Letterpress Business Cards

Letterpress business cards are made on press. A single PMS ink colour is pressed into the cotton board, leaving the printed areas sunk into the card. That recessed impression is physical, not a coating or an effect added after printing.

The stock is 300gsm Wild Cotton premium cotton board in white. Each order is a single flat card at 90 x 55 mm, rectangle. Landscape is the preset orientation, while portrait is available at no additional cost. The front is printed only, with the back left unprinted. A plain digital back is available on request as a custom quote.

These cards are made to order, and nothing is held in stock. You can order from 100 to 250 cards in steps of 10. Runs above 250 are available by custom quote. There is no maximum number of proof rounds, and nothing goes to press until you approve the design. The 18 to 23 working days lead time starts when you approve the design and already includes delivery to an Australian address.

Every order uses a single PMS colour, chosen as part of the artwork. Clear shapes and generous type carry the pressed impression best. Large solid areas of ink behave differently on an uncoated cotton board than they would on a coated card. A second ink colour or digital printing on the front is available as a custom quote.

This finish earns its place when the card changes hands after a first conversation. A studio or consultancy, an architect, a jeweller, a lawyer, a photographer, or a hospitality or property brand may choose this stock for that moment. The choice is about how the card feels in the hand, not the size of the run.

These letterpress business cards are printed on press, with the ink pressed into cotton board so the printed areas sit into the card. The digital foil products in the range use a digital finish on a coated card, so the two products are different jobs with different lead times. If you want a metallic foil finish with the same pressed impression, see hot foil stamped business cards. If you want the foiled artwork to sit raised above the card, choose embossed foil business cards. Before you settle on a finish, compare these with the custom business cards range to see the other options in the family.

On a standard digital card, the ink sits on top of the sheet. On this card, the press pushes a single PMS ink colour into 300gsm Wild Cotton board, so the printed area sits below the surface. That recess is a physical change in the cotton, not a layer added after printing. A digital press cannot reproduce that depth because it does not strike the sheet the same way. The difference shows when you run a fingertip over the type. The production window is longer because the cards are made to order on press, with a lead time of 18 to 23 working days from design approval. The finished card carries that pressed mark into the hand of the person you hand it to, and the impression is what they remember.

The board is 300gsm Wild Cotton, a white uncoated stock made from cotton fibres. Coated cards are sealed under a smooth finish, which keeps ink on the surface and gives the card a slick feel. This stock has a soft matte face with a light texture you can see and feel. When the press pushes a PMS ink into the cotton, the fibres compress and hold the recess. On a coated sheet, the same impression would not read as clearly because the sealed surface is harder and less absorbent. The uncoated white also keeps the card free of glare, so the recess is read by shadow and touch rather than by shine. The stock is not a backdrop. It is the surface that makes the pressed mark visible.

Your job moves from artwork to finished cotton card without a warehouse step in between. You work through the proof until you approve the design, and only then does the press run begin. Because these letterpress business cards are made to order on press, nothing sits on a shelf waiting for a delivery address. The quoted window of 18 to 23 working days already includes delivery anywhere in Australia, so the time you see is the time to your door. The wait is long because the process is physical: cotton board is fed, pressed and trimmed for each approved job. What you do from any state or territory is the same. Approve the design, let the press run, and wait for the card to arrive.