thickness of real cards (both pilot and upgrades).

A template that would quickly allow for the proper sizing for printing would be helpful as well! Does Strange Eons work well for printing custom cards?

I am also looking to save time making my own full-art or alternate art versions. Any advice for that?

Thank you in advance to the community! You guys are awesome!

Honestly, when I proxy I just build the whole squad in a builder and print it off. Then put any old card of the same type on it facedown if you "discard" a printed out card.

I used Strange Eons to make Mario Kart items and the export images were perfectly sized to print on my inkjet. I just copy/pasted the images into an MS Word file and the default sizing was perfect.

Honestly, when I proxy I just build the whole squad in a builder and print it off. Then put any old card of the same type on it facedown if you "discard" a printed out card.

This is what I have been doing, I am just being a little snobbish and wanting to make things look more 'official'.

I used Strange Eons to make Mario Kart items and the export images were perfectly sized to print on my inkjet. I just copy/pasted the images into an MS Word file and the default sizing was perfect.

Good to know! I am at work right now, but when I get home I am planning on trying out some custom cards on cardstock.

I made my own proxy Rebel Transport.

Don't try so hard.

Maybe you want "official looking" cards but if I'm playing against you I want your Proxies, and even more importantly Custom Cards, to be IMMEDIATELY recognizable as frauds.

You can probably figure out how to set your printer up to approximately the correct card size then print to cardstock weight paper but almost sound like you want to be able to make perfect forgeries of cards.

Don't try so hard.

Maybe you want "official looking" cards but if I'm playing against you I want your Proxies, and even more importantly Custom Cards, to be IMMEDIATELY recognizable as frauds.

You can probably figure out how to set your printer up to approximately the correct card size then print to cardstock weight paper but almost sound like you want to be able to make perfect forgeries of cards.

Yeah, doesn't seem to me that he is trying to fool anyone. I make proxies for everything I don't have, but they look top notch, because everything I do, gaming-wise, needs to meet a certain level of visual and tactile quality, you know?

There's a difference between "looking good" and "looking official" and while I wouldn't deny someone the opportunity to make things that look good I don't want any chance that they could be mistaken for official cards.

If we were playing MtG and agreed that proxies were allowed if you had a pretty Black Lotus mockup that is one thing but I really don't want you having one that looks real enough that you could possible sell it as a believable counterfeit. That would be like printing money.

There's a difference between "looking good" and "looking official" and while I wouldn't deny someone the opportunity to make things that look good I don't want any chance that they could be mistaken for official cards.

If we were playing MtG and agreed that proxies were allowed if you had a pretty Black Lotus mockup that is one thing but I really don't want you having one that looks real enough that you could possible sell it as a believable counterfeit. That would be like printing money.

There's a difference between "looking good" and "looking official" and while I wouldn't deny someone the opportunity to make things that look good I don't want any chance that they could be mistaken for official cards.

If we were playing MtG and agreed that proxies were allowed if you had a pretty Black Lotus mockup that is one thing but I really don't want you having one that looks real enough that you could possible sell it as a believable counterfeit. That would be like printing money.

As a MTG player, fair point. That doesn't seem to be the intent here though, and you seemed to come in a bit hostile. Sorry if I went too defensive.

I will admit to being a bit hostile but it's not so much against the quality of printing but rather the need some people seem to have to allow proxies for upgrades and such. If you also allow ships and other things to be proxied then upgrades are fine but saying you have to have official ships but then allowing counterfeit upgrades is still wrong to me. Maybe deception is not the intent but make them "too close to official appearances" and it becomes a possibility. People have copied money "for fun" and then gotten in big trouble when they "accidently" tried to pass it off as the real thing.

Part of what makes me hostile to proxies is that there may not always be a ready method to check on their accuracy and don't feed be the BS that one can alway "just look it up on the internet" as that takes time and many not always be available. This is also why I'm not so in favor of custom cards. If used they can look good but I just don't want the chance that someone mistakes them for official product even if they happen to have the same information on them as official products.

There's a difference between "looking good" and "looking official" and while I wouldn't deny someone the opportunity to make things that look good I don't want any chance that they could be mistaken for official cards.

If we were playing MtG and agreed that proxies were allowed if you had a pretty Black Lotus mockup that is one thing but I really don't want you having one that looks real enough that you could possible sell it as a believable counterfeit. That would be like printing money.

As a MTG player, fair point. That doesn't seem to be the intent here though, and you seemed to come in a bit hostile. Sorry if I went too defensive.

I will admit to being a bit hostile but it's not so much against the quality of printing but rather the need some people seem to have to allow proxies for upgrades and such. If you also allow ships and other things to be proxied then upgrades are fine but saying you have to have official ships but then allowing counterfeit upgrades is still wrong to me. Maybe deception is not the intent but make them "too close to official appearances" and it becomes a possibility. People have copied money "for fun" and then gotten in big trouble when they "accidently" tried to pass it off as the real thing.

Part of what makes me hostile to proxies is that there may not always be a ready method to check on their accuracy and don't feed be the BS that one can alway "just look it up on the internet" as that takes time and many not always be available. This is also why I'm not so in favor of custom cards. If used they can look good but I just don't want the chance that someone mistakes them for official product even if they happen to have the same information on them as official products.

I will admit to being a bit hostile but it's not so much against the quality of printing but rather the need some people seem to have to allow proxies for upgrades and such. If you also allow ships and other things to be proxied then upgrades are fine but saying you have to have official ships but then allowing counterfeit upgrades is still wrong to me. Maybe deception is not the intent but make them "too close to official appearances" and it becomes a possibility. People have copied money "for fun" and then gotten in big trouble when they "accidently" tried to pass it off as the real thing.

Part of what makes me hostile to proxies is that there may not always be a ready method to check on their accuracy and don't feed be the BS that one can alway "just look it up on the internet" as that takes time and many not always be available. This is also why I'm not so in favor of custom cards. If used they can look good but I just don't want the chance that someone mistakes them for official product even if they happen to have the same information on them as official products.

you don't want someone to mistake them, what are you the "official card" police.

You're entitled to dislike custom cards if you only use official cards, but

your pointing the finger at everyone who makes custom cards, accusing them

of being people who might nefariously pass one off as an official card is way out of line.

If you come across something dumb feel free to let me know.

If you come across something dumb feel free to let me know.

How are un-official X-Wing cards hurting anyone? The card text is well known. People making their own version should ideally have an official one handy, but even without it's trivial to lookup the specific language. What's the risk in proxies or custom cards?

There's a difference between "looking good" and "looking official" and while I wouldn't deny someone the opportunity to make things that look good I don't want any chance that they could be mistaken for official cards.

If we were playing MtG and agreed that proxies were allowed if you had a pretty Black Lotus mockup that is one thing but I really don't want you having one that looks real enough that you could possible sell it as a believable counterfeit. That would be like printing money.

As a MTG player, fair point. That doesn't seem to be the intent here though, and you seemed to come in a bit hostile. Sorry if I went too defensive.

I will admit to being a bit hostile but it's not so much against the quality of printing but rather the need some people seem to have to allow proxies for upgrades and such. If you also allow ships and other things to be proxied then upgrades are fine but saying you have to have official ships but then allowing counterfeit upgrades is still wrong to me. Maybe deception is not the intent but make them "too close to official appearances" and it becomes a possibility. People have copied money "for fun" and then gotten in big trouble when they "accidently" tried to pass it off as the real thing.

Part of what makes me hostile to proxies is that there may not always be a ready method to check on their accuracy and don't feed be the BS that one can alway "just look it up on the internet" as that takes time and many not always be available. This is also why I'm not so in favor of custom cards. If used they can look good but I just don't want the chance that someone mistakes them for official product even if they happen to have the same information on them as official products.

Fair enough, counterfeiting would be bad for everyone involved, I am going to assume this is innocent fun, but you make a fair point.

Ultimately it comes down to, maybe pride and, wanting to present a 'classy' proxy when testing new lists in my store!

EDIT: Fat fingers typing on an iPhone makes for MANY mistakes! Between autocorrect and misspellings this was a riot to reread.

How are un-official X-Wing cards hurting anyone? The card text is well known. People making their own version should ideally have an official one handy, but even without it's trivial to lookup the specific language. What's the risk in proxies or custom cards?

Apparently, the horror scenario is that a proxy is used during a tournament. It is very important that an opponent spent the money for an official card or borrowed one. For obvious reasons, though I cannot currently think of those.

...

My word choice of 'official' was poorly chosen. I have no problem with them being immediately recognizable as proxies, I just don't want a piece of paper inside a sleeve. As someone who used to deal in very rare Magic cards, I too have concerns about counterfeiting. I just want to be able to print my custom cards (while testing), print out upcoming cards (prevent wording confusions) and make full or alternate art cards for fun.

Ultimately it comes down to, maybe pride and, wanting to present a 'classy' proxy when testing new lists in my store!

EDIT: Fat fingers typing on an iPhone makes for MANY mistakes! Between autocorrect and misspellings this was a riot to reread.

I'm not really a fan of proxies for cards unless you're also going to be ok with me proxying for ships and dials and such. Despite that word "official" is what got me the most; as I've said I've nothing against "good looking" cards when you do them.

Our gaming group makes copies of cards on a very good color printer using the same card stock. They are printed double sided and with some care the two sides can line up perfectly. I do not round the edges on mine but my friends do. Once they are sleeved they are identical to the original. So to address the OP question I recommend using the best "paper" your printer can handle.

...

My word choice of 'official' was poorly chosen. I have no problem with them being immediately recognizable as proxies, I just don't want a piece of paper inside a sleeve. As someone who used to deal in very rare Magic cards, I too have concerns about counterfeiting. I just want to be able to print my custom cards (while testing), print out upcoming cards (prevent wording confusions) and make full or alternate art cards for fun.

Ultimately it comes down to, maybe pride and, wanting to present a 'classy' proxy when testing new lists in my store!

EDIT: Fat fingers typing on an iPhone makes for MANY mistakes! Between autocorrect and misspellings this was a riot to reread.

I'm not really a fan of proxies for cards unless you're also going to be ok with me proxying for ships and dials and such. Despite that word "official" is what got me the most; as I've said I've nothing against "good looking" cards when you do them.

Here's why I object to proxy dials: there is a lot of room for error there. The cards are so much easier to check, or just use as a place holder for the errata'ed version. A dial HAS to be accurate, or serious problem will happen as soon as that inaccurate move is selected. Ship models? Don't care, use legos or whatever is clear as far as I'm concerned personally (things are different at a Premier level event). The ship bases are important, since the firing arc(s) are critical.

I'm not really a fan of proxies for cards unless you're also going to be ok with me proxying for ships and dials and such.

Sure thing. As long as it doesn't slow down the game proxy whatever you want.

Overlooking the conversation about proxying, if we just focus on printing custom cards, alternate or expanded art to individualize our play I appreciate the advice so far! Haven't had a chance to try it t out yet as I am out of town for work, but eager to try when I get home.

Overlooking the conversation about proxying, if we just focus on printing custom cards, alternate or expanded art to individualize our play I appreciate the advice so far! Haven't had a chance to try it t out yet as I am out of town for work, but eager to try when I get home.

Please let's do.

I'll admit I'm no artist but I think I mentioned it earlier as long as you find some decent card/paper stock and get your printing dimensions correct that will go a long ways to making them look good. Who makes that easy? I don't know.

For those of us who play at home with friends most of the time. Who cares if you use custom cards.

We just print custom cards on regular printer paper and put them in a card sleeve

which works well. You obviously can't use custom cards in tournament play.