Card deck creation using LibreOffice (A step-by-step guide)

[mandrews]

So this might be a little long; but I wanted to share how I created the card deck for a recent build. I saw this post: https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...-prints-How-To but I didn't want to use photo paper. Instead my goal was to print on card stock on a color duplex printer. If someone else has posted something similar, I apologize for the repeat. My only excuse is that I could find it via the forum search. In addition, I wanted to use the tools I had available, so LibreOffice not MS Office. I'm sure this can be done in other tools.

For me, I just completed a recent model build, and I needed to duplicate a deck I already had. Here's how I did it. First, I started with each card front in its own separate file. You can either scanning each card individually, or split a page scan into individual files using GIMP or a similar tool. My files looked like this:



Launch LibreOffice (LO) and open a blank word processing document. Set the page margins so that, at a minimum, the left and right margins are the same. I set them all to 0.25; but 0.5" would work, just be sure to allow space for the printable area of the particular printer. In LO, this is found under menus Format | Page Style... , then select the Page tab and set the margins there:



Next, insert your first card image. Insert | Image... | <select file and click OK> . At this point, LO will insert the file with default positioning and it will look like this:



We need to change this default positioning. To do that, right click the inserted image and select Properties... from the pop-up menu. In the Type tab of the dialog box, change the anchor to "As character" and set the image Width to 43mm (1.69") and the Height to 68mm (2.68") as shown here:



When you click OK, the card image should snap to the left margin like so:



Before you insert the next image, you need to un-select the inserted image by clicking in the blank area to the right of the image. Now you can insert the next image and reset its properties. I can fit 4 images on a row and then I hit Return to insert a paragraph marker and start the second "line" of images. After three lines, I hit Return (paragraph marker) and then insert a page break (Insert | Page Break). TIP: Keep the images right next to each other (no spacing between the image characters or between the paragraphs), then you'll only have to cut once between the cards rather than going around each card.

At this point you are on the second page; but before you insert your first card back (you did scan your card back, didn't you?), you need to change the paragraph justification to Align Right. Either click the toolbar icon, or select it from the menus under Format | Paragraph... , Alignment tab, Right.



Now insert your card back and set its properties just like the card fronts (Anchor "As Character", 43mm x 68mm). It should end up looking like this:



This should align perfectly with the front since the left and right margins are the same size and the image character is the same size. For the card backs, you can use Copy-Paste as many times as you need (less work). Be sure to insert the returns (Paragraph markers). When you get to the bottom of the card back page, insert a page break and continue with the card fronts. Don't forget to switch the paragraph alignment back to left justified.

Once you're done inserting everything, you can either print directly to your printer, or print to a PDF file (File | Print... | Printer "Microsoft Print to PDF") and take it to your print store for printing. I just finished printing mine in color on card stock and it came out great.

This is a nice technique for creating relatively cheap "playing" decks for those who want to keep their original cards out of harm way.

P.S. Shout out to @PFactorDave in the post above. He shows a corner clipper for putting the 5mm radius on the corners. I really makes a nice finishing touch one the final product.