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.

Two stacks of embossed gloss business cards, showing the front and back of a design for a dogwalking business. A dog collar is sitting next to them.

Embossed gloss business cards from a spa, with an intricate embossed gloss design on the front and a clean finish with details on the back.

A stack of rounded rectangle business cards from a home contracting company, with the name Richard Suarez in large, embossed gloss letters.

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.
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Browse designs

Choose one of our templates

Browse designs

Choose one of 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

Reviews

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Reviewed by 569 customers

Low quality cards

Feb 16, 2026 | Abdullah H. |

Verified Buyer

I don’t like the business cards as they were very low quality.

Response from Vistaprint Customer Care Team:

Thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that you’re unhappy with the quality of your business cards. That’s definitely not the standard we aim to deliver. Could you please reply with a few more details about the quality concerns (for example, print clarity, color, paper stock, finish, etc.)? If possible, sharing a photo would also be very helpful. For an immediate solution, please reach out to our Customer Support team via https://www.vistaprint.ca/customer-care/help-center/.

Business cards

Feb 16, 2026 | Dwayne S. |

Verified Buyer

I am super happy with my cards. Customer service is on point. order got messed up in shipping and was replaced no issues. I would recommend 100%

Great customer service

Feb 12, 2026 | Carol C. |

Verified Buyer

My previous order of the cards had design that's solid black, and on the edges had scratches, and stated my disappointment when invited to do a review. Then when VistaPrint saw my review, they apologized, and sent me a new batch. And I can confirme the new batch is returned to the quality I've expected from before. Thank you for the great customer service!

Business Card

Feb 10, 2026 | Rhoda T. |

Verified Buyer

Fast, Nice and Support was very responsive

Amazing

Feb 9, 2026 | Karen A. |

Verified Buyer

This was exactly what I was looking for ! I noticed that only the front of the card would be embossed and I wanted the back done instead. Called support line at 11 pm and they were open ! Was assisted very quickly and with a very simple suggestion that achieved the exact look I wanted. Thanks!

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.