Pick a cover.
Let the album play.

THE SHORT VERSION

Your first card, without the fuss.

You do not need to start with fifty printed covers or buy every component at once. If you already have a computer and a working Plex library, start with a USB reader and one card. The enclosure and dedicated computer can come later.

1. Open Album Cards. Follow the installation steps below.
2. Connect Plex. In Settings, choose Plex / Caldera and import an album you can already play.
3. Check the audio. Choose your Caldera player and use the album’s play button before introducing the card.
4. Select the album and open Cards. Click Assign selected, tap the card on the reader configured in Linux.
5. Switch to Playback. Remove the card and tap it again. That card now selects that album.

The code is freely available in the official Album Cards repository, with English documentation and additional Portuguese guides.

MY COSTS / SEPTEMBER 2026

The shopping list, with what I paid.

Here are the amounts I paid in September 2026, in Brazilian reais. They are a record of my build, not current quotes: your costs will depend on what you already own and where you buy or print.

And the rest of the setup?

The subtotal above is not the price of an entire sound system. Here are the other items used or needed for this setup; their costs have not been included yet.

Album Cards and the 3D model downloads are free. Subscriptions, electricity, shipping and taxes not itemized here are not added to the subtotal. For Spotify, budget for your Premium plan separately; it is a recurring cost, not a one-time purchase.

The Orange Pi does more than read cards.

Its main job in my setup is to be a network music player with Caldera. I choose music from my Plex collection in Plexamp on my phone; the Orange Pi 3B plays it through the Edifier M90 over USB. I get wireless control from the couch without sending the audio over Bluetooth, so this path avoids Bluetooth audio compression. The phone is the remote; the small computer beside the speaker handles playback.

The RFID cards add another way to choose an album on that same player. The R$ 300 was therefore not an investment just for this project. Audio quality still depends on the source files and playback settings.

The R$ 535 subtotal covers the five purchases priced above. The 3D enclosure used 100 g of filament: to estimate its material cost, divide your 1 kg spool price by 10. Printing services, electricity and failed prints may cost extra. The speaker, music server, cables, power supply, storage and subscriptions are not included. The Spotify version can reuse a Linux computer and needs no music server, but requires a Spotify Premium subscription.

FULL SETUP / LOCAL COLLECTION

Your albums, with Plex and Plexamp.

This is how my project works: my own music files, served by Plex, with a Linux computer dedicated to playback. You choose the source files and audio equipment. The final sound quality also depends on the file format, playback settings and audio output.

The idea came from wanting to choose music by looking at a cover, rather than scrolling through a list on my phone. Each card became a small album edition: artwork on the front, tracks and details on the back.

In my original setup, the music lives on a Linux home server running Plex Media Server. An Orange Pi next to the speaker runs Caldera and receives the USB reader. I use the Edifier M90, connected to the Orange Pi by USB and set to USB audio mode. That is my speaker model; another powered speaker with USB audio input or a compatible DAC can fill the same role. Plexamp on my phone can also control that player.

With a Raspberry Pi, it takes the place of that small computer beside the speaker. This guide uses 64-bit Linux. The Raspberry instructions adapt the same approach; the physical setup I tested used an Orange Pi.

These roles can share a computer. Keeping them separate lets your server stay where it already is, with a small music station in the living room. Keep the devices on the same local network; guest-network isolation can prevent discovery.

Who does what in this setup

Plex organizes and serves your files. Plexamp is the music app that accesses that library. Caldera is a third-party Linux player that can run without a display and be controlled by Plexamp. Album Cards is this project’s app: it maps a card ID to an album and sends the playback command.

Caldera is separate from Plexamp. See the Caldera Linux documentation for supported platforms and installation.

02 / GATHER THE PARTS

What goes on the workbench?

These links point to the project’s reference listings in Brazil. Check the selected variation and compatibility with the seller. “NFC” or “reader/writer” in a listing does not guarantee keyboard output. The useful test is whether the computer receives the card ID.

We may earn a commission from these links at no additional cost to you. The cost section records what I paid in September 2026; current listing prices may differ.

BEYOND THE CARDS

A network music player, even without the cards.

The Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi can stay beside your speakers as your everyday music player. Choose an album in Plexamp on your phone, select Caldera as the playback device and press Play. On the same local network, your phone sends the commands while the Pi receives the music from Plex and sends audio to the speaker over USB. You can keep browsing on the phone while the dedicated player handles playback.

The cards are the fun part of choosing what to play. They do not improve or change the audio. Select the same recording, player and settings on the phone and you get the same audio path. The USB reader, printed covers and 3D enclosure are optional extras around a network player that is already useful by itself. Caldera supports remote control from Plexamp.

Wireless control, without Bluetooth audio compression.

With this network-to-USB path, your phone does not need to send audio to the speaker over Bluetooth. Common Bluetooth codecs such as SBC and AAC use lossy compression; avoiding that stage removes one possible lossy conversion. With a genuine FLAC source in Plex, playback without lossy transcoding and a compatible output, you can preserve lossless audio along this path. Wi-Fi itself does not require turning the music into a lower-quality audio format.

Lossless means preserving the audio data, not necessarily using an uncompressed file: FLAC compresses audio without discarding its samples. Converting an MP3 to FLAC does not restore information that was already removed. Output settings, resampling, equalization and volume processing also matter; a USB cable alone is not proof of bit-perfect playback.

What about Spotify and Apple Music Lossless?

With Spotify, choose the Pi’s receiver in Spotify Connect on your phone and press Play: you can also use it without cards. The receiver gets the music directly from Spotify and outputs it over USB. The Raspotify configuration in this project uses lossy audio at up to 320 kbps. It avoids Bluetooth transmission, but this setup is not a promise of Spotify Lossless support.

If both players use exclusive USB handoff, only the selected receiver is available. A card switches it automatically. To switch manually, run bash deployment/dev.sh audio spotify or bash deployment/dev.sh audio plex on the Pi before selecting it on your phone.

Apple Music Lossless is another example of a lossless source. It needs a compatible playback device and audio connection, such as a supported device connected by cable to a DAC or powered speaker. This guide does not integrate Apple Music with Caldera or Raspotify. Owning the Pi does not automatically make it an Apple Music Lossless receiver; that would require a separately supported and verified playback solution.

PREPARE YOUR PLAYER

Which operating system should I use?

For a dedicated player, I recommend a 64-bit Linux system without a desktop. You configure it from another computer and then leave it beside the speakers, with no monitor or browser needed for daily listening.

• Raspberry Pi 4 / 5: Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64-bit. Use Raspberry Pi Imager and select your exact board.
• Orange Pi 3B: Armbian Minimal / CLI with stable Debian userspace, using the image specifically made for the 3B. This is a community-supported board; check image and hardware-revision notes. My existing build uses Armbian with Debian 12. New images may use Debian 13; I have not physically tested every image or board revision.
• PC Linux: A current 64-bit Debian or Ubuntu installation works as the host. Keep a desktop if you want to use the native Spotify application on that PC.

1. Download the imager from the official Raspberry Pi or Armbian site. Choose the board and its 64-bit image.
2. Set your username, password, hostname, network and SSH access. Flash the correct microSD: this erases that card.
3. Boot the board with a suitable power supply. Use Ethernet for the first setup if possible. Connect the USB audio device and select its USB input.
4. From your computer, open a terminal and connect using the username and address you chose. Replace the example below with your own values.

ssh your-user@your-player.local

I bought my Orange Pi 3B on AliExpress. Start at the manufacturer’s 3B page to check specifications and store links. Buy the correct power supply and storage too; a board alone is not the full player.

Official step-by-step guides: Raspberry Pi · Armbian.

04 / MAKE THE MUSIC PLAY FIRST

Get one album ready in Plex.

1. Install Plex Media Server on the computer holding your music and sign in.
2. Add a Music library in Plex, select your music folder and wait for it to organize the files.
3. Choose a familiar album. Check the artist, edition, cover and track order. Test several tracks, including the last one. MusicBrainz Picard can help correct file tags, but is not required for the player.
4. Install Caldera on the computer connected to your speaker, following the official installation page. Sign into the same Plex account and enable the service as instructed.
5. In Plexamp, select Caldera as the playback device. Select the correct audio output on the computer and confirm that the speaker plays.

The music library must stay accessible. If your music is on an external drive, it must be connected and mounted when Plex starts. Seeing covers and track names does not prove that the server can still open the files.

ALBUM CARDS

One app, on the computer connected to the reader.

Album Cards handles albums, assignments, artwork and PDFs. Install it on the Linux computer where the USB reader will stay. Its background service will read the cards even when you close the configuration browser.

1. Install Node.js 24 LTS for your architecture (ARM64 on the Pi; x64 on a typical PC), and Git. Check node --version and npm --version.
2. Download the public repository and install its dependencies. Both tutorial languages use this same application.

git clone https://github.com/luizguilherme5/album-cards-en.git
cd album-cards-en
npm ci
npm run build
bash deployment/dev.sh setup
bash deployment/dev.sh up

This starts the built application as a service. On the Linux computer itself, open http://127.0.0.1:3850. If it has no screen, open a second terminal on your own computer and run:

ssh -N -L 3850:127.0.0.1:3850 your-user@your-player.local

Keep that terminal open while configuring, then visit http://127.0.0.1:3850 on your computer. The tunnel securely takes you to the app on the Pi. The reader stays connected to the Pi. Closing the tunnel later does not stop music or the reader service.

For development or a quick local test, npm run dev starts the same application without compiling first. Do not run it alongside the service on the same port. For everyday use, use the service commands above.

Connect the reader once.

1. Plug the reader into Linux. In Settings, choose Detect Linux devices. Select your reader by name and save settings.
2. Wait for USB reader connected. If access is denied, follow docs/READER.md to grant access only to that USB reader. The app should run under your normal account.
3. The app remembers the reader’s identity and retries when it is reconnected. If two identical readers appear, select the intended one again. In native Linux mode, no text field needs focus.

06 / BRING YOUR COLLECTION

Let’s use Abbey Road as an example.

The screenshots in this guide use my real Plex collection in the new Album Cards app. I started with six albums to demonstrate the process. You can choose any album already in your Plex library.

1. Open Settings and choose Plex / Caldera as your playback service.
2. Enter the Plex address and port, for example http://your-server:32400, and your token. The official Plex guide explains how to find a token in an item’s XML. This method may provide a temporary token; update your configuration if it expires. Treat it like a password and keep it out of screenshots.
3. Click Find Caldera on the network, choose your player and click Save settings. If discovery finds nothing, check your Plex account and network. You can also enter the Caldera address and identifier manually.
4. Click Choose Plex albums, search for “Abbey Road”, select the edition you want and click Import selected. A batch can contain up to 50 albums.
5. Return to Collection. The original cover and tracks are there. Use Details to review the data and ▶ to test the playback command.

Importing reads the metadata and copies artwork into the app. It does not move or rename your music. Existing original covers and saved vertical artwork are preserved when you reimport.

07 / GIVE THE CARD AN ALBUM

One tap to assign it.

You do not need to write music or data into the card’s memory. It already has an identifier. The app stores the relationship between that number and Abbey Road.

1. Select the Abbey Road checkbox in Collection and open Cards.
2. Click Assign selected and check the album beside “Next”.
3. With the Linux reader configured in Settings, tap a card. No text field needs focus; the Pi reads the USB device directly.
4. Check the assignment confirmation. If you selected several albums, the queue proceeds alphabetically. Use a different card for each next album.
5. When finished, click Playback. Remove the card and tap it again to start the album.

Reusing a card? Enable “Allow overwriting assignments” before starting. Assignment mode does not play music. One ID cannot fill two positions in the same batch, and assignment sessions expire after five minutes.

What happens after assignment?

• A different card starts its album at the first track.
• Tapping the same card again requests a random track from that album.
• Removing the card does not pause playback. This reader does not report removal to the app, even though its LED changes color.

Turn it on, tap a card, listen.

After installing and connecting Caldera, run this command from the Album Cards directory on Linux:

bash deployment/dev.sh enable plex

It enables Album Cards and the selected player at boot, including when nobody logs in. It may request your Linux password once. The computer must stay powered on and awake. Return the app to Playback mode before finishing; assignment mode is only for registration.

bash deployment/dev.sh status
bash deployment/dev.sh logs
bash deployment/dev.sh restart

These show service status, recent messages and restart the app. Try a restart and a card scan before putting the player away. Back up the data/ folder to preserve assignments, images and private connection settings.

ARTWORK AND TRACK LISTS

Fit the artwork to the card.

Click an album image to open the editor. Choose Upload artwork, drag to position it and adjust the zoom. The frame already has the final proportions: 54 mm wide × 85.6 mm tall.

For Abbey Road, I used a vertical image with extra sky and positioned it to keep all four band members near the bottom. A square cover can lose content when cropped to fill the card. Preparing a vertical version first gives you more control. The editor crops and positions artwork; it does not invent or extend backgrounds with AI.

Click Save vertical artwork. The collection updates its preview and marks it ready. The original Plex cover and uploaded crop source stay separate. Editing a card does not change the cover in your Plex library.

Make room for your creativity.

Album covers are usually square; our cards are vertical. There are plenty of ways to bring the two together. For some cards in my collection, I used AI image editing to extend the background before uploading the result to Album Cards. That was a creative choice for my project, not a requirement for yours.

How I prepared the AI-assisted versions

1. I started with the original cover in good resolution and attached it as the reference in an image editor with generative expansion.
2. I asked for a vertical composition in the card’s proportions, extending the background rather than stretching the picture. The aim was to retain the cover’s identity, subjects and lettering. The position depends on the artwork: not everything needs to sit in the center.
3. I compared the result with the original. AI can change faces, lettering and details or create visible seams and repeated objects. I discarded or revised versions that did not work; the first result was not always the one I kept.
4. I uploaded the chosen image to Album Cards, adjusted its position and zoom, and saved the final crop. The app handles the print proportions; the AI editing happens separately.

ORIGINAL COVER

VERTICAL ADAPTATION · AI-ASSISTED

Prefer to design it yourself? Absolutely.

You can keep the original cover exactly as it is and build a lovely card around it in Canva, Photoshop or your favorite editor. A square cover with a colorful border, a little breathing room or a title beneath it can become a template for the whole collection. You do not need to fill every corner with the photograph.

1. Create a portrait canvas of 1080 × 1712 px, the same proportions as a 54 × 85.6 mm card.
2. Place the complete original cover without stretching it. Choose its size and position, then use the remaining space for a background color, borders or your own graphic elements. Keep small text away from the cutting edge.
3. Export as PNG or high-quality JPG. Click the album’s artwork in Album Cards, choose Upload artwork, check the full template in the preview and click Save vertical artwork.

Use the tools you feel comfortable with. Try colors, layouts and materials, and make a test print before committing to a batch. The fun is making a collection that feels like yours — creativity matters more than following my layout.

Prepare the back, too.

In Details, check the title, artist, year, record label and tracks. Each track has a number and disc number; use disc 1 and disc 2 for multi-disc editions. The import depends on metadata from the source service, so you may need to enter a missing label yourself.

Click Facts to preview the back before printing. The card uses those details, separates discs and fits the text into the available space. If it cannot fit within the legibility limit, generation reports an error instead of cutting off the last lines. Exported JSON stores album metadata for backup or transfer between installations.

PRINTING AND ASSEMBLY

Print a test sheet first.

1. Select your albums, up to 50 per batch, and open Print studio.
2. Choose Generate cover PDF for the fronts. Each selected album must have saved vertical artwork.
3. Choose Generate fact sheet PDF for the backs. Both PDFs use the selection in alphabetical order.
4. Review the preview and download the PDF. Select A4 paper, landscape orientation and 100% / actual size. Turn off “fit to page”.
5. Measure a printed card: it should be 54 × 85.6 mm. Cut and assemble one before printing the whole collection.

Each sheet fits 10 cards, with 3 mm between artworks. For duplex printing, “Mirror back order” is available. The correct flip edge depends on your printer; test with one clearly marked sheet first. You can also print the fronts and backs separately, which is what I did.

The finished PDF, before using paper.

These are actual pages generated by the new app with the six example albums. The empty space is expected: the sheet holds ten cards, but this batch contains six.

Open sample PDF — covers · Open sample PDF — track lists

How I printed and assembled mine.

I printed the fronts on thicker, glossy photo paper to give the cover more presence. For the backs, I used thinner, matte photo paper, which makes the track list comfortable to read. These are separate printouts on different papers.

1. Start with plain paper. Print at 100%, measure 54 × 85.6 mm and confirm that each front matches its back.
2. Select the paper type in the printer dialog. Use the recommended setting for your glossy or matte paper and check the thickness your printer supports. There is no single required paper weight.
3. Let the prints dry. Follow the paper manufacturer’s guidance before stacking, cutting or sleeving them.
4. Cut along the marks. The 3 mm gaps give you room to separate the cards without cutting into the artwork. A ruler and cutting mat help keep the edges straight.
5. Assemble one complete card. Put the RFID card between its cover and matching track list, with the printed faces outward. Test reading and fit before repeating for the whole batch.

The sleeve holds everything together.

I used Chimera sleeves measuring 57.5 × 89 mm to hold and protect the card and both printouts. Here is the 100-pack I used ↗. Check the dimensions of the selected product variation and test with your chosen paper: the combined thickness matters too. Do not force or bend the card to insert it.

The sleeve link may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It identifies the material I used; it does not guarantee dimensions for every listing variation.

3D ENCLOSURE

The enclosure is part of the ritual.

I started with a visual study to imagine the finished player. That design then became a model divided into printable parts. The first image is the concept; the second shows the final V3 geometry.

The enclosure is optional. Check the reader dimensions, cable routing and reading range in the intended position before closing it. The V3 files are in hardware/ in the official repository. Use the included instructions when orienting parts in your slicer. The models are by Luiz Guilherme, licensed under CC BY 4.0. You can share and adapt them with attribution.

SPOTIFY

Your Spotify albums, on physical cards.

This path needs Spotify Premium, internet, a Linux computer running Album Cards, a USB reader and compatible cards. It needs no Plex server or downloaded collection. Follow the operating-system steps and install Album Cards, then return here. The reader remains connected to Linux.

The receiver also works without cards: choose it in Spotify Connect on your phone. Read how network playback and audio quality work.

1. Choose where the sound comes out.

On a Raspberry or Orange Pi beside the speakers, use Raspotify, a community Spotify Connect receiver built around librespot. The project’s launcher uses its binary in a user service. On a desktop Linux PC, you can instead use the native Spotify app: sign in, play one song and keep it open. In that variation, Spotify’s desktop autostart and the user’s desktop session must remain active.

For the dedicated Pi receiver, run these inside the Album Cards directory:

bash deployment/dev.sh dependencies
curl -fL "https://dtcooper.github.io/raspotify/raspotify-latest_$(dpkg --print-architecture).deb" -o /tmp/raspotify.deb
bash deployment/dev.sh install-spotify /tmp/raspotify.deb
cp -n deployment/runtime.env.example ~/.config/album-cards/runtime.env
nano ~/.config/album-cards/runtime.env

The first command installs Debian audio and network-discovery prerequisites. In the configuration file, choose a speaker name and the ALSA output from aplay -l. For my Edifier M90, the output is plughw:CARD=M90,DEV=0 and the format is S24_3; use your device’s actual name. Save in nano with Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X. If this file already exists, edit it instead of replacing it.

bash deployment/dev.sh spotify up

The first run starts at 20% volume. After you adjust it in Spotify, the receiver remembers your last level across restarts and switches between players. The speaker’s own volume control is separate.

On your phone, open Spotify on the same network and choose “Album Cards” from Connect devices. Play one song through the speakers. This first connection pairs the receiver and lets it cache your login locally. The phone is only a remote: the USB reader stays on the Pi.

2. Allow Album Cards to control playback.

1. Open the Spotify Developer Dashboard, create an app for personal use, choose Web API and complete the required fields.
2. Add exactly http://127.0.0.1:3850/auth/spotify/callback to Redirect URIs. Save. Do not substitute localhost or the Pi’s network IP.
3. Copy the Client ID. In Album Cards → Settings → Spotify, paste it and choose Connect Spotify. Approve access in the browser. No Client Secret is needed. Keep the SSH tunnel open throughout this step.
4. Choose Find devices, select the Pi receiver (or the native Spotify app on your PC) and Save settings. If absent, return to Spotify and select that device once.

3. Import an album and assign a card.

1. In Spotify, open an album → Share → Copy album link. In Album Cards, open Collection → Add albums and paste that album link or ID into Spotify import.
2. Test the album’s play button. The selected device should start the album, not just open its page.
3. Select the album, open Cards → Assign selected and tap your card on the reader connected to Linux. Check the confirmation, switch to Playback and tap again.

The mapping lives in Album Cards on the Pi: card ID → album → Spotify. Nothing needs to be written into the chip. You may close the configuration browser after setup.

If you chose the native desktop Spotify app instead of Raspotify, use bash deployment/dev.sh enable app. This starts only Album Cards at boot; Spotify still needs the desktop session and its own autostart setting. The command below is for the dedicated receiver.

bash deployment/dev.sh enable spotify

bash deployment/dev.sh status
bash deployment/dev.sh logs
bash deployment/dev.sh restart

Spotify API playback requires Premium. Development-mode applications have account and user limits; check the current Dashboard rules. Raspotify is a community project, separate from Spotify. References: Playback API · Redirect URI · Development mode.

Now customize your collection. The following steps cover artwork, PDFs, paper, sleeves and the optional 3D enclosure, just like the Plex version.

ARTWORK AND TRACK LISTS

Fit the artwork to the card.

Click an album image to open the editor. Choose Upload artwork, drag to position it and adjust the zoom. The frame already has the final proportions: 54 mm wide × 85.6 mm tall.

For Abbey Road, I used a vertical image with extra sky and positioned it to keep all four band members near the bottom. A square cover can lose content when cropped to fill the card. Preparing a vertical version first gives you more control. The editor crops and positions artwork; it does not invent or extend backgrounds with AI.

Click Save vertical artwork. The collection updates its preview and marks it ready. The original Plex cover and uploaded crop source stay separate. Editing a card does not change the cover in your Plex library.

Make room for your creativity.

Album covers are usually square; our cards are vertical. There are plenty of ways to bring the two together. For some cards in my collection, I used AI image editing to extend the background before uploading the result to Album Cards. That was a creative choice for my project, not a requirement for yours.

How I prepared the AI-assisted versions

1. I started with the original cover in good resolution and attached it as the reference in an image editor with generative expansion.
2. I asked for a vertical composition in the card’s proportions, extending the background rather than stretching the picture. The aim was to retain the cover’s identity, subjects and lettering. The position depends on the artwork: not everything needs to sit in the center.
3. I compared the result with the original. AI can change faces, lettering and details or create visible seams and repeated objects. I discarded or revised versions that did not work; the first result was not always the one I kept.
4. I uploaded the chosen image to Album Cards, adjusted its position and zoom, and saved the final crop. The app handles the print proportions; the AI editing happens separately.

ORIGINAL COVER

VERTICAL ADAPTATION · AI-ASSISTED

Prefer to design it yourself? Absolutely.

You can keep the original cover exactly as it is and build a lovely card around it in Canva, Photoshop or your favorite editor. A square cover with a colorful border, a little breathing room or a title beneath it can become a template for the whole collection. You do not need to fill every corner with the photograph.

1. Create a portrait canvas of 1080 × 1712 px, the same proportions as a 54 × 85.6 mm card.
2. Place the complete original cover without stretching it. Choose its size and position, then use the remaining space for a background color, borders or your own graphic elements. Keep small text away from the cutting edge.
3. Export as PNG or high-quality JPG. Click the album’s artwork in Album Cards, choose Upload artwork, check the full template in the preview and click Save vertical artwork.

Use the tools you feel comfortable with. Try colors, layouts and materials, and make a test print before committing to a batch. The fun is making a collection that feels like yours — creativity matters more than following my layout.

Prepare the back, too.

In Details, check the title, artist, year, record label and tracks. Each track has a number and disc number; use disc 1 and disc 2 for multi-disc editions. The import depends on metadata from the source service, so you may need to enter a missing label yourself.

Click Facts to preview the back before printing. The card uses those details, separates discs and fits the text into the available space. If it cannot fit within the legibility limit, generation reports an error instead of cutting off the last lines. Exported JSON stores album metadata for backup or transfer between installations.

PRINTING AND ASSEMBLY

Print a test sheet first.

1. Select your albums, up to 50 per batch, and open Print studio.
2. Choose Generate cover PDF for the fronts. Each selected album must have saved vertical artwork.
3. Choose Generate fact sheet PDF for the backs. Both PDFs use the selection in alphabetical order.
4. Review the preview and download the PDF. Select A4 paper, landscape orientation and 100% / actual size. Turn off “fit to page”.
5. Measure a printed card: it should be 54 × 85.6 mm. Cut and assemble one before printing the whole collection.

Each sheet fits 10 cards, with 3 mm between artworks. For duplex printing, “Mirror back order” is available. The correct flip edge depends on your printer; test with one clearly marked sheet first. You can also print the fronts and backs separately, which is what I did.

The finished PDF, before using paper.

These are actual pages generated by the new app with the six example albums. The empty space is expected: the sheet holds ten cards, but this batch contains six.

Open sample PDF — covers · Open sample PDF — track lists

How I printed and assembled mine.

I printed the fronts on thicker, glossy photo paper to give the cover more presence. For the backs, I used thinner, matte photo paper, which makes the track list comfortable to read. These are separate printouts on different papers.

1. Start with plain paper. Print at 100%, measure 54 × 85.6 mm and confirm that each front matches its back.
2. Select the paper type in the printer dialog. Use the recommended setting for your glossy or matte paper and check the thickness your printer supports. There is no single required paper weight.
3. Let the prints dry. Follow the paper manufacturer’s guidance before stacking, cutting or sleeving them.
4. Cut along the marks. The 3 mm gaps give you room to separate the cards without cutting into the artwork. A ruler and cutting mat help keep the edges straight.
5. Assemble one complete card. Put the RFID card between its cover and matching track list, with the printed faces outward. Test reading and fit before repeating for the whole batch.

The sleeve holds everything together.

I used Chimera sleeves measuring 57.5 × 89 mm to hold and protect the card and both printouts. Here is the 100-pack I used ↗. Check the dimensions of the selected product variation and test with your chosen paper: the combined thickness matters too. Do not force or bend the card to insert it.

The sleeve link may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It identifies the material I used; it does not guarantee dimensions for every listing variation.

3D ENCLOSURE

The enclosure is part of the ritual.

I started with a visual study to imagine the finished player. That design then became a model divided into printable parts. The first image is the concept; the second shows the final V3 geometry.

The enclosure is optional. Check the reader dimensions, cable routing and reading range in the intended position before closing it. The V3 files are in hardware/ in the official repository. Use the included instructions when orienting parts in your slicer. The models are by Luiz Guilherme, licensed under CC BY 4.0. You can share and adapt them with attribution.

FAQ

Questions before you build?

Already building and stuck? See the troubleshooting steps below.

WHEN SOMETHING DOES NOT WORK

Start with the last successful step.