Printing essentials: choosing the right paper and ink
Weight speaks first
Before anyone reads your card, they feel it. Standard copy paper is 80gsm; a proper business card starts around 350gsm — nearly rigid, with a snap. Posters live happily at 200–250gsm, and packaging boards climb past 400gsm where structure matters. When in doubt, go one step heavier than feels safe.
Coating changes everything
Gloss coating makes colors punch and photos glow, but it shows fingerprints and fights pens. Matte and silk coatings mute glare, feel premium, and take handwriting beautifully. Uncoated kraft is the honest middle: tactile, writable, and perfect for brands with nothing to hide.
Match the ink to the job
- Digital toner — ideal for short runs and variable data like names or codes.
- Offset litho — the smoothest gradients and Pantone matching for runs in the hundreds and up.
- Screen plastisol — opaque, durable color on fabric that survives the wash.
- Water-based & discharge — soft-hand apparel prints with an eco edge.
Finish is the handshake
Spot UV, foil and embossing are seasoning, not the meal — one accent on a great stock beats three on a thin one. A matte card with a single foil logo will out-impress a glossy card with everything turned on.
Our two-minute rule
Tell us the item, the quantity and the impression you want to make, and we will spec stock, ink and finish in two minutes flat — with a physical proof before anything runs. That is literally what the prototyping service exists for.
