∞ The Tarot of Marseille Mini-Millennium Edition ∞

The 78 Arcana ~ Deluxe traveler’s edition ~ by Wilfried Houdouin, Marseille 2020

10 years after the publication of the first edition of the 22 Major Arcana, and four years after the publication of the first edition
of the 78 Arcana, here is a new version printed in pure spot colors and gilded on edges, format 44 x 85 mm.

78 cards + 2 cards of presentation (French and English)
Sliding rigid case • Retail price : 25 €

Precisely 20 years after the start of the regeneration work of the Marseille Tarot undertaken by the author, a work following his rediscovery of the Sacred Geometry Matrix of this Philosopher’s playing card deck, the Tarot of Marseille Millennium Edition has reached maturity. This new edition benefits from a new production, which will first be available in a Deluxe traveler size version (44 x 85 mm) in summer 2021. This edition will be followed by another of standard format (64 x 123 mm) in 2022. Besides the improvements of the Arcana’s iconography, this new edition is revolutionary as it is the first modern edition of the Marseille Tarot to be printed in pure spot colors, as were the traditional Tarot decks at the time when they were still colored directly with ink and stencil, a tradition which ended during the 19th century with the implementation of the industrial mass printing process, first with a diminished set of colors (due to the limitations of the printing machines of the time), then with the “off-set” four-color printing technique (see below).

Until now, all the editions of Marseille Tarots were printed, just like most of the modern productions, by using the common four-color printing process, which is based on the four primary pigment colors : cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, the image reproduction being performed by printing more or less tiny dots of those colors (depending on the final format, such as book or poster), the mix of them producing, as seen from a distance, the illusion of uniformity of hues and shades of colors. This is very noticeable on a subway poster seen up close, for example. The alternative (besides serigraphs which is an artisanal printing technique), which is rarely used, and only possible for distinct and uniform surfaces, is more complex and costly to set up. It relies on pure direct “spot colors” print (Pantone® or Matchprint® inks), each color being a pre-mixed color ink fully covering the surface concerned. The result is a print with vivid colors, whereas the usual four-color process the usual process produces a duller luminosity, the light spectrum of colors being more limited.

As a matter of fact, this technique was once used for the production of the famous “Ancient Marseille Tarot ” from Paul Marteau (1930) published by B.P. Grimaud, but only until the early 1990s, and with only 6 colors instead of 9 (black included). Since then, this deck is printed in four-color, which is a more economical printing process. To mark the advent of this revolutionary new publication of the Tarot of Marseille Millennium Edition, which opens a new era for the Marseille Tarot, in addition to benefiting from magnificent colors the cards are gilded on edge.

The pictures below show the difference between the four-color (on the left),
and “spot colors” (on the right) printing process, as seen beyond the vision of the naked eye :

Below is the comparison of the small (44 x 85 mm) and standard card format (64 x 123 mm) :

Click the images to magnify them Video realized by Mim Mim