Cheap Plastic Cards: How to Keep the Cost Down

How much do cheap plastic cards cost?

Our lowest order is £75 +vat for 25 cards, and the price per card falls at every step up to 1,000. These are standard full colour PVC cards, 86 x 54mm and 760 microns thick, printed on both sides with a High Gloss finish. Cheap membership cards, loyalty cards and gift cards all come from this one table.

Why is one order cheaper than three small ones?

Because much of the work in an order is the same whatever the quantity, one large order costs less than three small ones. Here’s a coffee shop that needs 500 loyalty cards over a year, bought all at once or in three batches.

The gap widens with anything charged per order. Premium Matt is £20 +vat per order, so three orders pay it three times. Delivery is free within Great Britain, and our delivery prices list the charges for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands.

To size a year’s order, count your active customers, add the new ones you expect in 12 months, and allow 10 to 20% a year for lost and replaced cards. So 300 regulars, 12 new a month and 10% comes to about 490 cards. Our guide to how many loyalty cards to order goes further, and plastic cards for cafés covers the design side for a coffee shop.

When is a bigger order a false economy?

When your details change before the cards run out. A card with an old address, price or logo is wasted, however little it cost. Say a club buys 1,000 cards for £245 +vat rather than 500 for £175 +vat, then rebrands after giving out 400. It has paid 61.3p for each card it used, not 43.8p.

• Moving or rebranding soon? Order only for the months you’re sure of.
• Numbered or named cards? Know your quantity first. Each batch needs its own data file, so plan the number ranges before you reorder.
• A new scheme? Our minimum order is 25. Paying more per card for a small first run makes sense until you know how many you’ll give out. For only a handful, you can make your own loyalty cards.

Do different colours for each level cost more?

No. Colour variants of one design cost nothing extra when ordered as one job, so a club with several membership levels doesn’t need several orders. Tell us how many of each colour when you ask for your quote.

Pick colours that are easy to tell apart, so the colour code still works if a shade varies from one order to the next.

How much do artwork and extras add?

Your own print-ready artwork adds nothing, and a design adds £29 +vat once. Our free templates are set up at the right size, and our free artwork check is technical only: bleed, resolution, colour mode and set-up. If something needs correcting, you can do it at no charge, or we’ll do it for £10 +vat. We don’t check the wording, so read that yourself on your proof.

Our design service has no limit on reasonable amends, and £29 is 11.6p a card on an order of 250. We keep your artwork on file, so a repeat of the same design doesn’t need designing again.

Without the three, each card is 35p. With them, it’s 57.8p. Each is worth paying for when you need it, so the question is whether you do. The rest are on our optional extras page.

How do I make a batch last more than one season?

Leave the year off the print and add a write-on panel, so “valid until” goes on in pen at each renewal.

1. The back is free. Printing both sides costs nothing extra, so your terms or a map can go here.
2. One shared QR code. The same code on every card goes in your artwork at no extra cost. Point it at a web page you can change.
3. A write-on panel, on a white area. An optional extra that takes an ordinary pen. Panels can be any size, so leave room for a date at each renewal.
4. Nothing that dates. Keep the year off the card. If your prices or hours change often, put them on a web page behind the QR code.

Here’s the sum for a club with 200 members over three years. A new card each season, with the year printed, is three orders of 200: £297 +vat. One batch also has to cover lost cards: at 10 to 20% a year, that’s 260 to 320 cards before any new members. So order 500 for £175 +vat, plus the panel, which is priced on your quote, and compare the two totals. Our guide to club membership cards covers renewals in more detail.

A printed year has one advantage: change the colour each year and an old card stands out at a glance. If you want that, order only what you’ll give out that season. See writing on plastic cards and our guide for gyms.

Do you have special offers on plastic cards?

Our special offer pages set out packages of 100 to 1,000 cards for plastic business cards, loyalty cards, membership cards, gift cards and discount cards. Optional extras are priced on your quote.

What about bulk or wholesale card printing?

For bulk membership cards, bulk loyalty cards or any quantity that isn’t in our table, including anything above 1,000, email us: larger runs are priced on request, and we can quote for any quantity. You’ll get a real figure for your order, not a percentage off.

• Ask for two or three quantities, to see what the extra cards really cost. Quotes are valid for 30 days, and a later order gets its own quote.
• Buying for your own customers? Please confirm prices before you quote your customer, because prices can change. Orders go in plain, unbranded packaging with no documentation or invoices, so they can go straight to your customer.

Is a different type of card cheaper?

Sometimes, at larger quantities, but you give something up. Compare these at your own quantity before you decide. Our guide to paper and cardboard membership cards compares board, EcoTough and PVC.

• EcoTough is the same price as PVC up to 250 cards and less at 500 and 1,000. It’s a thinner, PVC-free card, and its print isn’t sealed. It takes a pen anywhere, so it doesn’t need a write-on panel.
• Plastic-Free Board costs more than PVC, but takes pen and ink stamps anywhere, so it doesn’t need a write-on panel either. Its print isn’t sealed.
• Key fob cards have a table of their own, and at 500 they cost less than full-size cards. There’s no room for much on them, as our key tag guide shows.

When you don’t need plastic at all

For a short trial, you may not. A card printed at home or in the office tests a scheme for very little: see making your own membership cards. Paper also suits cards with a very short life, and plastic vs paper sets out the difference. If you only ever need cards one at a time, on the day, look at a card printer or ordered cards.

How do I compare a cheaper quote like with like?

Ask each supplier the same questions, for the same quantity, and compare totals. A lower price can be a good deal or a different card, and the headline figure won’t tell you which.

Our 12-point checklist has the full list, and how to choose a card printer covers the rest of the decision. To feel the difference, order a sample pack: its cost is deducted from your order if you order within 30 days.