Hotcards specializes in gang run printing, which means we group all of our orders together to completely fill a press run before sending anything to production. This ensures that you are receiving the lowest possible price for your print and keeps paper waste to a minimum. Another advantage to this method of print is that it allows for print on both sides of the sheet for everyone on that press run at no additional cost to you! This method of printing, which is the absolute most cost effective, yet high quality method of printing is not the same as PMS/Spot color printing, which ensures 100% consistent color replication. If you are looking for PMS/Spot color printing, please read more here - and feel free to email support@hotcards.com for a custom quote!

Once our pre-press department has consolidated similar print jobs onto print runs (the layout of the print orders currently going to press), the orders are plated for printing. When plates are created, a separate plate will be made for each of the different ink colors to be used in re-creating your digital artwork on paper; Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These plates are typically made of aluminum or polyester and are used to transfer ink to paper in the print process. Hotcards prints using a 4 color process of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink (CMYK), so 4 plates will be created for your artwork, plus an additional plate will be created for the paper coating (such as a gloss aqueous coating). These plates are on cylinders that will come into contact with dampening rollers then inking rollers; The dampening rollers will wet the plates so that any areas that will not have ink based on the artwork (“white space”) will repel the ink once the plate comes in contact with the inking roller. This process is repeated for each of the ink colors until the final plate transfers the last layer of ink onto your order. We then cut the cards apart from the large press sheet and perform any additional finishing options, such as folding, before we package your Hotcards and deliver before they even cool. Don’t forget your oven mitts!