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

Browse our templates

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 637 customers

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Business card

Apr 26, 2026 | Sue I. |

Verified Buyer

Excellent print on a difficult card.

Very poor quality and not delivered on time

Apr 26, 2026 | nastaran j. |

Verified Buyer

I printed my business cards a week in advance and paid extra for express shipping because I needed them by April 21. However, my order arrived on April 22, which made them useless since I needed them for the afternoon of the 21st. Regular shipping would have arrived on April 23 without any extra charge, so paying for express delivery was completely pointless. On top of that, the quality was extremely disappointing. I selected the premium option with embossing, but honestly, I have never seen such poor quality before. A friend recommended this place to me, and when I showed him the results, he was shocked and couldn’t believe how much their quality has declined. Overall, I paid extra for nothing and received a product that did not meet expectations at all.

Response from Vistaprint Customer Care Team:

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are truly sorry to hear about the delay with your express shipment and that the quality of your embossed business cards did not meet your expectations. We understand how frustrating it is to pay for a service that doesn't arrive in time for your event. To help, we have sent a separate email to you discussing potential resolutions for these issues. We kindly ask that you respond to that email so we can move forward with the next steps to make this right for you. We appreciate your patience and look forward to hearing from you.

Très jolies mes cartes de visite

Apr 25, 2026 | Samuel M. |

Verified Buyer

C’est la première fois que j’ai imprimé en relief et ça a été une réussite! Merci Vista Print

They can definitely do better.

Apr 25, 2026 | Bernard M. |

Verified Buyer

Considering I paid Extra for Every Upgrade Possible, You would think they would be amazing! However they are Meh. . . . at best. I paid for the thickest card possible and they are Extremely Thin No Thicker Than the Old-school Paper Card. I also paid to Add the Raised Embossing and the Embossing is So Minimal you can Barely tell its There, You Literally have to move it back and forth in the light to tell its raised. Even to touch its barely Noticeable. The Nicest Part of this Card is My Design

Response from Vistaprint Customer Care Team:

We’re sorry to hear that the final product did not meet your expectations, especially after selecting the premium upgrades. This is not the experience we aim to deliver, and we understand your disappointment. We appreciate you pointing out the concerns with the card thickness and embossing, and we will make sure this is shared with our production team for review. Your comments about the design are also noted and valued. We sincerely appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve our products and service moving forward.

thank you very nice and lovely

Apr 24, 2026 | mehdi d. |

Verified Buyer

thank you for your service

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.