Help: Ink

We use offset printing presses to print your cards. Offset presses work very differently from the inkjet printer sitting on your desk. Our offset presses can print up to two colors in a single run, with each color needing a separate printing plate and separately mixed inks. Our inks are mixed by hand to ensure they are accurate and vivid. Because of the way offset printing presses work, we cannot print designs in full color like an inkjet printer. On the other hand, we can do things inkjet printers could never do. The quickest way to tell that someone printed their business cards on their home inkjet printer is if the paper is flimsy and the printing is fuzzy. Offset printed business cards, on the other hand, have razor-sharp printing on sturdy cardstock with a number of different variations such as linens or foil embossed papers. But the best thing about offset printed cards is that we utilize a "raised ink" process which gives the cards a tactile feel and causes the ink to raise up from the paper, giving it a shiny 3D appearance. You've probably seen these in the past and you know how it feels when you first touch it. It feels professional. That's something you can't reproduce on an inkjet printer, and it tells people that you paid for high-quality cards.

So how do we printed raised ink cards? First, the offset press prints the card design (one or two colors, depending on your choice). While the ink is still wet, the cards leaves the press through a conveyor belt which takes it under a nozzle that blows a transparent plastic powder onto the wet ink. The plastic powder sticks only to the ink. The cards continue on their conveyor belt journey through an oven that bakes them at more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the plastic powder, causing it to adhere to the ink like glue. As the raised ink dries, it takes on a glossy raised appearance that you can easily see and feel. The raised ink is just as vivid and colorful as the printed ink.

If you prefer not to have raised ink on your cards, you can opt for flat ink. This requires an extra 24 to 48 hours printing time.

When designing your card, there is something you need to consider regarding inks. If two different inks overlap, they will mix and create a new color which will probably not be the result you're looking for. As you're designing your card, be careful of text blocks that overlap other text blocks or graphics which are a different color. Some ink colors such as gray or black can mix with other colors without resulting in a muddy mess. Other color combinations, such as green and magenta or purple and brown can be, uh... bad. For best results, you should leave a small amount of space (about 1/8") between text or graphic objects that are different colors.