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Custom Game Card Printing
We provide world-class game card printing, whether as part of a board game package or standalone card games. From strategy games like Magic: The Gathering to character cards in Clue, we produce cards for any tabletop or board game style.
With 25+ years of experience, QinPrinting supports independent creators and game publishers, offering expertise and special Kickstarter packages to help bring your games to life.
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Game Card Instant Quote
Custom Game Card Materials
We use a high-quality paper card to make your game cards. This kind of card is thicker than standard paper. Black core stops light passing through the cards, making it easier for players to hide their hand. If using gloss or matte paper, we can glue two sheets of C1S together to get the same effect. C1S is cover paper, coated on one side only. These are the most common paper types we use for flash cards:
- 310 gsm / 114 lb black core paper
- 300 gsm / 110 lb gloss or matte art paper
- 350 gsm / 129 lb gloss art paper
- two sheets of 250 gsm / 92 lb C1S paper or 300 gsm / 110 lb C1S paper or 350 gsm / 129 lb C1S paper glued together
If you're designing game cards for young children to play with, we recommend you to choose a thicker paper option as the result will be more robust. Two sheets of 250 gsm / 92 lb C1S paper glued together is a good choice. If you need over 100 cards in a single deck, then 300 gsm / 110 lb art paper or 250 gsm / 92 lb C1S paper are better, as they'll stop the deck from becoming too bulky to be practical. It's also worth considering varnishing or laminating both sides of the cards to extend their useful life and minimize wear-and-tear. Our most popular choice for game cards is black core paper.
Other Special Paper
Contact us to custom special paper cards
Game Card Sizes
We use die-cutting to make game cards. A die-cutter is a sort of industrial scale cookie-cutter for paper and card. For each new shape or size, we must custom-make a cutting mold. We have the following size molds always in stock, as they're the most popular sizes for most game cards:
Using our standard pre-made molds is the most cost-effective method. But if you need a custom size, that's no problem. It just means that we'll need to prepare a special mold for you and for that service, we'll need to charge you a small added fee. We've seen tiny cards only a couple of inches square, to over-sized cards, and board games with several sizes of game cards in the same box.
Game Card Surface Finishes
We offer a range of finishes for your game card surfaces. The corners of your cards may be square or rounded, as you prefer. Most game cards are varnished or laminated on both sides. Our special finishes include:
The minimum order quantity (MOQ) for cards is a competitive 100 units. But it gets more cost-effective if you order 1,000 sets or more, as the price-per-unit goes down against the one-off set up cost of creating the plates for offset printing. We print cards on A1 sheets and then cut them out. So, you can also save money by designing your cards to fit as many as possible on a single A1 sheet.
Game Card Packaging
To prepare to ship your finished game cards, we'll package them in the box of your choice—a booster pack, a cardboard box, a telescope rigid box, or a magnetic closure rigid box—before shrink-wrapping the package. We'll load your cards into a board game box, or we can package them in a simple plastic wrapper. We can also offer a range of associated accessories you may find useful, such as stickers, rings, a card tray, elastic bands, booklets, and more, to further support and enhance the value of your game cards.
Game Card Booster Packs
Many game card enthusiasts love to collect sets and special series. So, if you need to add booster packs with either randomly selected cards from a series or for specific collections, just ask. We can print the cards in exactly the same way as a main deck, assemble, and pack them according to your needs. Or if you want to release your main deck in split sets that your customer then collects as they're put on the market, we can do that, too by randomizing the cards selected for each booster pack.
Why Print Your Game Cards with Us?
- Aside from our experience and expertise, we offer an unparalleled level of personal customer service and unbeatable pricing.
- We also use state-of-the-art printing technology and offer a range of environmentally friendly options, including recycled paper and card, FSC-certification, biodegradable soy inks, and more.
- We won't charge you for die-cut molds if you choose one of our standard sizes.
- Our expert team will check all your files free as part of the service and we have rigorous quality control protocols “baked in” to our design and manufacturing systems—including weight-checking your finished package to make sure no cards have gone missing—so we can guarantee a perfect result every time.
- You can choose as many card sizes as you need.
- Our advanced automatic card machine technology means that your cards are collected and collated as you want them with no risk of loss or damage, and are always in the right order.
- We can assemble your completed decks and load them into your custom branded box of choice, into your board game box, or both as part of our comprehensive game making service.
QinPrinting Rated Excellent for Custom Game Card Printing
FAQs
The exact cost of printing game cards depends on the choice of materials, size, number, and any special finishes. But you can get an idea by looking at the at-a-glance chart.
Game Card Printing Price Chart (Tuck End Cardboard Package)
| Quantity | 200 decks | 500 decks | 1000 decks | 2000 decks | 3000 decks | 5000 decks | 10000 decks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5" x 2.5" (76 cards) | $4.40 each $880 total | $2.11 each $1,056 total | $1.37 each $1,373 total | $1.00 each $2,009 total | $0.90 each $2,696 total | $0.79 each $3,953 total | $0.73 each $7,349 total |
| 2.5" x 3.5" (54 cards) | $4.38 each $875 total | $2.03 each $1,013 total | $1.29 each $1,293 total | $0.93 each $1,855 total | $0.82 each $2,466 total | $0.71 each $3,573 total | $0.66 each $6,593 total |
- 300 gsm / 110 lb coated cover paper with lamination both sides for cards, full color printing.
- 350 gsm / 129 lb C1S cover paper with lamination outside for tuck end folding carton package.
- Every card has the same design on the back
Game Card Printing Price Chart (Magnetic Rigid Box Package)
| Size | 200 decks | 500 decks | 1000 decks | 2000 decks | 3000 decks | 5000 decks | 10000 decks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5" x 2.5" (76 cards) | $4.85 each $970 total | $2.50 each $1,252 total | $1.73 each $1,731 total | $1.37 each $2,739 total | $1.25 each $3,760 total | $1.16 each $5,806 total | $1.12 each $11,155 total |
| 2.5" x 3.5" (54 cards) | $4.83 each $965 total | $2.42 each $1,209 total | $1.65 each $1,651 total | $1.29 each $2,584 total | $1.18 each $3,530 total | $1.09 each $5,426 total | $1.04 each $10,400 total |
- 300 gsm / 110 lb coated cover paper with lamination both sides for cards, full color printing.
- 157 gsm / 106 lb coated text paper with lamination wrapped on 2mm thickness grayboard for magnetic rigid box package.
- Every card has the same design on the back
Yes, absolutely! We offer full double-sided printing in vibrant colors and premium finishes, allowing you to maximize space for your designs or content. Choose a uniform backside design or multiple backside designs for even more creative flexibility.
Yes, you can order a sample deck before mass production! We offer various proofing options to help you review the design, colors, paper type, and print quality of the final product.
If you're unsure about our paper types, finishes, or want to see examples of past projects, you can also request a paper sample pack for reference. This ensures you're fully confident before moving forward with your order!
The production timeline typically ranges from 2-3 weeks, depending on the complexity of your order. Shipping times vary by location, but we provide estimated delivery dates upon order confirmation.
It's important that you prepare your files correctly to make sure that your cards come out looking great. Here, we share a few important tips.
- Export your files in PDF format for printing
- Make sure that you change the color space from RGB to CMYK before you export
- Export images as vectors whenever possible
- If you can't use vectors — if you're exporting bitmaps from Photoshop, for example — then make sure that you set the image resolution to at least 300 dpi
- If you have a design with colors or images which extend all the way to the edge of the finished sticker, remember to add a 3 mm “bleed zone” to allow for die-cutting
- If you're not exporting your artwork as vectors, you must separate the die-cutting design and the printable artwork into two layers
If you're working with a professional designer to create your files, they should understand what's needed to make everything “print ready”. But if you're working with design software yourself for the first time, these are the vital tips to remember before you submit your files. Still, our team of experts will always manually check all your files before we go to press. If we find any issues, we'll let you know and help you resolve them.
We accept high-resolution PDF files with a minimum of 300 DPI in CMYK color mode and 3-mm bleed. Be sure to include bleed and crop marks for accurate printing.
Yes, we ship worldwide, including to the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia. We offer various shipping options, including combined sea and air freight, to suit your budget and timeline.
Talk to Us!
If you're ready to print a set of stunning, high-quality game cards— and first-class customer service is as important to you as an unparalleled product — then we should talk. Get in touch today to chat through your needs or to ask for a no-obligation quote. We can't wait to help you make your fantastic game cards!