Spot UV Postcards
Important Artwork Notice!
See Spot UV Postcards in action
Watch the Spot UV Postcards overview from 4OVER4.COM. A short walkthrough of options, premium stocks, live pricing and fast turnaround.
- From $190.02 per set of 1,000, about 19 cents a card, dropping toward 5 cents each on a 25,000 run.
- 5 spot UV placements: glassy gloss on the front, on the back, or on both sides, with an optional full-gloss flood on the opposite face.
- 16pt Gloss Cover stock, printed full color one side or both (4/0, 4/1 or 4/4 ink).
- 27 sizes from a slim 2" x 6" up to a 9" x 12", in runs from 1,000 to 25,000 per order.
- 5 business day production turnaround, rated 4.9 out of 5 across 104 reviews, with a free online proof before it prints.
Spot UV Postcards That Catch the Light in the Mail
Spot UV is a clear, mirror-bright gloss cured hard over only the parts of your design you want to pop: a logo, a headline, a pattern, a single word. As the card slides out of the stack, those glossy spots grab a flash of light while the printed areas stay flat, and that half-second of shine is what stops a thumb on the way to the recycling bin. It is one of the cheapest ways to make a mailer look like it cost a lot more. A set of 1,000 starts at $190.02, rated 4.9 out of 5 across 104 reviews, with 99.8% of orders shipping on time; see every finish side by side on postcards printing.
This is the premium end of direct mail. A flat card competes on the offer alone, while a spot UV card competes on feel too, so it earns a longer look before anyone decides to keep it or pitch it. The gloss is set up once and reused across the whole run, so the math rewards a bigger mailing. Tap any tier below to see the live set total and exactly how much each step up saves before you commit a dollar.
What Is a Spot UV Postcard?
A spot UV postcard is a full-color card with a clear gloss coating laid over chosen artwork, then cured under ultraviolet light so it sets glassy and hard. Instead of varnishing the whole card, the press glosses only the shape you mark, so a logo or headline reads sharper and brighter than the print around it. The base is a sturdy 16pt Gloss Cover, printed full color on the front with a blank back, with a black back, or full color on both sides. Everything you can change is laid out below the way the live configurator groups it, so you know your options before you touch them.
Where Should the Gloss Go?
You get 5 ways to place the spot UV. Gloss on the front only, gloss on the front with a full-gloss flood across the back, gloss on the back only, gloss on the back with a full-gloss front, or spot gloss on both sides. Front-only is the workhorse for a mailing, since it keeps the back clean for an address panel and the offer copy. Run it on both sides when the whole card is the show. This card keeps the gloss smooth and flat to the surface, so if you want the coating built up thick enough to feel under a fingertip, the Raised Spot UV Postcards add that dimensional, tactile layer instead.
How Do You Design a Spot UV Postcard?
You do not need a designer to get spot UV right. Start from a ready-built layout in our postcard design templates, adjust the colors, copy and logo, then mark which elements get the gloss. The trick that works almost every time: gloss the logo and one short line, and leave the rest matte to the eye, so the shine has something quiet to play against. A whole panel flooded in gloss loses the contrast that makes the effect work.
Already have your artwork? Skip the templates and grab a press-ready blank instead. Each blank spot UV postcard template is built at the real trim size with the bleed and safe margin drawn in, plus a separate spot layer that tells the press exactly where the gloss lands. Drop your art on, mark the gloss shapes, and upload.
Wally makes the right part shine
Why a glassy accent on a $190.02 postcard gets picked up, not tossed.
A spot UV postcard puts a clear, high-gloss coat over just the parts that matter, so your logo or headline catches the light while the rest stays matte. 1000 start at $190.02 on premium 16pt gloss cover, with 5 ways to place the shine. Pick your placement, pick your size, and Wally gets them printed.
Press-Ready Blank Templates
How Much Do Spot UV Postcards Cost?
Spot UV postcards start at $190.02 for a set of 1,000, which works out to about 19 cents a card, and the per-card price keeps falling as the run climbs. Step up to 2,500 and the set is $243.84, nowhere near double the 1,000 price, because the gloss coating is set up once and then reused across the whole job. By 5,000 you are under 6 cents a card, and a full 25,000 run lands around 5 cents each. Printing and the UV gloss happen on the same job, then USPS postage is paid on top, priced by the card size and your mail class. Drag the slider below to set the quantity and watch the set total and the true per-card cost update live, so you can find the point where one more step up barely moves the budget.
How Do They Compare to Other Premium Postcards?
Spot UV is the value way into a postcard that looks like it cost more, but it is not your only route to a finish that gets noticed. If you want real metal shine instead of clear gloss, Metallic Foil Postcards stamp gold, silver or copper onto the card, and Metallic Ink Postcards get a softer pearlescent gleam from the ink itself. Want a bigger canvas for the same trick? The jumbo Oversized Postcards go larger. For everyday mailings at a fraction of the price, Standard Postcards start at $16.48. The chart below lines spot UV postcards up against their closest siblings so you can compare the starting price on each before you choose.
See How a Finished Spot UV Postcard Lands
Photos never quite catch the way gloss reads in person, but they get close. The gallery below collects spot UV cards our own customers printed in-house, across different sizes, gloss placements and layouts, so you can borrow ideas and see how the contrast actually lands in the mail. Tap any print to see it larger.
Real Postcards Our Customers Printed
How Fast Can You Get Spot UV Postcards?
Spot UV postcards print on a 5 business day production turnaround, since the gloss has to cure hard under the lamps before the cards are cut and boxed. Before the job runs you can turn on a free online proof to check exactly where the gloss falls on your art, which is worth the extra step the first time you spot UV a design, so the shine sits on your logo and not a stray edge. Same Day approvals must be in by noon EST, and anything not approved by then rolls to the next business day. Across the board, 99.8% of 4OVER4 orders arrive on time and 82% ship early, so the date is not a gamble.
See the Rest of Our Postcards
Spot UV is one stop in a much larger postcard lineup, and you can scan the full print product range any time. For a soft, velvety matte hand under your art, the Soft Touch Postcards and Silk Postcards read premium the second someone picks them up. Each option shows its own starting price and links straight to its product page, so finding the right fit takes seconds.
Print Your Spot UV Postcards Today
At 4OVER4.COM, quality comes first, and it's backed by a satisfaction guarantee and 25+ years of printing since 1999. Whatever size you pick and wherever the gloss lands, these cards are built to survive the mail and land looking sharp. Mark the gloss, set the run, and print your spot UV postcards today.
