Triangle Hard Alloys supplies wholesale rims to tire manufacturers. For its business card, it wanted the look and feel of a premium tire with colored rims, with tires, track and rubber providing the perfect inspiration. The card uses special printing techniques and the super soft, rubber-like feel of Neenah’s Touché paper to convey the essence of the automotive product they produce.
The 3.5”-x-2” card features silver and blue foil stamping and blue foil gilded edges, which suggests the chrome used to produce rims, while the blind embossed graphic pattern on the front of the card is reminiscent of tire tread.
BurdgeCooper printed 1,000 cards, duplex laminating two different weights of Touché (13 pt. and 24 pt.) — a clever technique with a triple result: It created a super thick, sturdy card that oozes reliability. The super thickness gave more room for the blue gilded edges. And the duplex lamination cleverly hides the emboss pattern of the tires. Remember, what is embossed on one side leaves a deboss pattern on the other. (Check out our recent PRO Tip for other easy ways to hide paper bruising!)
The project provided a learning curve for BurdgeCooper as the company had to test the foil to make sure it adhered properly to the Touché stock. They also had to ensure that the blind emboss didn’t fade once it was mounted, and find a source to help with the foil gilding. But the end result was certainly worth the hard work. Once customers feel the tactile, premium card, it becomes a great conversation starter for the client.
