Eco-Friendly Greeting Card Printing Custom Cards, Sustainably Printed in the UK
A greeting card puts your brand, your artwork or your cause in someone’s hands, so the stock, the colour and the finish all get noticed. We print custom greeting cards for businesses, charities, retailers, galleries and card publishers, from short runs to wholesale quantities.
Our greeting card printing runs on the HP Indigo 7900 digital press and Heidelberg Speedmaster litho presses, with every card printed, finished and packed at our factory in Exeter, Devon.
As a certified Carbon Balanced Printer, we use FSC® certified and recycled stocks as standard. Order standard greeting cards online, or send us your specification for bespoke sizes, stocks and finishes.
Voyager Coffee
“The level of Ashley House’s eco-credentials paired with beautiful print is hard to come-by. The teams’ service, support, and attention to detail goes beyond that of all other printing companies we’ve worked with.”
Custom greeting cards, printed in-house in Devon
Most of the greeting cards we produce are designed around a brand, a collection or a campaign. That might be thank you cards for clients, charity Christmas cards, a range for a gift shop, or a new collection from an artist, photographer or an independent card publisher.
A custom card can change more than the artwork. We can use a bespoke size or a designer paper, add a gold or silver foil logo, and print each greeting card with a different name or message using variable data on the HP Indigo.
That suits client cards sent from a whole team, or a mailing where every card is personal.
For seasonal business cards, see our corporate Christmas cards page. If you design cards to sell, our guide to greeting card printing for photographers and artists covers preparing a range, pricing and selling to shops.
Sizes, stocks and envelopes
Our standard greeting cards come in three folded sizes:
- A6 (105mm x 148mm), which fits a C6 envelope
- A5 (148mm x 210mm), which fits a C5 envelope
- 148mm x 148mm square
Each size is available on four 350gsm FSC® certified stocks: silk, for photography and full-colour artwork; smooth uncoated, which is easy to write on; 100% recycled uncoated; and textured uncoated, a tactile surface that suits illustration and fine art.
Cards can be printed on one or both sides, in portrait or landscape, including a landscape card with a short-edge fold. Available with white or kraft envelopes, or without envelopes if preferred.
These are the quick-order options in our online shop. Bespoke orders can be printed on any weight or type of stock, including thicker boards, designer papers and a bespoke size for your design.
Foiling, embossing and soft touch finishes
A finish is often what makes a card worth keeping. On bespoke orders we can add foiling in metallic or coloured foils for a logo or greeting, embossing to raise part of the design from the paper, or a spot UV varnish to pick out detail on a matt card.
White ink stands out particularly well on kraft, darker and coloured stocks, creating crisp, eye-catching detail. For added protection and a different look and feel, choose from matt, gloss or soft-touch lamination.
Every card is trimmed, creased and folded in our in-house finishing department, with finishes applied before the card is folded. Our guide to print finishes explains each option in more detail.
Hotels, retailers and luxury brands use foiled and embossed cards to match the rest of their printed materials. See some of the brands we work with here.
Eco-friendly cards on carbon balanced paper
Every card we produce is on FSC® certified or recycled paper, and our paper stocks have been carbon balanced as standard since 2014, at no extra cost to you.
We are a certified Carbon Balanced Printer through the World Land Trust, FSC® certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and ISO 14001 accredited for environmental management. Through the World Land Trust, our carbon balancing has removed 988 tonnes of CO2 since 2014.
Our factory runs on 100% green energy with a zero landfill policy. We use vegetable-based inks, make litho plates without chemistry, and pack orders plastic-free with recyclable paper tape.
That makes our eco-friendly greeting card printing easy to explain to your own customers, with a certificate behind every claim. Read more about our eco-friendly printing.
We’re FSC® Certified and ISO 14001 Accredited
Short runs, bulk orders and wholesale
There is no minimum order quantity, so a gallery can test a new design with a short run and a publisher can reprint a bestseller in the thousands.
For wholesale, commercial and trade orders, greeting cards are printed on large sheets and finished in-house, ready for delivery to you or your stockists. A range of designs can go in one order, and our print fulfilment team can insert, pack and mail cards for a campaign.
Bulk orders are priced individually, and the cost per card falls as the quantity rises. Send us your specification and we will produce a no-obligation quotation.
Digital or litho: which process suits your cards?
The right process depends on the quantity. For short and medium runs, and anything personalised, we use our HP Indigo 7900, a digital offset press that needs no plates or make-ready, which keeps short runs economical.
Above around 500 cards, litho on our Heidelberg Speedmaster sheet-fed presses is usually the more economical choice per card. Find out more about HP Indigo printing and litho printing.
We recommend the process when we quote, based on your quantity, stock and finish. Densitometer checks keep colour accurate through the run, so the last card matches the first.
Artwork, design support and proofs
Print quality starts with the artwork. For the best results, supply a print-ready PDF with 3mm bleed, images at 300 dpi, CMYK colour and fonts outlined or embedded, with each page of the card as a separate page in the PDF.
Our pre-press studio runs pre-flight checks on every project and sends a proof for your approval before anything is printed. Our Epson proofers are calibrated beyond Fogra39 on Fogra-approved stocks, so the colour you approve is the colour on your cards. See our pre-press and proofing page.
If your artwork isn’t ready, our graphic design studio can design a card, adapt an existing design to a new size, or prepare a whole range of greeting cards for press.
How to order: online or by quotation
For standard cards, order A6, A5 or square greeting cards in our online shop. Choose your stock, sides and envelopes, then upload a print-ready PDF.
For bespoke sizes, finishes, personalisation or larger quantities, request a quote with your quantity, size, stock and finish. We will come back with the options, the process we recommend and a price.
Orders go out by DPD tracked delivery, nationwide, and larger orders by pallet. If you’re unsure which option is right for your project, give our friendly team a call on 01392 202320 and we will be happy to advise you.
Why choose Ashley House for your cards?
Bespoke greeting cards designed and printed to reflect your brand’s quality, creativity and commitment to sustainability.
Tailored to Your Brand
Cards designed around your exact requirements, from a bespoke size and designer paper to a foiled logo or a personal message on every card.
Sustainable by Design
Meet your environmental goals with cards printed on FSC® certified, recycled and carbon balanced papers, with certification through the World Land Trust behind every claim.
Print Expertise
A family-run printer since 1986. Every card is printed on our HP Indigo 7900 or Heidelberg Speedmaster presses and finished in-house, for projects large or small.
Colour Proofed Before Print
Our pre-press studio sends a Fogra39-calibrated proof for your approval, and densitometer checks keep colour consistent from the first card to the last.
Collaborative Design Support
Our graphic design studio can design a card, adapt your artwork to a new size or prepare a whole range for press.
Responsible UK Printer
Printed, finished and packed plastic-free in Exeter, Devon, then sent by DPD tracked delivery nationwide, with larger orders by pallet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Look for a printer that checks your artwork and proofs colour before printing, offers a choice of stocks and finishes, and can handle the quantity you need now and as your orders grow. If sustainability matters to your customers, ask for certification you can check.
We are FSC® certified, ISO 14001 accredited and a Carbon Balanced Printer, with design, pre-press, printing and finishing under one roof in Exeter, Devon.
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Quantity is the biggest factor, because the cost per card falls as the run gets longer. Size, stock, finishes such as foiling, envelopes and personalisation also affect the price.
Standard cards are priced instantly in our online shop. Bespoke cards are priced individually and there is no published price list, so send us your specification for a quotation.
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The turnaround depends on the quantity and any finishes, and orders are sent by DPD tracked delivery nationwide. If you are working to a launch, a trade fair or a seasonal deadline, tell us when you request a quote.
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Our factory is at 1-2-3 Swallow Units, Alphinbrook Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter, Devon, EX2 8QF. We produce greeting cards for businesses, charities and publishers across Devon, the South West and throughout the whole of the UK, with nationwide delivery.
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Yes. We produce trade and wholesale runs for card publishers, galleries, gift shops and retailers, using litho for longer runs and the HP Indigo for short runs and reprints. A range of designs can go in one order, and our fulfilment team can pack and send cards on.
If you are starting out, our article on how to start a greeting card business covers the first steps.
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Yes. Every card is printed on FSC® certified or recycled paper with vegetable-based inks, and our paper has been carbon balanced as standard since 2014 through the World Land Trust. Packaging is plastic-free.
Some of the clients we work with
We’re here to help.
Have a question about printing your greeting cards?
Our friendly team are based in-house, in our Exeter studio Mon-Fri 8am to 5:30pm.
