Edge Painting Specifications
Finish: Custom edge colour applied as a secondary finishing process to the exposed perimeter of the completed business card, creating a continuous colour accent visible across the thickness of the stock.
Compatible Stocks: Available on selected heavier stocks with sufficient edge depth for effective colour presentation: Natural Smooth 28pt, Natural Smooth 34pt, Cotton Warm White 20pt, Cotton Warm White 40pt, Silk 36pt and Soft-Touch 36pt.
Available Edge Colours: Black, Red, Green, Cobalt Blue, Pink, Gold, Copper, Rose Gold, Yellow and Lavender.
Edge Characteristics: The visual strength of the edge colour is influenced by stock thickness, surface construction and base paper colour. Thicker stocks generally produce a more prominent edge band, while uncoated, laminated and cotton substrates can each produce slightly different edge characteristics.
Application Behaviour: Edge painting is a physical finishing process rather than a printed face element. Minor variation in coverage, density or edge appearance can occur between individual cards and around corners as part of normal production tolerances.
Metallic Colours: Gold, Copper and Rose Gold should be considered metallic finishing colours. Their appearance changes with illumination and viewing angle and cannot be accurately represented by RGB or HEX colour swatches displayed on a monitor.
Colour Matching: Online colour samples are visual references only and should not be treated as contract colour standards. Where precise coordination with a brand colour is required, colour expectations should be reviewed before production.
Artwork Relationship: Standard front and back artwork does not require a separate edge-paint file. The edge colour is specified independently from the printed artwork unless a custom production requirement has been arranged.
Prepress & Production Standards
Printing: Full-colour, double-sided production is completed on the selected stock before edge painting and final finishing.
Artwork: Files should be prepared at final trim size with appropriate bleed, safe margins, embedded or outlined fonts and production-quality image resolution. Artwork should be considered independently from the edge colour unless the design intentionally coordinates printed elements with the finished edge.
Colour: Face artwork should be supplied using an appropriate CMYK workflow. RGB content, spot colours and brand-critical colours may require conversion or production review before output. Printed face colour and painted edge colour are produced through different processes and should not be expected to reproduce identically.
Edge-to-Face Coordination: When artwork uses a colour intended to visually coordinate with the painted edge, slight differences in hue, density, gloss and reflectance should be expected because ink on the card surface and paint on the exposed edge interact with different materials and viewing angles.
Proofing: Digital PDF proofing is available for checking artwork, layout, trim position and general prepress accuracy. A PDF proof cannot reproduce the physical appearance, reflectance, coverage or exact colour of the finished painted edge.
Trim & Registration: Cutting and edge finishing are subject to normal commercial production tolerances. Designs incorporating narrow borders, frames or elements positioned very close to the trim edge should allow sufficient safety margin for normal converting variation.
Stock Considerations: Uncoated cotton and natural stocks may absorb or interact with edge colour differently from laminated stocks. Minor differences in density and edge texture are inherent to the combination of substrate and finishing process.
Handling & Durability: Edge paint is applied to an exposed surface and may show gradual wear through repeated handling, particularly at corners and high-contact areas. This is a normal characteristic of edge-finished cards rather than a laminated face surface.
Production Time: Edge painting requires additional finishing beyond standard printed business cards. Turnaround may therefore be longer than standard card production and begins after artwork, stock and edge-colour approval.
