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A visit to custom-card maker Apollo reveals that simple, classic playing cards pack a big promotional punch.

You know the annoying gag where someone asks, “Hey, you want to play 52?” and once the unsuspecting victim agrees he or she must collect 52 cards from where they landed, scattered on the floor? This is likely the only downside to owning a deck of playing cards, and it only happens (hopefully) once in a lifetime. Playing cards have been popular since the 9th century—used for playing games, establishing social rank, seeing the future and advertising brand messages, among other things—and show little sign of losing their appeal.

Fort Worth, Texas-based supplier Apollo Playing Card Co. Inc. (UPIC: APOLLO) harnesses cards’ popularity by making promotional playing cards for a variety of industries. “They’re like 52-page books without spines; you can put a lot of information on these little things,” says Brian Misiuda, vice president of the 23-year-old company founded by his father, Emil. “Every card can have a different picture or explain something.” But instead of handing me an ace of hearts for more information, Misiuda offered me a factory tour and a first-hand explanation of how cards are made.

The process begins by laser etching a metal plate of the logo or design for the cards’ backs. This is done in a dimly lit room because bright light will ruin the plate. Then the plate is transferred to a printing press and used to lithograph sheets of cards. One sheet, approximately two square feet in size, fits one deck of poker-sized cards. (Bridge-sized cards are slimmer by one quarter of an inch, presumably because bridge players hold more cards in their hands at one time.) Misiuda says 95 percent of the cards he makes are poker sized.

Apollo uses casino-quality playing card paper imported from Germany for all of its cards. Playing card paper is unique because it has a layer of carbon sandwiched between two pieces of paper to prevent prying eyes from seeing your royal flush before you want them to.

After they’re printed, the cards are varnished with liquid plastic to add durability and sheen. Once dry, the cards are fed into a “slitter,” where they’re cut apart and mechanically collated into decks. Misiuda says the ability to sort the cards with machines instead of by hand is unique to Apollo and saves a tremendous amount of time—it’s time-saving techniques like this that make it possible for Apollo to produce up to 10,000 decks per day.

Up to this point the cards have had squared-off edges, but then each deck is die-cut to produce a classic rounded edge. From here each deck is boxed, wrapped in cellophane or both according to the order and prepped for shipping. “People mix it up a little bit,” says Misiuda of the variety of packaging options.