Explore our diverse array of print features for your printing projects. Select from our exclusive stock range, which includes distinctive foils, embossing, high gloss, or bold neon and brights, to craft the perfect creations for those significant moments in your life. Talk to a Printing Mesa specialist about what effects and finishes we can do on what paper stocks. The sky is the limit!
Brushed finishing is the 3rd finish type we offer in our metal card range. This finish results in a very subtle linear brush pattern across the un-etched area of the card. It is ideal for cards that have either large amounts of etching or large amounts of un-etched surface.
Card stock refers to the material which our cards are made from. We offer an enormous selection of luxury, classic, unique and metal card stocks including white and black, textured and smooth, cotton, suede and metal. Our card stocks are available in a variety of thicknesses including duplex and triplex cards for added thickness.
Cut through die cutting allows unique customizations to your cards. Both simple and complex designs can be achieved cutting precisely and intricately through our metal cards giving an eye-catching and beautiful result. Use it for decorations inside the card design or to give rounded corners or unique shaped cards.
Debossing uses the same printed press techniques as embossing, but whereas an embossed design is raised against the surface of the paper, a debossed pattern is sunk in to the surface of the paper, protruding from the reverse side. A metal die is stamped in to the front of the card or paper stock causing a depression or imprint of the design. This debossing can be left as is, known as blind deboss, or the depressed area can be filled with colored ink, giving a rich, luxurious finish, perfect with thick card stocks.
A die cut is the process where designs are cut out of sheets of paper or card using a sharp steel blade formed in to a specific design. The shapes for die cutting are limitless; squares, circles, curves, holes, stair-stepped, rounder corners, even sharp points.
Edge foil uses the same process as foil stamping to apply the foil to the edges of the card. The finished result is an incredible metallic shine on the outside edges of your card, giving an extra touch of elegance. We offer edge foil in all of our foil colors to suite your needs.
Edge Painting is the process where colors are added to the sides of printed cards and pages. The process involves stacking the cards on a padding press and compressing them to give a tight spacing between each card and then painting using a brayer roller. The finished effect gives an eye-catching, glamorous styling to the edge of your cards, helping your cards stand out from the crowd.
Embossing is the process of creating raised patterns or letters on paperstock. Created by pressing a tightly a sheet of paper against two patterned plates which ‘molds’ the surface of the sheet. After the pressing is finished, the result allows parts of the sheet’s surface to be raised and protrude from the rest. This raised area forms a specific pattern or design, an imprint left behind by the pressing plate. The embossing can be an image, logo or text giving a unique finish to your printed product.
Etching is for our metal cards only. It creates a slightly recessed appearance with a matte finish when used on our stainless steel cards. It’s a beautiful and luxurious finishing for details and designs on metal cards and is striking when combined with a spot color.
Hot stamping, also known as foil stamping, is the printing process consisting of transferring pigmented or metallic foil on to a flat surface using a heated and carved metal plate. It is essentially a dry printing process. The design is carved in to the plate, which is then fitted with the foil. The plate is then heated, which leaves a colorful imprint on the surface, mirroring the design carved in to the plate. We use individual plates for each color and design.
When a design is printed within 0.25″ of the edges of the card it is considered a ‘full bleed’ design. This differs from regular printing as the designs have to be printed prior to trimming the cards to properly execute the alignment and design work.
Laser engraving gives an extremely unique finish. More popularly used on our metal cards, a laser burns away the desired design leaving an interesting finish with different coloring depending on the surface cut. For example on our black duplex uncoated card stocks the finished result gives a deep depressed ‘bronze’ finish. On black metal cards you will see a silver finish and a bronze finish on our stainless and gold metal cards.
Letterpress printing is the time-honoured technique of relief printing using a printing press; a process whereby multiple copies can be produced by repeated direct impressions by an inked, raised surface against sheets of card or paper. Firstly, a composition is created by locking movable type blocks in to the ‘bed’ or ‘chase’ of the press. These blocks are then coated in ink and then the paper is pressed against them to transfer the ink from the type block to the paper.
Available in either gold or silver, metallic ink is a brilliant form of metallic printing. Recommended for text or logo designs for use on thick card stocks such as duplex, triplex, soft and hard suede.
Our metal cards come in 3 different finishes. Mirror finishing results in a highly reflective and polished surface and gives a beautifully luxurious finish to our gold, rose gold and stainless steel metal cards. Mirror finishing gives an elegant and georgeous final result.
The offset printing process begins when the image artwork is transferred from a metal plate to a rubber roller, or blanket, which is then applied to the printing surface. These rubber rollers conform to the printing surface which produces a very sharp final image. Offset printing results in a consistent high quality image and is able to print any PMS or Pantone colors. The process requires a lengthy setup of cylinders and plates as well as preliminary printing in order to obtain the finest quality results. The advantage of offset printing is that is able to print on a variety of surfaces including metal, cloth, wood and plastic.
Original finishing is found on our stainless steel metal card stock. It is not as reflective as mirror finishing however it does give a particularly unique ‘metal’ look and an elegant sheen. It’s comparable to the finish on most luxury stainless steel appliances and tools.
Designs that continue to the edges of your card (full bleed) require oversized plates. A design is considered full bleed if it comes within 0.25″ of the edge of a card. Many of our print features use plate stamping techniquessuch as foil stamping, debossing, embossing, letterpress and thermography. Any designs that come within 0.25″ of the edge of the card will require larger plates to accurately complete the design. Please select this option if your design comes within 0.25″ of your card edge.
Available on our luxury black metal card range, our exclusive prism and front finishing results in a beautiful textured and finger print resistant finish. Prism finishing allows for micro geometric patterns while frost finishing gives a subtle texture over the card. Our luxury black metal card range with prism or frost finishing is both an elegant and powerful statement.
Size is referring to the outside dimensions of the card. The American standard is 3.5″ x 2″ (90mm x 50mm) which is the standard size all our cards are made to. We can print unique and odd size cards to your specifications where needed.
Spot coloring allows brilliant solid colors to be added to metal cards. For best results, spot coloring combines well with etching, although with the right design it can stand alone also. Add a branding or unique color to your metal card designs with spot color.
Spot UV gives a rich, glossy finish typically applied to detail areas of the card. It sits flush with the card surface and so can only be used on our laminated card stocks – silk and regular suede cards. Spot UV gives an eye-catching, reflective shine helping to accent details.
Get a raised, glossy and clear finish using Thermography. This heat applied process creates a beautiful finish that allows the color of the underneath to shine through. Thermography can be used on both light and dark card stocks.
Thickness is referring to the width of the card when looking at the edges. The thickness of a card is measured in points (which is an international standard unit of measure for printed cards and products). 1pt is equal to 1/72 of an inch or 0.352mm.
Variable data allows for unique details to be different on each card. An example of this is business cards for more than one person with the logos and address details the same, or membership card with each card having a unique membership number. Variable data is available on our metal cards and can be either laser engraved or applied with a spot color.
White ink is a fantastic alternative to white foil giving a clear and clean matte finish. Recommended for use with dark card stocks and is a perfect match with thick card stocks such as duplex, triplex, hard and soft suedes.
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