Please explain card sleeves

[lucasdp]

I'd really like to get some card sleeves with colored backs in this size, as some of my house rules will have certain artifacts in the treasure deck on certain quests. My local gaming store informed me that colored back sleeves are rarely made in this size. Has anyone seen these or know if they are available?
I'm also considering just getting the clear ones, laying them out flat on newspaper, and spray painting one side of them, but I'm not sure if that will work as well as I'm imagining, or turn out to be a disaster.

[slev]

It won't work.
If you want to do coloured backs with clear sleeves, you need an extra layer of paper inside the sleeve.

[lucasdp]

oh, my Goddess. Such an obvious solution, but my brain sure didn't think of it. Thanks, slev!

[mitchiemasha]

To be honest... I prefer my cards to look warn and a bit tatty. Adds such a better feeling to playing a classic game.

[Kurgan]

Thanks for the tip about the mini euro size for the smaller cards. Normally I wouldn't care but snagged a ROTWL set recently with the cards already cut out, so there we go...

I used color printed paper, plus a slip of plain cardstock inside a sleeve for the longest time. These were the "proofs" and I played with them quite a bit, before I finally ordered professionally done cards to replace them. Still, having them in sleeves is nice, and while I prefer the ultra pro "matte on one side, clear on the other" I just can't find any like that in a form fitting size. My MPC cards are slightly shorter on top than the classic originals, so putting them all in the same size sleeve covers that up and makes them easier to shuffle (sideways of course!).

As for the "worn" look, I actually print my new custom cards with fake yellowing and sometimes other little imperfections, so even though they have a nice coating (MPC "superior smooth"), they can "pass," at least at a glance. This thread was also very helpful.

[Davane]

The best reason to use sleeves, in my opinion, is how easy they make prototyping new card ideas. All you need is a slip of paper with the notes for the card. I use this all the time when designing and playtesting any sort of card mechanics in a game.