What are some design tips for creating embossed business cards?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re creating an embossed, 3D business card: - The gloss is shiny and reflective, so to help with readability, make sure that any glossy text is 10pt or larger. - Choose what design elements (text, logos, patterns) to apply gloss to carefully – by limiting how much gloss you use, you can really make certain things stand out. - The gloss colour will match the original color of your design as closely as possible, so we typically recommend bright colours and high-contrast designs for the most impact.

Embossed Gloss Business Cards

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Want the front of your card to jump out at people? Add raised, 3D shine to your text, design – or even both. See details

Turn raised printing into raised interest with embossed business cards.

2 paper thicknesses: standard (14pt) & premium (16pt)
Rounded corners available
Spots of raised, glossy printing on a matte front
Easy-to-write-on matte on the back
Great for highlighting logos, names & more

A cut above

With our embossed business cards (also known as 3D business cards or spot UV business cards), you can add layers of thick, raised gloss to specific parts of your design. The special finish gives text and visuals a can’t-miss shine and 3D texture that stands out against the smooth, matte background. It’s a great option for almost any design, since you can use embossed gloss on up to 75% of the front of your card.

Stylish & smart

Embossed business cards give you a creative, professional look, and point customers towards the most important information and images. You choose where to use the special finish. For the best look – and to avoid any peeling – avoid placing embossed gloss right along the edges. Give your company name and contact info a little extra oomph. Emphasize your logo and branding. Or make sure a special offer gets extra attention.

Fast, easy design

You can upload your own design or browse a variety of templates created specifically for embossed cards. Then, you decide where to add the raised, glossy printing. You can go with our default suggestions, but you’ll typically be able to choose almost any piece of your design. You’ll always see a chat option if you need a hand.

Better by Design

This item is part of our Better by Design collection, which connects you to responsibly sourced products. Learn more.

What Makes it Better

Responsibly Sourced Materials: Products made from responsibly sourced materials are designed to help reduce environmental impact. They're selected not only for the materials themselves, but also with consideration for the workers who farm and manufacture them, indigenous communities affected by production and the biodiversity in and around production areas.

VistaPrint offers Embossed Gloss Business Cards design templates in assorted styles.

FAQs

Reviewed by 659 customers

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May 20, 2026 | bianca f. |

Verified Buyer

Hi there! I absolutely loved the cards ! I I however noticed that I pressed to laminate the picture and text but it seemed that only the picture was glossed. I also feel like our text came out a bit smaller than anticipated at the bottom and even though that may be a personal design issue, I noticed that I would maybe love to make a small adjustment with that in the future! Other than that( they look great!

business cards

May 19, 2026 | Josea M. |

Verified Buyer

quick and easy

Borders are off

May 18, 2026 | Jason P. |

Verified Buyer

I had a orange border at the top and bottom for the card. They are not even at all and every card has different size borders.

Response from Vistaprint Customer Care Team:

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with your Embossed Gloss Business Cards. We truly appreciate your feedback and understand how important design alignment is in meeting your expectations. After reviewing your design, we identified a key factor that contributed to the outcome: Uneven borders – Printed products are trimmed after printing, and small shifts in the cutting process can occur. Because of this, borders may appear misaligned or uneven on the final product. To help with future projects, the following guides may be useful: * Can I add a border to my product design? https://www.vistaprint.ca/customer-care/help-center/360060311431 * How do I stretch my design to the full bleed? https://www.vistaprint.ca/customer-care/help-center/360051218651 Since this was your first order, we’d be happy to make this right with a free replacement. Please update your file by re‑uploading artwork without a border and keeping all important details within the safety area to avoid uneven trimming. Once updated, kindly let us know so we can proceed promptly. Your feedback will also be shared with our production team to strengthen quality checks and improve guidance, helping us deliver more consistent results in the future. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. Your input is incredibly valuable, and we look forward to ensuring your next experience reflects the quality you expect.

Business cards

May 18, 2026 | Jim P. |

Verified Buyer

I required some help from your designer, Jihen Benrhouma. What an absolutely patient, wonderful and intelligent woman! With her assistance, I was very impressed with the business cards I had her assist me on for my business. These were embossed logo and text cards. She captured what I had in my mind and made my business cards a reality that I will be proud to distribute. The turnaround time was excellent as always. I appreciate the great customer service from VistaPrint. Thanks to your team!!!

Great fast service!

May 18, 2026 | Matthew W. |

Verified Buyer

I had an issue with my first batch of business cards which was a design flaw. (Not their fault) And they helped me right away. I highly recommend vista print!

Displaying Reviews 1-5

No more guesswork. We take care of the entire design process, from brainstorming ideas to delivering the files to your account.

Frequently asked questions

Embossed printing is a process that puts raised lettering and images on paper to create an eye-catching, three-dimensional effect. We use a raised, clear polymer coat to highlight certain parts of your design and make them pop out. As you design your card, you will get the chance to choose the parts of your card you’d like to be embossed – whether it’s text, design or both.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re creating an embossed, 3D business card:

The gloss is shiny and reflective, so to help with readability, make sure that any glossy text is 10pt or larger.
Choose what design elements (text, logos, patterns) to apply gloss to carefully – by limiting how much gloss you use, you can really make certain things stand out.
The gloss colour will match the original color of your design as closely as possible, so we typically recommend bright colours and high-contrast designs for the most impact.

You can apply embossed gloss to up to 75% of the front of your card, though you should avoid adding the special finish to the edges as doing so can cause it to peel. With that in mind, we highly recommend keeping your design within the printing safety margin (shown as a dotted line in our design studio).

Yes, the type of printing we use is also known as spot UV. This process actually has a lot of names, so you might see this type of product listed elsewhere as spot UV business cards, 3D business cards, spot gloss business cards or raised print business cards.

Our embossed business cards are made using either a 14pt standard or 16pt premium. Each point (pt) is equal to .001 of an inch, to give you a frame of reference. All of the options have a smooth, matte finish.

For complete information about card dimensions, check out our business card size guide.

For now, you can only have embossed gloss on the front of your 3D printed card. But we are working towards offering that option at some point in the future. In the meantime, you can get customized printing on the back of your card for an additional fee.

You can order our spot UV business cards with rounded corners, but not in a square shape.

On our templates, the embossed areas can’t be changed. However, if you upload your own design, you have more freedom to decide which parts are raised. You can do this through our design studio, or you can leave specific directions for our team.