As Altered moves into its second year, the on-demand printing service is set to change. Following analysis of the open beta of on-demand printing, the Equinox team has reviewed the upcoming printing slots with their printing partner, while also taking into account feedback and technical manufacturing requirements.

Next printing slot

Given the release date of set 4, Skybound Odyssey, and the World Championship, the dates for the next on-demand printing slot are:

Order closing: Thursday, October 9th at 9:00 AM (Paris time)
Order printing: Monday, October 13th
Express order shipping: Tuesday, October 14th (please note that the “shipped” status is updated the next day)

If you are participating in the World Championship, Equinox are strongly advising you to have your orders delivered to an address as close as possible to the event location.

Evolution of printing slots

The experience gained during the first year of the on-demand printing system has shown Equinox that fixed-date slots pose production problems. These problems are linked to the need to adapt team presence, and tools, according to the variable volume of orders. Altered will now trigger on-demand printing when a threshold of ordered packs is reached.

These changes will take effect after the October printing slot.

The criteria chosen for reserving a slot are as follows:

• A printing slot is reserved as soon as the threshold of 2,500 ordered packs is reached.
• The order closing is set for Thursday, two weeks later:
  • Ex. 1: If the threshold is reached on Tuesday, November 4th, the order closing will take place on Thursday, November 13th
  • Ex. 2: If the threshold is reached on Thursday, November 6th, the order closing will take place on Thursday, November 20th

To inform players of the progress of orders, Equinox will soon be setting up a counter for the number of ordered packs, visible directly on the order page.

Once the threshold is reached, the closing date will be displayed on the order page to inform those making an order of the chosen date.

The current timing of the different stages of POD orders will remain the same:

• Order closing: Thursday at 9:00 AM (Paris time)
• Order printing: the following Monday
• Express order shipping: the following Tuesday (please note that the “shipped” status is updated the next day)

The maximum capacity of a printing slot is set at 4,980 packs. This means that packs ordered before the planned Thursday closing, and up to the limit of 4,980 packs, will be included in the reserved slot. All packs ordered beyond this limit or after the order closing will be integrated into the next printing session.

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