White Plastic Card Examples
White plastic card design ideas
White plastic cards give a crisp, clean look: a plain white PVC base, hot foil printed in metallic, pigment or holoprint colours. They suit logos, names and clean type, and can carry a barcode or QR code as long as it is the same on every card. For a design built around a photograph or a gradient, choose full colour plastic cards instead.
Do you see a design that you like?
Love one of our examples? Let’s use it as inspiration!
If you spot an example design that catches your eye, we can use it as a starting point to create your own design.
We’ll tailor the layout, colours, logos, and text to suit, all included as part of our Design Service.
Just tell us what you like and send over any logos and pictures, and we’ll do the rest.
Designing on a White Plastic Card
White is the only card base that adds nothing of its own to a design, which is why the examples above cover such a wide spread of styles. On metallic, satin black and frosted cards the base itself is part of the finished look; on white it stays out of the way.
The one thing worth understanding is that you do not need white ink on these cards: the card itself is the white. Anywhere your design leaves blank is where the card shows through, so white lettering is simply bare card. A white foil is in the range too, and our white card ink and foil colours show it printed on a white card.
Practically, that makes white an easy base to design on. A logo and a name, clean type and a simple foil detail all work well, and all of them are represented in the examples on this page. Photographs and gradients do not, because hot foil prints solid colours only.
What White Cards Are Usually Used For
White cards are popular for membership, loyalty and business cards, and they get chosen for two quite different reasons. The first is clarity: foil colours sit on plain white, with no coloured base changing how they look. The second is cost of thought — there is nothing to design around.
There is also a functional reason that catches people out. Barcodes need a light background with strong contrast to scan reliably, so a white base makes a barcode far easier to read than a dark or reflective one, and the same is true of anything that gets photographed or photocopied. A barcode or QR code can go on a white hot foil card as long as it is the same on every card. If each card needs its own code, choose full colour plastic cards instead.
Our white cards are 760-micron solid PVC, 86 x 54mm: the same size, thickness and feel as a bank card. They are hot foil printed on one or both sides, in up to 4 metallic, pigment or holoprint colours, and numbering and signature strips are available.
Getting Your Artwork Right
Three things account for most of the artwork corrections we make on white cards. The first is colour. Hot foil prints up to 4 solid colours from our ink and foil colours, so artwork needs to be line art: clean solid shapes with hard edges, with no gradients, tints or photographs. The colours on the proof are a guide only, so if in doubt, email sales@cpcards.co.uk to ask about a sample colour being posted to you for approval.
The second is fine detail. Small text and thin lines fill in under hot foil, and a logo with intricate detail at around 10mm will lose definition, so keep text and logos bold and simple. A logo lifted from a website is usually 72dpi and will look soft too, so send the original file if you have it. Our page on hot foil limits has the details.
The third is the edges. Hot foil cannot print within 3mm of the two long edges of the card (top and bottom on a landscape card, left and right on a portrait one), so the printable area is 86 x 48mm. Keep text, logos and borders clear of those edges, and 3mm in from the short edges too.
If any of that sounds like work, send us what you have. Our artwork checking service fixes sizing, bleed and alignment problems for £10 +vat, and our design service will lay out both sides from scratch for £29 +vat.
White Plastic Card Design FAQs
Can you print white ink on a white plastic card?
Yes. A white foil is in the range for white cards. You do not need it for white areas, though: the card itself is white, so anywhere your design leaves blank shows as white. See our white card ink and foil colours.
Will photographs print well on a white card?
No. White plastic cards are hot foil printed, so they take logos, names and clean type in solid colours, not photographs or gradients. For a photograph, choose full colour plastic cards instead.
What size and thickness are your white plastic cards?
86 x 54mm and 760 microns (0.76mm) — the same size, thickness and feel as a bank card, with rounded corners.
Can both sides be printed?
Yes. White plastic cards can be hot foil printed on one or both sides, with a different design on each side.
Why does my design need to stay 3mm from the edge?
Hot foil cannot print within 3mm of the two long edges of the card (top and bottom on a landscape card, left and right on a portrait one), so the printable area is 86 x 48mm. Keep text and logos 3mm in from the short edges too.
Do barcodes scan better on a white card?
Yes. Barcodes need a light background and strong contrast to read reliably. A white hot foil card can carry a barcode or QR code as long as it is the same on every card. If each card needs its own code for a till or door system, choose full colour plastic cards, where each card can have its own barcode.
Can you fix my artwork if it is not print-ready?
Yes. We check every design before it is printed and tell you if anything will not foil cleanly. Our artwork checking service corrects sizing, bleed and alignment issues for £10 +vat, and we will always email a photorealistic proof before anything is printed.