Business cards printed on 22pt silk laminated card stock have virtually unlimited design freedom with the ability to add custom shape die-cutting, foil stamped elements including gilded foil edges, embossing or debossing, high contrast UV spot gloss and painted edges.
22pt thick silk laminated cards have a low sheen matte appearance paired with an elegant silky soft feel that is an ideal surface for adding the high sheen contrast of spot gloss and foil colour to highlight elements of your card.
These business cards are printed on a traditional offset printing press using full colour UV dry inks to achieve optimal colour and high fidelity replication of your artwork.
THINGS NOTES ON EMBOSSING / DEBOSSING Elements that are embossed will appear as a debossed effect on the reverse of the card. Elements that are debossed may show a slight impression on the reverse. We are not able to to offer gilded foil edges on cards with embossed elements.
Things You Should Know
Supply Die Lines As Vector Files
Please supply your die line file in Vector format. If you need help preparing your die line watch the tutorial video or select the option to have us create your die line for you.
Simple Shapes Save Money
The prices listed are for cards cut to simple custom shapes. If your cards require intricate cutting, we will need to provide a custom estimate. We will let you know if your die line requires a custom estimate during the file check process.
Foil area should be less than 2 square inches
Foil is based on an estimated foil size of around 1" x 2". Full foil coverage, or borders that go around the edge of the card require a larger die and would need to be custom quoted for the additional die size.
Foil Can Fluctuate
With the foil stamping, you can expect some slight shifting throughout the print run between the CMYK and foil layers -- there may be up to 1/16" shift on the placement of the foil. Keep this in mind if you are trying to align foil with other printed artwork on the card. The areas where there is tight registration between the CMYK elements and foil elements may not turn out as expected.
Fine Detail / Small Text Does Not Translate Well To Foil
Fine detail in foil stamped elements can fill in (the center of an "e" or "a" in small type, or fine detail in an image or complex logo).
Leave Wiggle Room for Cutting
During the die-cutting process, there will be a degree of shifting of the cut. A good design leaves a 1/8" critical margin inside the trim line to compensate for this shifting. Art that extends to the edge of the card requires a 1/8" bleed.
Die Cut Holes or Space Between Die Cut Elements Need to Be 1/8"
Any hole or interior shape that will die cut needs to be at least 1/8" in diameter. Say you were die cutting a letter U shape, the aperture in the U (the space between the two stems) must be at least 1/8". Small cut like this may not be strip away during cutting but a gentle tap will knock it out!
Colour Will Vary
The upside of club-run printing is the shared savings, the downside is that we adjust colour globally to get the best overall colour for shared jobs. This means the colour of club-run printed items will vary through the run and will not match exactly on re-prints. Our Indigo printing service is better suited to colour critical work.
Greys Can Shift
CMYK Process colours in the grey range and de-saturated images can shift in colour throughout the print run and may cause the greys to appear either cooler or warmer. For a neutral grey, we recommend converting all grey values and de-saturated images to true greyscale consisting of K (black) only values.
Your Blue Might Not Really Be Blue
Due to the nature of club-run printing, you may experience colour variation in solid fills of blue. For great blue results, we recommend a 30% difference between your Cyan and Magenta levels to ensure a nice rich dark blue, rather than purple.
Die Size Matters
The die line must fit within the size ordered; for example if you order a 4" x 6" die cut card, your shape must fit within a 4" x 6" boundary.
File Prep
Technical Specifications + Templates
Die Line: Supply a file that includes a vector path outline indicating the shape and size of your die cut card. Pricing is based on simple shape, so your die line should be as simple as possible or the order may be placed on hold to quote the complex die. Foil Stamping: Include a separate file/artboard with these elements coloured with Pantone Black to denote the special finishing. Alternatively, if you would like to include these elements in the same file, place these elements on a separate layer and coloured with a Pantone colour (typically Pantone Black) that denotes the Foil Stamping. Emboss/Deboss: Include a separate file/artboard with these elements coloured with Pantone Black to denote the special finishing. Alternatively, if you would like to include these elements in the same file, place these elements on a separate layer and coloured with a Pantone colour (typically Pantone Black) that denotes the Foil Stamping. Spot Gloss: Include a separate file/artboard with these elements coloured with Pantone Black to denote the special finishing. Alternatively, if you would like to include these elements in the same file, place these elements on a separate layer and coloured with a Pantone colour (typically Pantone Black) that denotes the Foil Stamping.
Bleeds: all files must have a 1/8" bleed on each side Live Area: keep all critical text and artwork 1/8" inside the trim Colours: supply your files in CMYK colour (Pantone/RGB colours will be converted or rejected) Resolution: 300 dpi minimum (400 dpi preferred) Fonts: fonts must converted to curves/outlines (we do not accept fonts). Transparencies: flatten all transparencies Types Of Files We Accept: MAC & PC files from Photoshop (PSD), Illustrator (EPS or AI), CorelDraw (CDR or EPS), Adobe Acrobat PDF, TIFF or JPEG.
Offset Printed using AM Screens 22pt Silk Laminated Card Stock Full Colour Both Sides (4/4) or Full Colour One Side (4/0), using UV Inks Foil Stamping Available (Both Sides) Custom Shape Die-Cutting Available Embossing and Debossing available (One Side Only)
