Upper Deck Power Up Baseball Cards: How Holograms and Augmented Reality Inspired Collectors
Since the late 1980s, Upper Deck Company has been a pioneering force in the baseball card industry. Known for high-quality production values and innovative card designs, Upper Deck helped usher collectors into a new era focused on premium products and specialized inserts. One of their most ambitious releases came in the form of 2018’s Upper Deck Power Up baseball cards – a groundbreaking set that incorporated holograms and augmented reality technologies.
While holograms had been experimented with on a small scale for special promotional cards in the past, Upper Deck was the first company to fully integrate vivid three-dimensional holographic images directly onto standard baseball cards. Each card in the Power Up set featured a unique hologram that could be viewed from multiple angles to see a player performing an important baseball action, such as hitting a home run or catching a fly ball.
To achieve this revolutionary card design, Upper Deck collaborated with Canadian tech company Ripple to develop their proprietary HoloVest hologram printing process. Instead of placing pre-made holograms onto card surfaces, HoloVest is able to print holograms directly during the card production process using a special foil layer and diffraction grating technique. The end result was stunningly realistic 3D images fused seamlessly into each Power Up card.
In addition to holograms, Upper Deck also included augmented reality functionality in Power Up cards through a downloadable app. By using the camera on a smartphone or tablet, collectors could scan each card and trigger AR animations depicting the same baseball moment shown on the hologram. Players would seemingly come to life, performing their highlighted skill right before the user’s eyes. Additional stats and information about the card subject could also be accessed through the app.
When Power Up was first revealed in January 2018, it sparked immediate excitement throughout the collecting community. After decades of static 2D cardboard photographs, Upper Deck had achieved a groundbreaking new level of interactivity that blended physical cards with digital technologies. For many fans, Power Up represented the most innovative product in the modern history of the hobby. Pre-release hype grew tremendously leading up to the set’s official release date in April 2018.
Upon its initial shipment, Power Up proved to be an instant success. The 300-card base set sold out rapidly from hobby shops and Upper Deck’s website. Secondary market prices on popular rookies and star players soared far above typical base card valuations. Insert cards featuring more intricate holograms and extensive augmented reality experiences became highly sought after by enthusiasts. Power Up inspired a resurgence of interest in the entire baseball card market from both dedicated collectors and casual fans drawn in by its technological wizardry.
Upper Deck doubled down on the excitement with several expansion releases in 2018 and 2019. Power Up Series 1 was joined by Series 2 and High Number editions that extended the checklist. Special “Hit Parade” inserts spotlighted individual players’ greatest seasons. An “Autographs” insert set mixed holograms with on-card autographs from today’s stars. But the pinnacle Power Up product was the “Hologram Variations” box, with redesigned holograms on each card including rare 1-of-1 designs. Every new set sold out immediately and maintained collector demand.
Power Up cards have proven to be true keepers in collections rather than just a passing fad. Their blend of nostalgic card aesthetics with innovative tech differentiates them from ordinary issues. Holograms have held their visual pop even after years of handling. Meanwhile, Upper Deck has maintained support for the augmented reality features through ongoing app updates. The Power Up brand itself has also spawned related products like magnetic baseball sculptures and lenticular baseball card gift boxes.
Looking back, it’s clear that Upper Deck’s Power Up baseball cards were a landmark achievement that reshaped the entire sports card industry. By daring to take advantage of cutting-edge hologram printing and augmented reality, they revived excitement for the hobby and brought in new generations of collectors. Where collections were once defined by static cardboard photographs, Power Up proved that cards could be a vibrant medium bridging the physical and digital worlds. Their indelible impact continues to inspire card makers to this day and cement Upper Deck’s place as true industry trailblazers.
