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Linen Textured Cards and Packaging
Our textured playing cards have a luxurious linen texture added to them. You’re probably familiar with this texture if you’ve played with Bicycle cards. If your order is being printed by our international offset print service, this finish can be used with all card stocks except foil and PVC stock. Domestically, we have a specific stock with a linen texture pre-applied to the paper. Besides the obvious tactile addition, the texture adds ridges that reduce surface contact between cards, making them easier to shuffle, deal and handle.
To be clear, the linen texture is different than embossing or debossing. You cannot emboss or deboss your cards however, you can apply this feature to your packaging.
Creating Linen Textured Cards & Boxes
Your card or box artwork will be printed on parent sheets (large sheets of paper). These sheets are pushed through a textured metal roller (as seen to the right). The roller applies heavy pressure that imprints the linen marks onto the paper. Your cards will be cut to size and the box artwork will be trimmed and wrapped around the paperboard box.
Textured Game Boxes
Boxes are made with a thicker material than cards, dulling the feeling of the texture. However, these ridges are still very much visible and help catch the eyes of consumers, begging them to pick up your product. Linen texture game boxes are currently only available for international offset printed orders over 500 units.
Design Considerations
It’s important to note that while adding a linen texture is a fantastic way to elevate your project, it can also impact your artwork – specifically when used in conjunction with metallic ink. The reflective quality of both the linen texture and the metallic ink on small text hurts the legibility. This is a rare combination, but something to keep in mind if you plan on using any of these options. In the examples below the metallic ink on the text alone poses no issue, but in combination with the linen texture it becomes a struggle to read in certain lights.
This result should be anticipated if you choose to print small/delicate text and choose to apply a linen finish. This result is mostly attributed to the metal specs in the metallic ink reflecting light a bit differently than regular Spot Color.