Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Folded business cards give a standard card twice the surface area by adding a center crease, opening like a tiny booklet instead of laying flat. That extra panel is useful for anything a single-sided card can't hold comfortably. A small map to a location, a short service list, appointment or loyalty tracking on the inside, or a secondary design element that only reveals itself when the card is opened. Printed on the same durable stock as a standard card, just scored and folded to spec.
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A folded business card is a standard card with one extra move built in: a center score line that lets it open like a miniature booklet rather than lying flat as a single panel. The most common version folds a horizontal card in half to create a small square, though a vertical fold works just as well depending on the layout. What that fold actually buys is space (roughly double the printable area of a flat card) without changing the footprint in a wallet or card holder, since a well-scored fold sits just as flat when closed.
That extra room gets used a few different ways depending on the business. A service-based business might use the inside panel for a short list of offerings that wouldn't fit on a flat card without shrinking the type to an unreadable size. A restaurant or venue often uses the inside for a small map or directions. Some businesses use the inner spread for a loyalty punch card or appointment log, effectively turning the business card into a small utility card that gets kept and reused rather than filed away or discarded. Others simply use the fold for a design reveal. A closed cover with a logo or tagline that opens to a fuller message or image on the inside.
Stock choice matters more here than on a flat card because the fold has to hold a crease cleanly without cracking the coating. A 14 pt to 16 pt cardstock folds reliably and keeps enough rigidity that the card doesn't feel floppy when open. Scoring before folding is what keeps the crease sharp and prevents the fibers on the outside of the fold from fracturing. An unscored fold on stiff stock tends to crack visibly along the bend, especially on darker inks or laminated surfaces where the white core of the paper shows through. A gloss or matte laminate adds some resistance to wear at the fold line from repeated opening and closing.
When laying out a folded card, it helps to think of it as two connected panels rather than one continuous design. Content that reads correctly closed (the "cover") and content that reveals itself opened (the "interior"). Keep essential contact information, like a phone number or website, on the outside cover so it's visible without opening the card, and reserve the interior for supporting detail. Because the fold adds a production step, folded cards typically run in smaller minimum quantities than flat cards, which suits businesses ordering a distinct, higher-impact card rather than a bulk giveaway stack.
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 center crease turns two printable faces into four, so the card closes to standard size and opens like a very small booklet. That extra surface is what makes it useful for anyone who needs more than contact details. A service list, a price summary, an appointment slot, a map. The crease is scored before folding so the stock bends along a controlled line rather than cracking its coating.
Does a folded card fit a normal card holder? Closed, yes. It is standard size. It is thicker than a flat card though, so a full wallet slot holds fewer of them.
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 |
Closed, yes. It folds to standard size. It is roughly twice the thickness of a flat card though, so a wallet slot that holds ten flat cards will hold about half that many folded ones.
Anything that would not fit on a flat card: a service list, a price summary, an appointment slot, a small map, a loyalty grid. If you cannot name what the extra space is for, a flat card on heavier stock is the better buy.
A missed or misplaced score. On coated stock the fold has to be scored first so the fibers bend along a controlled line. Folded without one, the coating fractures visibly at the spine on the very first fold.
Yes, and that is usually the point. Bear in mind the two inside panels are only seen once the card is opened, so the outside still has to earn that.
Pricing for folded business cards starts at $100 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
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 folded 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.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Photographic elements should be supplied at the resolution the finished size needs, not the resolution that looks sharp on screen. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Center score, four panels 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: center score, four panels. Order it when contact details are not the only content. If you have seen it called folded 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 folded 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: folded 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. If nothing about the artwork or the specification has changed, there is nothing to re-approve. 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.
