A very slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet light. The slick surface of UV coating makes it near waterproof, eye catching and very popular.

As the name suggests, a Spot UV coating or "varnish" is applied to chosen spots (areas), of a printed piece. This has the affect of highlighting and drawing attention to that part of the design, but it also provides the additional visual stimulus of having varied textures on a single printed surface. This adds a lot of interest, and can identify the printing as a premium piece in the perception of the reader.

We apply a Spot UV gloss varnish on top of matte finish printing. This achieves maximum contrast between the highly reflective shiny UV coating and the light-absorbing matt laminate, and can, for instance, create a striking first impression on business cards, postcards and club flyers.

A dull Aqueous coating is applied after the printing process is completed.  The Matte or "Dull" finish provides a very unique finish for your printed material.  Matte stock is very smooth and has a slight "eggshell" sheen. 

Silk lamination printing is a unique way to portray your business. It displays class, sophistication and style. The printed piece is laminated on both sides with a special laminate that gives a silky feel. They have a unique feel and texture that is unlike other paper printed material. Silk lamination is extremely durable making your printed material tear and water resistant.  The silk texture is a laminate, not a coating and therefore can effect the color of your finished product.  In general, the silk lamination will darken your printed material apx 5 to 10 percent.

Your image can still be printed at less than 300dpi, however the print quality will be sacrificed significantly. We print all jobs using 500 Line Screen (Silk Products are printed at 200 line screen), which means you can utilize up to 400dpi for any print job. We recommend at least 300dpi to obtain the best print quality.

For the best results, we recommend PDFs but we can accept JPEG, EPS, AI, PSD or TIFF files as well.

Please create all files with a 1/16" bleed (0.0625" on all sides) As an example, a 3.5" x 2" business card file should be submitted at 3.625" x 2.125".

Please keep all safe text at least 1/8" from the trim line.

Files must be CMYK, not RGB.

PDFs, EPS and AI files:  Please convert all fonts and text to outlines and flatten all transparencies. 

JPEG, PSD, TIFF: Please flatten all files. You may save your files at 400 DPI (300 DPI is the minimum).

We accept PDF, EPS, AI, JPEG, TIFF, and PSD files.

Jobs can be turned around as fast as 48 hours! Most standard items are printed and shipped in 2 - 4 business days.  Silk Laminated products and custom orders can take longer.  Specific product turnaround times are posted on each product page.

Printers cannot print right to the edge of a paper sheet. To create that effect, the printer must use a sheet which is larger than the document size. Then the printer prints beyond the edge of the document size (by 1/8"), then cuts the paper down to the document size.

It is the designer's responsibility to set the bleed correctly. For example, when setting up a 5.5 x 4.25 (quarter page) job, you should START your job at 5.625 x 4.375 (templates for many popular sizes are available in our templates section). By extending the image past the cut mark, the cutter blade cuts through ink, rather than trying to cut exactly on a line, which is next to impossible.  As a rule of thumb, try to keep important information at least 1/8" from the cut lines, as this ensures nothing important will be cut.

The color that you see on a computer monitor or television screen is called “additive color” and has a different set of properties from “subtractive color”, which is the kind of color that applies to your uvcards.com printed jobs.

Additive color emanates directly from a light source. Subtractive color comes from light that is reflected off of an object from a light source.

Because additive color comes to our eyes directly (unless it is filtered), it is purer color and is able to represent a broader range of the spectrum than subtractive color. For this reason, even under the best conditions it is very rare that your monitor, which is RGB (additive), and offset printing, which is CMYK (subtractive), will ever match.

So, the short answer is no. However, we assure you that our highly experienced team and state-of-the-art equipment will produce your job in the best quality possible.

Pending: The order has been placed and is waiting for review.

Pre-flighting: Your files are currently being reviewed by a member of our staff.

OK to Print: Our prepress department has reviewed your files and have approved them for print.

In Production: Your order in in production.  Your order will remain at this status until completion.  You will be notified via email with tracking information once your order has shipped.

Hold: There is a question about your order, or we need clarification before we can proceed.

Waiting for Files: We did not receive your files, or there was an error with your files.

Canceled: Your order was canceled.

Shipped: Your order has shipped.

Post Production: Your order has printed and may be awaiting bindery or additional processing.

Waiting for Payment: Your order will not be processed until payment is received.

Closed: Your order has been completed.

Quality Assurance: There was an error with your order that our Quality Control Department deemed unacceptable and has submitted your order for reprint.

Due to the complexity of the various products available at UV Cards it is necessary to upload your files AFTER you complete your order.  Simply add the items that you wish to order to your cart, complete the checkout process at which time you will be directed to an upload page. 

If we request that you upload revised files, please log in to your account and view your order in the order history.  You will be given the ability to upload revised files for your order.

If for some reason your file(s) did not upload properly, you may email your file(s) to files@uvcards.com. Be sure to include your order number and contact info in your email to ensure proper order processing on our part.

To maintain our fast turnaround, we process jobs as soon as we get them. If you need to cancel a job that has already been submitted you must speak directly to a uvcards.com representative. You may not email or leave a voice mail to cancel an order. If the job has not been plated and scheduled for production we will be happy to cancel your order. If plates have been made or your job is "In Production" status you will be responsible for full payment.

We recommend that you take special care with checking your job to make sure it’s correct, before placing your order. Or, if you are using our design services, we recommend requesting a proof.

Please send us 5 to 10 samples of your print job so we can find out what went wrong with your job. If we deem the problem a manufacturing defect, we will be more than happy to reprint your job. However uvcards.com will not be responsible for design flaws on jobs not designed by uvcards.com design team, Including but not limited to, typos, resolution issues or not enough bleed for cutting. uvcards.com has the right to decide what is and what is not a manufacturing defect.

Once a job has been delivered or shipped the sale is final. The lone exception to the rule is if there was a manufacturing defect. A customer has 48 hours to let us know of any manufacturing defect. Otherwise the sale is considered final. Please send 5 to 10 samples of your print job so we can find out what went wrong with your job. If we deem the problem a manufacturing defect, we will be more than happy to reprint your job. However uvcards.com will not be responsible for design flaws on jobs not designed by uvcards.com Design Team. Including but not limited to, typos, resolution issues or not enough bleed for cutting. uvcards.com reserves the right to decide what is and what is not a manufacturing defect.

Yes, we offer custom print quotes on any full-color printing project. Give us a call or email us at estimating@uvcards.com. Please allow at least 24 hours for a custom quote to be completed.

What is Spot UV?

As the name suggests, a Spot UV coating or "varnish" is applied to chosen spots (areas), of a printed piece. This has the affect of highlighting and drawing attention to that part of the design, but it also provides the additional visual stimulus of having varied textures on a single printed surface. This adds a lot of interest, and can identify the printing as a premium piece in the perception of the reader.

We apply a Spot UV gloss varnish on top of matt laminated printing. This achieves maximum contrast between the highly reflective shiny UV coating and the light-absorbing matt laminate, and can, for instance, create a striking first impression on business cards, postcards and club flyers.

How do I set up my file?

When creating a Spot UV job, You must include a Spot UV template file along with the regular full color file. The Spot UV template file is used to show where the UV will be placed. Use only black (set us as C=0, M=0, Y=0, K=100) to indicate where you would like to have the UV. White will indicate NO UV.

So for each file that contains your artwork, you would create a corresponding file that contains ONLY black and white to display where you want the spot UV coating to be.

Remember, "If it's white, you can write"

Silver Ink files must be sent in a vector file format. You must use a vector program like Adobe illustrator to call out the object that you want in silver ink.

Create your document as CMYK. To indicate the silver ink, you must set the object color to Pantone® 877 C. Any other color will not be accepted as silver. Remember, silver is a spot color and transparencies like drop shadows should be avoided.

After creating your file, be sure to convert all fonts to outlines and save your file as an EPS.

If you do not have access or operating knowledge of illustrator, contact us for assistance in converting your design.

No.  You can select either Spot UV or Pantone 877C Silver ink, not both.

When using a blue in your design, always make sure to leave at least a 30% difference in your Cyan and Magenta values.

Blue is close to purple in the CMYK spectrum. Remember, use a low amount of magenta whenever using high amounts of cyan to avoid purple.

Example: C:100 M:70 Y:0 K:0

Cracking of the edges of a business card occurs sometimes when the card contains high values of ink, as in dark colors.  This usually happens on a small amount of cards in the run. To prevent this, use lighter colors or if you must use dark colors, use as little ink as possible.

Many things can cause banding. Banding can be caused by the program that it is exported from, such as Indesign or Corel. Also, too many gradient steps, for example going from a very light color to a dark color, in a small area will cause banding.

To prevent this, check your digital files before sending. If you use a gradient, make sure it has enough room for a smooth transition.

Foil stamping is currently available on a limited number of standard products as well as special order items.  Foil stamping is available in any one of the following colors:  Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Teal, Copper, Green, Prism, Purple, Pink and Black (you may use multiple foils and apply them on both sides of the card).

In addition to your file for print, you will need to provide a foil mask file.  The mask file, similar to a spot uv mask file, should be black and white only.  The black area will represent where you want the foil stamping to be placed. Please make sure that your black is C=0. M=0. Y=0. K=100.

You may have spot uv and foil on the same side and they may intersect.

Be advised that there may be up to a 1/16" variance on the placement of the foil as the cards are stamped after printing and cutting.  Be aware of this if attempting to align foil with other printed artwork on the card.

Foil may "bleed" off the edge of the card.

For the best possible results, we recommend a Rich Black value of C=60, M=40, Y=40, K=100 for UV Coated and Silk Laminated products. For matte and uncoated products, we suggest a Rich Black value of  C=40, M=40, Y=20, K=100