Masks - OptrixAU/printathome-python GitHub Wiki

Masks allow you to only copy some of your card image onto the final output.

Some card artwork deliberately goes 'outside the lines' so that it can be professionally printed. Cards may have considerable margins on each side, and will have square corners rather than the rounded edges they are supposed to.

Using a mask, you can choose a region of the image that you don't want to copy into the final print, removing those extra edges and leaving smooth corners.

Along with a mask, you'll often use a deck.ini file, to specify how much overlap to give each of your cards. This way, the space your mask removes can be reclaimed and your artwork pressed tightly against its neighbours and the card backs.

You create a mask using image editing tools - editors like Photoshop, Illustrator, Inkscape or Gimp.

Mask images contain black areas for areas that should not be shown, and white areas for places that should be shown. You can also use levels of grey to soften your edges.

The mask is then applied to every card as it gets added to your final images.