Business Cards Do's and Don'ts

There’re a few things that you need 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…

Letterpress only

We only offer single sided letterpress on our 300-350gsm stocks as the impression from the letterpressing will give you lumps and bumps on the reverse that doesn’t look great when you’re having the second side printed. 

If you’re wanting to go double sided then we’ll need to duplex the stock to double thickness so that we can get a nice impression on both sides without all the lumps and bumps coming through.

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

When mixing letterpress with either digital (colour, white ink or Gold, Silver and Metallic Colours) or foiling onto a 300-350gsm stock we only offer this as a single sided option. Letterpressing will give you lumps and bumps on the reverse that doesn’t look great when printing the second side of the card. 

If you’re wanting a double sided card you’ll need to go with our duplexed to double thickness option.  This will give you a perfect, smooth surface on the second side for your second print finish.  

✗ Not suitable	✓ Suitable

Letterpress Business Card product options:

Foil only

As foil doesn’t generally have an impression we’re happy to offer single or double sided foiling on our 300-350gsm stocks. If you’re wanting your cards to have the extra luxe look and feel to them we always recommend going for double-thick 600gsm+ stocks.

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

When mixing foiling with either digital (colour, white ink or Gold, Silver and Metallic Colours) we’re happy to offer this as either single or double sided on our 300-350gsm stocks.  You can foil one side and then digitally print your details onto the second side of the card with a perfect finish on both sides. 

Of course, if you’re wanting to go for a more luxe look and feel we recommend duplexing to double thickness for a gorgeous, thick card.

✗ Not suitable	✓ Suitable

*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

When mixing blind emboss with digital print or foiling we’re happy to offer this as either single or double sided on our 300-350gsm stocks. you’ll need to remember that if you do go with 300-350gsm stock and you want to emboss one side and then digitally print or 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’re wanting a double sided card and you don’t want to see the emboss on the second side you’ll need to go with our duplexed to double thickness option.  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

As digital print has no impression we’re happy to offer single or double sided printing on our 300-350gsm stocks.

If you’re wanting your cards to have the extra luxe look and feel to them we always recommend duplexing to double thickness for a fabulously thick card.

Please remember that when digitally printing we experience movement of up to 2mm in any direction when the sheets are going through the press, please keep this in mind when preparing your artwork. 

We do 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, foiling 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.

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

We have some fabulous shapes if you’re wanting something a little different for your business cards. 

Ensure you download and use our templates for the shape that you’re after from the die-cutting product page on the website.

We cannot EDGE FOIL any item that is die cut.

Edge Foiling

For that super luxe look on your cards you might like to add edge foiling as an extra finish. 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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