Custom Holiday Greeting Cards
Custom holiday greeting cards with envelopes, printed for the season you actually mark — Christmas, Eid, Diwali, Lunar New Year — from 100. Foil on dark stock, room to sign, proof and price the same working day.
Ordered in September, or not at all
- Board
- Coated, uncoated or textured 350–450gsm; duplexed for a colored edge
- Formats
- A6 and A5 folded; flat 5 x 7 in; square 148 mm
- Finishes
- Hot foil in gold, copper, silver or a color; blind deboss; matte laminate outside
Get a price for Holiday Greeting Cards
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
The timeline, working backwards
The last row is the one that surprises people. A hundred cards signed, stuffed, sealed and addressed is most of a working day.
| Cards arrive | Two weeks before you want them posted |
|---|---|
| Proof approved | Two to three weeks before that |
| Artwork and list sent | Early autumn for December; six weeks out for any other date |
| Signing and stuffing | Longer than anyone allows — an hour per hundred, by hand |
Foil on dark stock, and why it dominates the category
Almost every holiday card that looks expensive is the same recipe: a dark or saturated stock and a single metallic foil. It works because foil is real metal leaf that catches room light, which no printed metallic ink does, and because a dark ground hides the handling a card gets on a mantelpiece. Gold and copper read warm; silver reads cold and suits blue and white schemes.
Dark stock shows fingerprints. A matte laminate on the outside fixes it and still leaves the inside writable.
Corporate cards have a second problem
- They are signed by several people, so the inside needs real space — not a printed message filling it.
- The company name goes inside, not on the front; a logo on the front makes it advertising.
- A neutral greeting reaches a mixed list; a specific one reaches part of it warmly and the rest awkwardly.
- Names print digitally per card if the list is a client list rather than a staff one.
Which holiday, and what changes
Christmas takes red, green, gold and deep blue. Eid takes green, gold and a crescent. Diwali takes orange, magenta and gold. Lunar New Year takes red and gold, and the year animal. What changes is only the palette and the mark — the stock, the fold and the envelope are the same job, which is why a business marking two of them should order both together. Our folded cards with a creased spine cover the construction underneath.
Envelopes, liners and the post
Envelopes come matched in the same stock family, plain or with a printed liner that shows as the flap lifts — the cheapest thing on the list that changes how the card feels. Check the postal thickness band before choosing a heavy duplexed card: a hundred cards moving up a band costs more than the upgrade did.
Holiday Greeting Cards — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- Coated, uncoated or textured 350–450gsm; duplexed for a colored edge
- Formats
- A6 and A5 folded; flat 5 x 7 in; square 148 mm
- Finishes
- Hot foil in gold, copper, silver or a color; blind deboss; matte laminate outside
- Inside
- Left open for signing; message printed only on request
- Envelopes
- Matched stock; printed liners optional
- Personalizing
- A name per card from a list, printed digitally
- Minimum
- 100 cards
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. Both sides as standard on cards, tags and leaflets.
- Color
- CMYK with spot colors for a brand match. Uncoated and cotton stocks print noticeably lighter than coated ones.
- Tolerance
- Trim plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut. Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding.
- Tooling
- A die only where the piece is shaped, perforated or drilled, made once and kept. A plain rectangle needs none.
- Food contact
- Food-safe inks on menus and counter print that will be handled where food is served.
- Sustainability
- Uncoated and unlaminated stocks recycle without separation, and FSC papers are available across the range.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build holiday greeting cards on
Sheet print is judged in the hand more than a box is: the weight, the surface and whether a pen works on it. These are the stocks we run for cards, folders, leaflets and stationery.
Coated card 300–400gsm
The workhorse. Sharp full-color print, matte or gloss, laminated where it is handled. Does not take a pen unless the finish is matte.
300–400gsmUncoated card
No clay coat. Colors read softer and warmer, a deboss goes deeper, and it writes on with anything. Photographs lose punch.
300–400gsmCotton and textured card
Soft, thick and fibrous. Takes a deep blind deboss and reads as an invitation. Foil sits beautifully; four-color does not.
400–700gsmDuplexed card
Two sheets bonded, often with a colored core, for a very thick card with a visible colored edge. The heaviest thing we print.
600–900gsmText paper 100–170gsm
Leaflets, folder inners and booklet pages. Folds without cracking and takes a full-color print on both faces.
100–170gsmManila and kraft paper
Unbleached, tan, and cheap. One or two colors read well; white ink gives a light mark. Envelopes, folders and tags.
90–300gsmSynthetic stock
Polypropylene sheet for tags and cards that get wet, torn or handled outdoors. Prints like paper and does not soften.
200–400 micronBoard-backed
A printed face laminated to grayboard, for a rigid card, a folder back or a display that has to stand up on its own.
1–2 mm boardNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Sheet print takes the widest range of finishes of anything we make.
Matte lamination
Soft, fingerprint-resistant, and it still takes a pen. The default on anything handled.
Gloss lamination
Maximum color depth. Shows every fingerprint and refuses a ballpoint.
Hot foil
Gold, rose gold, silver, holographic or a color. The block is small so the die is cheap.
Emboss and deboss
Deepest on uncoated and cotton stocks; shallow and prone to cracking on gloss coated.
Spot UV
A gloss shape on a matte laminate. Best on a dark ground where the contrast reads.
Edge paint and colored core
Color on the cut edge of a thick or duplexed card. Only seen when the card is picked up, which is the point.
Soft-touch
A velvet laminate on a cover or a folder. Marks on white; excellent on dark.
Uncoated and textured
No film at all. Writes on, debosses deeply, and reads as considered rather than cheap.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing printed sheets, folds and the grain: holiday greeting cards
A printed piece is specified flat and finished folded, and the difference between the two is where mistakes live. Send the finished size you want and we work back to the flat.
- Finished size
- The size after folding and trimming. A6, A5, A4, DL, US letter and legal are standard; anything else is cut on its own die.
- Bleed and safe area
- 3 mm of artwork past every trim edge, and nothing important within 4 mm inside it. The guillotine drifts by a fraction on every stack.
- Grain direction
- Paper folds cleanly along the grain and cracks across it. We set the grain to the fold, which is why a sheet is not simply cut from the biggest sheet available.
- Fold allowance
- On a roll fold or a gate fold, the inner panels are cut a millimeter or two shorter so the piece closes flat.
- Creasing
- Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding. Without it the fold cracks and the coating flakes along the line.
- Trim tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Spec your Holiday Greeting Cards
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a stock and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about holiday greeting cards? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
When should I order holiday cards?
Send artwork in early autumn for December. Working backwards: cards two weeks before posting, proof two to three weeks before that.
How long does signing take?
About an hour per hundred to sign, stuff, seal and address. It is the step everyone underestimates.
Should the message be printed inside?
On a corporate card, no — several people sign it and a printed message leaves no room. We leave the inside open unless you ask.
Which foil color?
Gold and copper on warm or dark stock; silver with blue and white schemes. All are real metal leaf, which is why they catch the light.
Can each card have a client name?
Yes, printed digitally from your list in the same run at no extra cost.
What is the minimum order?
100 cards.
Can I write in it?
Yes. The inside is never varnished, and we recommend uncoated stock if a lot of people are signing.
Do you supply envelopes?
Yes, matched, plain or with a printed liner.
Do you print for Eid, Diwali and Lunar New Year?
Yes. Only the palette and the mark change; the card, fold and envelope are the same job.
Will a thick card cost more to post?
It can push you into the next thickness band. Worth checking before choosing a duplexed stock.
Should the logo go on the front?
Usually not — it turns a greeting into advertising. Inside, small, is the convention.
Can I reuse the design next year?
Yes, the file and any foil die are kept; a reorder changes the year and nothing else.
Same range
