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The use of raised ink printing to make business cards has been a well-known normal procedure of printing for a long time. This kind of printing, additionally named raised thermographic printing, allows the ink on the paper to dry with an extended feel above the paper surface This raised ink impression is felt to offer a more memorable higher quality impression than a flat printed card.

To create the raised ink a powdered polymer is applied to the printed ink prior to drying the ink. Then when the ink is dried the ink that the powder stuck to dries with a raised feeling of thickness above the flat surface of the paper. Sometimes, it is desired to have only part of the ink raised so some of the ink is dried before the powder is applied. This portion of the ink will stay flat. It is only the portion of the ink that is wet when the powder is applied that will end up having the raised feel.

Most of the time raised ink printing is kept confined to main single color. Extra colors adds to the difficulty of the printing procedure. If two or additional colors in a design need to be printed quite close to together, then there is frequently another handling charge because the printing requires tighter registration than usual. Printing designs of 3 or additional colors has been a rarity due to the increased difficulty and costs it causes in the printing process.

One of the main options to help with a desire for additional color is the use of a colored paper stock. This must be considered carefully as ink colors will show up differently on different colored backgrounds. Options on colors, weight, and texture of paper stock can offer a very large variety of options for a business card design.

Another option which can add complexity and cost to the raised ink printing process is whether a design requires the ink to be printed to the edge of the card. When the design requires the ink to extend to the edge of the card it is called a full bleed to that edge. This also causes additional handling difficulty in the process which is usually covered again by optional additional costs for each side of the card the printing ink must come in contact with.

In the last couple of years there has been the development of a full color option to the raised ink process. Business cards can now be printed with full color plus full bleed on the front of the card and all the ink be raised. For example, you could use a full color photo to cover the front of the design and make it all raised. At this time this is only offered on heavy white glossy paper stock, but it certainly extends the options for thermographic raised ink designs.

This should provide you a brief study of the raised ink printing procedure. So with this information you should be ready to proceed to use your creativity and make raised ink business cards that brand your business image for success.