The biggest difference between plastic cards and paper cards is the material itself. Plastic is waterproof, durable and flexible, and — the property designers love most — it can be printed transparent or translucent, something paper struggles to match. Paper cards, by contrast, are prized for a flat, even print and a fast turnaround (at least the standard ones — Printing Banana's premium cards are a different story).
Below are 19 PVC plastic business card designs from working designers, each one showing how to put those material properties to work and build a card that stands apart.
19 PVC plastic cards that surprised us
- Graphic Design card
This PVC card combines blue foil stamping, single-colour printing and spot UV. The real surprise is the UV on the text: as the light refracts across it, the lettering glints and sparkles, and that sparkle sits in perfect harmony with the blue foil. The whole card feels artistic — exactly right for a graphic designer's identity.
- Large white-ink card
White ink is one of the most common techniques for PVC cards. Because the stock is transparent or translucent, text printed straight onto the plastic never reads as crisply as it would on white paper. The best way to get clean, legible printing on a plastic card is to lay down a white-ink base first, then print on top of it.
- Frosted white-ink card
This card carries a lot of different colours, so a white-ink underlay is essential to make them pop. Without it, the printed colours come out dull and muted.
- White ink and silver foil card
Two things make this one special. First, the URL is knocked out of the white ink — a common trick that makes the web address stand out. Second, silver foil is stamped over the white ink; backed by the white, the silver reads far richer and more refined.
- Seafood restaurant card
Printed on one side, with white ink behind the restaurant name. The most captivating property of a plastic name card is its see-through quality: print a pale background colour onto the clear stock and you get an almost translucent, blue-tinged glow.
- Double-sided white-ink card
For any double-sided plastic card, we recommend a white-ink base on both faces. Its main job is to stop the front and back artwork from showing through and overlapping. On this card, skip the white-ink underlay and the reverse would read faintly — even hazily.
- Die-cut PVC card
Like paper stock, PVC cards can be die-cut — rounded corners or any other shape. You can reshape the card to match whatever design you have in mind, though the finishing cost runs higher.
- Large white-ink card
- Architect card
The tool that says "architect" more than any other is the ruler — and turning a card into something genuinely useful earns real points. At the very least, yours won't be the first card tossed in the bin.
- Phone card
- Half white-ink card
- Frosted white-ink card
- Frosted white-ink card
- White-ink card
- Frosted white-ink card
- Transparent gold-foil card
- Transparent gold-foil card
- Transparent card in a spot colour
- Frosted white-ink card
Want a plastic card like these? Printing Banana prints PVC cards with white-ink underlays, foil stamping, spot UV, die-cutting and transparent finishes, with delivery across Hong Kong and Macau. WhatsApp us at +852 3001 5678 to talk through your design — English is fine.