There are two ways to get cards on the table fast: print them yourself, or pay someone else to do the annoying parts. Neither option is morally superior. Both options have tradeoffs. And if you’ve ever spent a whole evening cutting proxies and thought, “this hobby is held together by vibes,” you already get it.

This post is about print and play Netrunner versus professionally printed cards. Not in theory. In real life: time, cutting, sleeve problems, and how much you value your weekends.

If you’re building your first pool, start here: Best Way to Build a Beginner Netrunner Card Pool Without Buying Singles. And if you want the clean table experience without crafting night, here’s the main hub: Print Your Netrunner Decks & Sets.

What “print and play” actually means for Netrunner

Print and play Netrunner usually means:

• you download PDFs of card fronts
• you print them on paper
• you cut them out
• you sleeve them in front of a backing card (so they shuffle normally)

It’s the community’s “get playing now” option. It’s also a great way to test decks without chasing rare cards.

It’s not glamorous. But it works.

The real cost: money vs time vs patience

People call print and play “free.” It’s not free. It’s cheap in dollars and expensive in effort.

Here’s the honest breakdown:

Print and play costs

• printer ink and paper
• cutting time
• fixing mistakes (there will be mistakes)
• storage that doesn’t turn into a pile of sad paper rectangles

Professionally printed costs

• actual money
• waiting on shipping
• being slightly annoyed if you want one card changed right now

So it’s basically: do you want to pay with cash or with your time?

When print and play is the right move

Print and play Netrunner is great when:

• you’re brand new and just want reps
• you’re testing deck ideas weekly
• you’re building a card pool on a tight budget
• you want to try a bunch of archetypes without committing

It’s also great for learning because you can print a “teaching deck” and not worry about wear and tear.

A simple starter setup:

• one pack of opaque sleeves
• a stack of backing cards (bulk from another card game is fine)
• scissors or a basic paper cutter
• a folder for extra proxies you’re testing

That’s enough to get real games in.

When professional printing is the right move

Professionally printed cards are the right move when:

• you hate cutting (valid)
• you’re printing multiple decks for a group
• you want consistent shuffling and readability
• you want a deck that survives weekly play

This is where “table experience” matters. A deck that shuffles smoothly and looks consistent is just nicer to play. You spend less mental energy on the physical components and more on decisions.

If you play in events, consistent, readable cards also matter when you’re tired and on a clock.

The hybrid approach i see most often

Most people don’t stay pure. They do a hybrid:

• print and play for testing and weird tech
• professional printing for stable decks they love
• a small “upgrade pack” print batch every so often

This is the most sane setup if you play a lot.

You can keep two “main decks” printed nicely, then keep a print-and-play folder for experiments. It’s like having a main character deck and a side quest binder.

The “group value” angle (why printing choices change in a playgroup)

If you mostly play solo or with one friend, print and play is easy.

If you’re building for a group:

• you need duplicates
• you need durability
• you need decks that shuffle consistently across players

That’s where professional printing starts to make more sense. Not because it’s fancy, but because it reduces friction. Less setup drama means you play more games.

How to choose in 60 seconds

Ask yourself:

1. Do i enjoy cutting cards?
2. How often will i rebuild this deck?
3. Am i printing for one deck or for a group?

If your answers are:

• “no”
• “often”
• “group”

…you’re probably headed toward some professional printing, at least for your core decks.

If your answers are:

• “i can tolerate it”
• “i’m experimenting”
• “just me”

…print and play is perfect.

The one thing both approaches need: sleeves

Whether you print and play or print professionally, you still want sleeves. Especially if you’re mixing card sources with different backs.

Opaque sleeves solve a bunch of problems at once:

• fairness
• consistency
• shuffle feel

And they’re cheaper than reprinting a whole deck because you tried to raw-dog mixed card backs. (i’m sorry, but it had to be said.)

Wrap-up

Print and play Netrunner is the fastest path to learning and testing. Professionally printed cards are the fastest path to a smooth table experience. You can pick one. You can mix both. Nobody gets a trophy for suffering through cutting night.

Your best setup is the one that gets you playing more games.