Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Custom business cards are the choice for a design that doesn't fit the standard 3.5 x 2 inch rectangle. A square cut, rounded corners, a die-cut shape, or an oversized format for a more memorable handoff. Pick your stock weight, finish and shape, and every detail from the die line to the coating gets built around your artwork rather than a fixed template. A solid option when the card itself needs to say something about the brand before anyone reads a word on it.
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Most business cards follow the same 3.5 by 2 inch rectangle because it fits a standard wallet slot and card case, but that convention is a starting point, not a rule. Custom business card printing covers everything that departs from it: a square card that stands out in a stack of standard rectangles, rounded or notched corners for a softer feel, a die-cut shape that echoes a logo or product silhouette, or a slightly oversized format that gives more room for a folded card or an unusual layout. The tradeoff to keep in mind with any nonstandard size is fit. A card noticeably larger than standard won't sit flush in most wallets or card holders, which matters if the card is meant to be kept rather than filed away.
Stock choice has more effect on how a card feels in hand than most people expect. A 14 pt to 16 pt cardstock is the standard weight for a card that feels substantial without being stiff to the point of resisting a shirt pocket. Heavier 32 pt or triple-layer stock gives a noticeably firmer, more premium card, often chosen specifically because the extra thickness reads as quality before anyone even looks at the print. Uncoated stock takes pen or pencil notes well and has a natural, tactile feel; a gloss or matte laminate adds durability and a more polished look but resists writing on the surface.
Finish is where a custom card usually earns its cost over a standard print run. A soft-touch matte laminate gives a card a suede-like texture that people notice when they pick it up. Spot UV. A glossy raised coating applied only to specific elements like a logo or border. Creates contrast against a matte background and adds a tactile edge people can feel. Foil stamping in gold, silver, copper or another metallic brings genuine shine that can't be replicated with standard ink, and pairs well with darker stock colors for contrast. These finishes can be combined, though stacking more than two on a single card starts to add real cost and is usually only worth it for a card meant to make a strong first impression rather than for a large team-wide reorder.
Before finalizing an order, it's worth settling the shape and size first, since that determines the die line the printer builds around. From there, choose stock weight based on how the card will actually be carried and handled, and choose finish based on what needs to stand out (a logo, a name, a texture) rather than adding effects across the whole card. A double-sided layout is worth considering too: it's a low-cost way to add a secondary color block, a QR code, or additional contact detail without crowding the front.
Card weight is the first thing anyone judges without knowing they are judging it. 14pt is the common baseline and reads as ordinary; 16pt is where a card starts to feel substantial in the hand; 18pt and above feels deliberate, and is heavy enough that people notice it as a decision rather than a default. Plastic and translucent stocks leave the paper scale entirely and are judged on rigidity instead.
Does anyone actually notice the weight? Not consciously, but a flimsy card gets filed as disposable in about a second, and that judgment happens before anyone reads it.
Full color on both sides is the norm and costs little more than one side, since the sheet passes through anyway. The decisions that matter are color accuracy and coverage: a brand color that must match across reprints runs as a Pantone spot rather than being mixed from process inks, and heavy solid coverage across a full card shows every handling mark unless it is protected by the right finish.
Should I print the back? Almost always. The cost difference is small and the reverse is the only space you have for anything beyond a name and a number.
A coating protects the card and sets its character. Gloss maximizes color and wipes clean but shows fingerprints and cannot be written on. Matte reads as more restrained and photographs without glare. Soft-touch is a matte film with a velvety surface that is the single most commented-on finish in this family. Uncoated takes pen, which matters more than people expect, because cards get written on.
Will people write on my card? Often. A meeting date, a note, a different number. On gloss or soft-touch, ink sits on the surface and smears. Leave an uncoated panel if that matters.
A standard card is guillotined square, which leaves a clean 90-degree corner and a cut edge showing the stock. From there the edge becomes a design surface in its own right: corners can be rounded on a die, edges can be painted in a contrasting color, and two or three sheets can be bonded so the card shows a colored core when viewed edge-on.
Why round the corners? Partly appearance, partly wear. A square corner is the first thing to bend in a wallet, and a bent corner makes a new card look old.
A square trim, a rounded outline, a die-cut shape built around a logo, or an unusual proportion. Anything the standard rectangle cannot do. The trade-off is always the same and worth naming: the further the card gets from wallet size, the more distinctive it is and the less likely it is to be carried. Which of those matters more depends entirely on how the card is handed over.
Will an odd shape actually get kept? If it is handed over at an event and photographed, yes. If it goes into a wallet to be found next month, a shape that does not fit gets discarded.
Ask for samples before committing. Weight and surface are the two things a card is judged on, and neither survives a screen.
Gloss for color saturation and wipe-clean durability; matte for a restrained surface that photographs without glare. Either one roughly doubles how long a card survives a wallet before the corners soften.
A matte film with a velvety surface. It is the finish people comment on unprompted more than any other, and it is also the one that marks most easily. A trade worth making on a card handed over deliberately.
A raised gloss varnish on selected elements, or metallic foil pressed into the stock. Against a matte or soft-touch ground both create contrast you can feel as well as see, which is why they are usually applied to a logo rather than to type.
Rounded corners, painted edges in a contrasting color, or a colored core layer showing between two printed faces. All three work on the one surface most cards ignore entirely.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Card | From | Format | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Business Cards | $100 | 3.5″ × 2″, any stock and finish | It has to fit every wallet, every time |
| Folded Business Cards | $100 | Center score, four panels | Contact details are not the only content |
| Plastic Business Cards | $120 | Rigid PVC, waterproof | It has to survive a wallet or a worksite |
| Translucent Business Cards | $110 | Frosted semi-transparent PVC | The card itself should be the talking point |
| Custom Business Cards | $160 | Square, shaped or die-cut | The rectangle is the thing you want to break |
It depends entirely on the handover. Handed across at an event and photographed, a distinctive shape works hard. Slipped into a wallet to be found next month, anything that does not fit the slot gets bent or discarded. Be honest about which situation yours is.
No. Describe the shape or send a sketch and we draw the dieline and show it on your proof before any tooling is cut. If you already have a dieline from a previous supplier, send it and we will check it rather than redraw.
Mainly the die, which is a one-off carried into the first order and reused on reprints, so a shaped card gets cheaper the second time you run it. Square trims and rounded corners often need no custom tooling at all.
It is the most usable of the non-standard options, since it still fits most holders and reads as deliberate rather than awkward. It also attracts postal surcharges if you ever mail it, which is worth knowing before you commit.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of custom business cards prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof showing artwork against the trim and safe lines, with any spot color, foil or spot UV areas marked as separate layers so you can see exactly what is being treated. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Yes. Any shape but the rectangle is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: square, shaped or die-cut. Order it when the rectangle is the thing you want to break. If you have seen it called custom business cards printing elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on custom business cards it is worth asking for one, because the difference between 14pt c2s and 16pt c2s is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on 16pt c2s, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are lamination, soft-touch, spot uv and foil. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: custom business cards are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. Where the job used custom tooling, that tooling is reused, which is why a shaped run costs less the second time. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
