Raised or flat spot gloss
Clear gloss on your logo, against a card that drinks the light. Tilt it and the mark appears.
Raised from 105 $ for 100 · flat from 125 $ for 500
Ships in 3–4 business days after proof approval (estimate).
Spot UV business cards have a clear, high-gloss UV coating on chosen parts of the design, cured instantly under UV light, so your logo shines against a matte soft-touch or silk card. Raised spot UV, which you can feel, starts at 105 $ for 100; flat spot UV at 125 $ for 500. Both ship in 3–4 business days after proof approval.
Three ways to make your spot UV gloss business cards. For most people it's the middle one.
Full Production
32pt soft touch or silk, raised gloss, plus a foil accent or a painted edge. The thick, layered version.
From 245 $ for 250 (flat UV) · raised on soft touch 310 $
About 3 weeks after proof
Standard, square, mini · rounded +10 $
Our Pick
Gloss you can feel, built up on your logo over a 20pt velvet soft-touch card. The strongest contrast spot UV can make. raised spot UV business cards
From 105 $ for 100
Ships in 3–4 business days after proof
Standard only · square corners
Essential
A thin, flush gloss on smooth 16pt silk. Visual, not tactile, and the best price per card at volume.
From 125 $ for 500
Ships in 3–4 business days after proof
Standard, square, mini · rounded +10 $
Not sure? Hold both in the sample pack (8 $); it has a raised spot UV piece in it.
Soft touch feels like suede and swallows light. Run your thumb across a raised spot UV logo and you hit a smooth, cool ridge, a fraction of a millimetre high, like a drop of resin that set exactly where it landed.
Hold the card flat under an office light and the gloss almost disappears. Tilt it ten degrees and the mark lights up. That's the effect spot gloss UV business cards are built on: two surfaces, one that reflects and one that doesn't. Flat spot UV gives the same flash with no ridge you can feel.
Most spot UV disappointments are decided by the card and the file, before anything prints. We check both on your proof.
Spot UV on a glossy card is nearly invisible: both surfaces reflect. That's why ours runs on matte grounds that make it show: soft touch and silk on Standard, and cotton in Custom.
QR codes never go in gloss: a shiny code glares in a phone camera. We print them flat.
Spot UV is a clear coating laid only where your file says, then cured instantly under ultraviolet light. Your design is a normal print file plus a second, black-and-white "mask" that marks where the gloss goes.
A thin, flush layer of gloss. You see it, you barely feel it. On 16pt silk it gives the classic matte-and-shine contrast in three sizes and with rounded corners if you want them. Best for patterns, borders and a logo that should catch light without changing the feel of the card.
The gloss is built up so you can feel its edge, a fraction of a millimetre high. On 20pt soft touch it's two textures on one card. Standard size, square corners, front or both sides.
A black card with a black gloss logo reads as nothing until it moves. The card is printed black on white stock, so a hairline of white shows at the cut; a painted edge hides it in Custom.
Foil for the logo, gloss for a pattern around it. They sit side by side, never on top of each other: foil won't bond to a UV coating. In Custom we plan both on the same card.
On a 32pt Custom card you can add a painted edge to the gloss. In our Soundtoys case study, the soft-touch direction pairs flat gloss with a neon edge.
Spot UV is available on cotton too: the paper is matte, so the gloss has something to shine against. If you'd rather have a pressed shine, clear foil gives the same shape with a soft satin finish and a slight bite.
UV coating on business cards comes two ways. All-over gloss coats the whole card in shine, which suits photos. Spot UV coats only your chosen elements, so the contrast does the work.
Want the full explanation? What is spot UV
Upload your logo and the Studio shows it in raised gloss on soft touch, with the spec and price, in a couple of minutes. It's a rendering for direction: gloss is about light, and a screen can only show one angle. A person rebuilds the mask and sends a proof before anything prints.
Full color on both sides is included. Prices checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Quantity | Front | Both sides |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 105 $ (1,05 $/card) | 120 $ |
| 250 | 140 $ (0,56 $) | 160 $ |
| 500 | 180 $ (0,36 $) | 210 $ |
| 1,000+ | Get a price | Get a price |
| Quantity | Price |
|---|---|
| 500 | 125 $ (0,25 $/card) |
| 1,000 | 149 $ (0,15 $) |
| 2,500 | 300 $ |
| 5,000 | 490 $ |
| 10,000 | 870 $ |
Custom, 32pt
Custom Spot UV from 245 $ for 250 (flat UV). Raised on soft touch: 310 $ for 250, 410 $ for 500, 720 $ for 1,000.
Add-ons: both sides +70 $, foil accent +80 $, painted edge +50 $.
| Flat spot UV | Raised spot UV | Raised foil | Hot foil, pressed | Clear foil on cotton | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Look | Clear UV gloss, flush | Clear gloss you can feel | Metal (gold, silver, holo), raised | Metal or pigment, pressed in | Satin clear shine, pressed in |
| Card | 16pt silk | 20pt soft touch | 20pt soft touch | 32pt cotton, soft touch or black | Cotton |
| Feel | Smooth | A ridge under the thumb | A ridge, metallic | A slight bite into the paper | A slight bite |
| From | 125 $ for 500 | 105 $ for 100 | 105 $ for 100 | 310 $ for 250 | Get a price |
| Lead time | 3–4 business days | 3–4 business days | 3–4 business days | ~3 weeks | ~3 weeks |
| Best for | Patterns and big shapes at volume | Logos you want felt | Metal at Standard speed | The most refined metal | A pressed satin shine on cotton |
| Where it loses | Not tactile; invisible on gloss | No rounded corners; ~⅓ coverage max | One foil color per design | Price and time | Subtler than UV |
Design exploration
32pt soft touch, flat spot UV both sides, neon PANTONE 804 painted edge (direction B)
Choose raised or flat, quantity and sides.
Upload your print file. Mark the gloss in a separate black-and-white mask, or tell us which elements to gloss and we'll build it.
A person checks the mask against the minimums and sends a proof. Approve it; nothing prints before you do.
We print, coat and cure. Standard ships in 3–4 business days after proof approval; Custom takes about 3 weeks (estimates).
We ship: free within the continental US, and to 30+ countries.
If you're not happy, we reprint. How reprints work
Raised spot UV on 20pt soft touch is 105 $ for 100, 140 $ for 250 and 180 $ for 500, front only. Flat spot UV on 16pt silk starts at 125 $ for 500. Full color on both sides and a proof checked by a person are included.
It's a clear liquid coating cured instantly under ultraviolet light, which leaves a hard, high-gloss surface. All-over UV coating makes the whole card glossy. Spot UV puts it only on chosen elements, like your logo, so they shine against a matte card.
Yes. Spot gloss is another name for spot UV. Spot varnish is different: an older press varnish that dries more slowly and gives a softer sheen. Our spot UV guide explains the difference.
Flat spot UV is a thin, flush layer you see but barely feel. Raised spot UV has a tactile edge: we design lines and gaps to 0.3 mm, with a 0.17 mm floor. Flat holds 0.3 mm lines and 8 pt type.
On a matte soft-touch or silk card, yes: it's one of the least expensive ways to make a card react to light. On a glossy card, no; you'll barely see it. On cotton, yes: it's available, and the matte paper gives the gloss its contrast.
Yes. Spot UV is available on cotton. Cotton is matte, so the gloss still stands out against it. If you'd rather have a pressed shine, clear foil in the same shape is the other option.
Standard raised and flat spot UV ship in 3–4 business days after you approve your proof. Custom cards on 32pt take about 3 weeks after proof approval. Tell us your date when you order.
Your normal print file, plus a mask: a second page or file in solid black and white, where black marks the gloss. Vector shapes, 3 mm from the trim. Raised lines and gaps target 0.3 mm, with a 0.17 mm floor; flat lines stay at 0.3 mm. No mask? Tell us what to gloss and we’ll build it.
On flat spot UV, yes, for 10 $ extra. Standard raised spot UV on soft touch comes with square corners only. Custom Spot UV offers rounded corners for 10 $.
Yes. On raised spot UV both sides costs 15 $ more at 100 cards. Full color printing on both sides is included either way.
Yes, side by side but never stacked: foil won't bond to a UV coating, and we don't build raised UV on top of foil either. In Custom builds we plan foil on one element and gloss on another. A QR code always stays in flat ink.
As listed on moo.com on 1 Oct 2026, MOO raised spot gloss is printed on its 18pt Super soft-touch card. Ours runs on 20pt soft touch in Standard, or 32pt in Custom with foil and painted-edge options. Every file is checked by a person and proofed before printing.
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