Business Cards Do's and Don'ts

Peterkin double-thick (duplexed) business cards: hot foil press on Gmund Black, one colour letterpress on Gmund Ivory with edge foiling.

Peterkin offers more than the every-day variety of business card; lush, tactile, textured and shaped cards that are really memorable and a real conversation starter.

There’re a few things to keep in mind when designing your business cards. Different print finishes have their pros and cons, so here’s the rundown on what works and what doesn’t for each of the finishes we offer…

Printery finishes

• Digital CMYK, White Ink or Digital Gold, Silver and Metallic Colours (DGSM)
• Letterpress
• Hot Foil Press
• Embossing
• Duplexing (double thick stock)
• Die cutting (Peterkin shapes or create your own custom dies)
• Edge foiling (not available with die cut shapes)

Letterpress only

Single sided Letterpress is available on single thickness 300-350gsm stocks. However, for maximum depth of the impression we highly recommend choosing double-thick (duplexed) card.

Double sided Letterpress is only available with double-thick (duplexed) card, otherwise the impression lumps and bumps from one side can often be seen on the reverse with a single thickness stock.

Letterpress + CMYK Digital, White Ink, Digital Gold, Silver or Metallic Colours, Foil or Blind Emboss

300-350gsm (single thickness) stock is available if your design combines letterpress with either digital printing or hot foil press on one side only. 

For a double sided Letterpress + other finishes business card, choose our double-thick (duplexed) option. This will give you a perfect, smooth surface on the second side for your second print finish.  

Hot Foil Press only

Hot Foil Press is available on single or double-thick (duplexed) stocks. There's a minimal amount of impression with Hot Foil, and depending on the stock type, some impression may be visible on the reverse.

For an extra luxe look and feel we highly recommend choosing double-thick gorgeous 600gsm+ stocks.

Hot Foil Press + CMYK Digital, White Ink, Digital Gold, Silver or Metallic Colours (DGSM)

Available for single or double-sided designs on 300-350gsm stocks. For an extra luxe look and feel we highly recommend choosing double-thick gorgeous 600gsm+ stocks. *Please be sure to read through our notes on duplexing below*

Blind Emboss + CMYK Digital, White Ink, Digital Gold, Silver or Metallic Colours or Foil

Available for single or double-sided designs on 300-350gsm stocks. Remember with single-thickness 300-350gsm stocks and if you Emboss one side and digitally print or Hot Foil the second side you will be able the see the emboss in reverse on the second side of the card.

FRONT	BACK

If you've designed a double-sided card and you don’t want to see the emboss on the reverse, choose double-thick (duplexed) stocks. This will give you a perfect, smooth surface on the second side for your second print finish. 

CMYK Digital, White Ink, Digital Gold, Silver or Metallic Colours (DGSM)

Digital printing is available single or double sided on single or double-thickness (duplexed) stocks.

We always recommend duplexing to double thickness for a fabulously thick card for maximum impact!

Please remember that when digitally printing we experience movement of up to 2mm in any direction please keep this in mind when preparing your artwork. 

We recommend keeping all artwork 8-10mm in from all edges.  We don’t recommend borders on double sided cards as any movement that occurs will draw the eye if it’s out by 1-2mm.

Registration issues

While registration is close to perfect for letterpress, hot foil press and embossing, registration for digital printing is not. We experience movement of up to 2mm in any direction when digitally printing so please keep this in mind when preparing your artwork as digital printing will not line up perfectly with the other print finishes.

See these examples below: trying to combine a design of digital printing with letterpress, hot foil press or embossing elements that are in close proximity or need to line up exactly isn't possible due to the movement of digital printing. 

✗ Not suitable	✓ Suitable

✗ Not suitable	✓ Suitable

Duplexing

We love a duplexed card, it adds an extra touch of luxury to your cards.  As duplexing is done by hand there can be a small amount of movement from one side to the other. Please allow for movement of up to 2mm in any direction, keep this in mind when preparing your artwork for a duplexed card.

Here’s some tips on artwork for the best results on a duplexed business card..

1. Keep all artwork 8-10mm in from all edges.
2. For double sided cards – avoid borders as these can draw the eye if they’re out by 1-2mm.

Die Cutting

Choose from Peterkin's selection of die cut shapes OR create your own custom die shape!

Ensure you download and use our templates for our standard shapes to make sure your artwork fits.

Printery Shapes Templates

Follow our instructions to create your own custom die lines.

Note: Edge foiling isn't available with die cut shapes.

Edge Foiling

Edge foiling will add a touch of elegance to even the humblest of designs. Despite its subtle application, edge foiling can make a bold statement proving that less is more. While edge foiling looks fabulous on our 300-350gsm stocks, you’ll always get the best results on a duplexed to double thickness stock as this gives a much thicker edge on the card for the foil to shine. Edge foiling is not available on die cut shaped cards.

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Artwork Requirements
For a deeper explanation on each printing method view our
Artwork Guidelines

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Printery Services and Printing Methods?
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