Card Design Basics and Pointers

Making a gift card for your business is simple, requiring a few easy steps:

1. Determine POS integration and encoding
2. Design your gift card
3. Send encoding data
4. Proof and then pay
5. Get your cards

Yes. We recommend you include your contact information and disclaimer text. If you have questions, contact us, and we will be happy to answer any questions and provide standard disclaimer text examples.

Yes. Custom die cut carriers will incur a custom die charge ranging from $200 to $500. Visit the custom card holders and sleeves page to receive an instant quote.

Yes. Plastic Resource can add magstripes to cards, key tags, and combo cards depending on the nature of the encoding/numbering required on the key tags and combo cards. Contact us at sales@plasticresource.com or 833-290-5684 for additional information.

Yes. We have two custom carrier templates available specifically designed for adhering your card directly to the carrier.

Yes. We have full in-house capabilities to assist you in designing your custom gift cards and key tags. To learn more visit the Custom Design Services web page.

Yes. Because of the transparency printing on both sides may not be possible (particularly on clear cards). Adding white ink to limit the transparency is a must on double-sided cards. If you have not printed on transparent plastic before, we highly recommend a press proof.

Yes. We have a custom die for square or rounded corners using the same dimensions (2 x 3.5) as your standard business cards. Custom dies (unique shapes and sizes) are also available for an additional charge. Business cards are also available in a selection of material like clear, frosted and white plastic. Visit the plastic business cards page for details and an instant quote.

Yes. Plastic Resource offers a number of pre-designed gift and loyalty cards for you to choose from. Once you've chosen a design, send us a logo if available and we'll add it to the final design.

Yes. A press proof for transparent business cards will cost between $100 to $200 depending on the complexity of the cards. If this is the first time you have printed on transparent plastic for business card use, it can be a good investment to ensure your design will print as you envision.

If you are looking for a proof for opaque cards, see “Do you send a proof prior to putting a custom-printed card into production?”.

Yes. We offer over 70 card images for you to choose from. Once you have made a selection our team will then work with you to customize the design to your business and add your logo to the card. Browse our pre-designed card library.

Yes. Plastic Resource offers a wide selection of custom and pre-designed folding and hanging carriers and sleeves (a.k.a. gift card backers or gift card presenters). Visit to view our Card Carriers & Sleeves section to browse pre-designed options, or receive an instant quote on printing custom envelopes / sleeves.

Yes. We offer samples of all our custom plastic gift, loyalty, membership cards, and key tags as well as our custom carriers and sleeves. Samples can be requested using our Request Samples form.

Getting great looking custom plastic cards that reflect your brand is easy. Choose from one of our three user-friendly card design methods:

• Visit our card design gallery and customize any of our pre-designed cards with your logo and information.
• Use our custom design services to build a card with your brand from scratch.
• Designing or have a design ready to upload? Our card templates are available to place your design into the right card.

Upload your files using the Send Artwork form. A plastic resource representative will then contact you to start your order. Please contact us any time with questions.

We offer two types of transparent business cards: clear (fully transparent) and frosted (partially transparent). The level of transparency also depends on the card design and the color of the ink. Darker colors are less transparent than light colors. We often add white ink to the card to limit the transparency of lighter colors.

You will find design specifications, recommendations, and downloadable templates in a number of popular file formats (AI, PDF, and PSD) on the “Create Your Custom Card” web page. If you are designing a card or key tag with a custom die cut shape, please contact us to discuss details.

Transparent plastic is popular for plastic business cards. You need to keep the material in mind when you design your card as it does affect the vibrancy of the card — especially with lighter colors. We will often add white ink to the card to make the certain colors more vibrant. The level of transparency/color vibrancy may not be fully reflected in a proof. If you have not printed on transparent plastic before, we highly recommend a press proof.

For a list of specifications, guidelines and general tips, see the design template web page. This includes:

• Cards are generally full color on the front and black text on the back
• Cards generally have the company logo on the front
• Cards generally have a disclaimer, company contact information and magstripe/barcode (if applicable) on the back

See the design template for more.