Specialty Business Cards
Now that you have your head around paper stock/gms it’s time to talk about speciality finishes.
There are quite a few fancy things you can do to pimp up your cards Celloglazing, Embossing, foils, spot UV, just to name a few. Let’s run through them.
Lamination / Celloglazing
Lamination offers a substantial protection to your printed materials. It’s water resistent and makes the paper more durable. As a finishing option you can choose from matt or gloss celloglazing to give your designed cards or brochures something extra. It depends what’s on your card to which finish you should go for. If you have a brightly coloured images, a gloss finish will make it really pop. If you need to write on your card for appointments or loyalty cards etc, you will need an uncoated card. Lucky enough, you can have only the back uncoated and the front gloss or matt.
Embossing
Embossing involves rising areas of a card surface above the level of the rest, this creates a look that is impressive and tactile, and can be used with or without ink. Blind Embossing is when you raise a section without ink. This technique is particular applicable to heavy letterheads and business cards. It is often used in combination with foiling. More often than not it elevates the standard and quality of the product. The process is relatively inexpensive for the outcome.
Foiling
Foiling requires a speciality printing press, which stamps a foil film onto the design usually in small areas such as a logo or a name. The results are achieved by heating the foil as it is pressed onto the paper. The resulting effects are extremely varied, with finishes in everything from metallic to matt to clear to shimmer. This can really change overall look and is very useful if you wish to print on to coloured stock. see more
Die-Cutting
Creating a product in a shape other than a rectangle, is a simply way of making your material stand out. Die-cutting is achieved by using a cutter that is constructed into the desired form and can be used to change the shape of the edge of the paper, or by cutting a pattern into the surface of the page. Check out or print monster cards for die cutting. see more
Spot UV
Finishing your brochures, business cards and flyers with Spot UV, results in a striking first impression. Spot UV involved applying a varnish to a specific area of the design, i.e the logo or the text to make it stand out and catch the light. Spot UV can be applied in a Matt varnish, a gloss varnish, or even a glitter varnish. Gloss spot UV is however, the most widely used. Spot UV finished are best used in combination with a laminate. For example, gloss spot UV over a Matt Laminate. This results in the ultimate matt/gloss contrast! see more
Unusual sized Cards
Not all business cards have to be the standard 90mm x 55mm, You can go any size you like, but best to not go any larger. A simple size change can make a large impact form a small cost. A slim line card 90mm x 45mm is slim & sleek. Or a square 55mm x 55mm is young & fun.
Paper Weight
With so many paper weights, it’s easy to get confused. The standard card is 420gsm. With the rise of technology and machinery in the industry, there are now some really interesting options available. And I’m not just talking recycled stocks. A relative new technique is colouring the core of the card- Mulitloft. These cards are thicker than standard cards. You have a few different skin options and about 5 different core colours to choose from. They don’t come cheap, BUT they are super impressive.