Spot UV: The Highest-Margin Upsell in Your Portfolio
Selective gloss coating that clients love and competitors undercharge for. Our trade cost on spot UV delivers the margin that builds your business.
Why Spot UV Is Your Best Upsell
Spot UV is the finishing option with the largest gap between trade cost and perceived value. The production cost of adding selective gloss to a business card or postcard is modest. The value your client perceives — a premium, tactile, visually striking piece — is substantial. That gap is your margin.
When you present a client with two business card options — standard gloss UV at one price and spot UV at a higher price — most clients who see and feel the samples choose spot UV. The raised, glossy accent on their logo or company name communicates quality in a way that flat printing cannot. They are buying a feeling. You are selling a finish that costs you a fraction of the markup.
Smart brokers keep spot UV samples in their pitch kit and present it as an option on every business card, postcard, and premium flyer order. Even a 30 percent close rate on the upsell adds significant revenue to your annual volume.
How Spot UV Works in Production
Spot UV is a clear, high-gloss coating applied to specific areas of the printed piece using a custom mask. The process runs as a separate pass after standard printing and full-surface coating (typically matte). The result: selected elements — logos, headlines, images, patterns — appear glossy and raised against the matte background.
Production requires two files: the print file (your full-color design) and the mask file (a separate document indicating which areas receive the coating). The mask uses solid black shapes on a white background to define the coating areas.
Spot UV adds one business day to standard production time. For trade orders, factor this into the timeline you quote your client. Standard production plus spot UV is 6 to 8 business days from proof approval. Rush production with spot UV is 3 to 4 business days.
Mask File Preparation
The mask file must be a separate PDF at the exact same dimensions and orientation as the print file. Elements receiving spot UV should be filled with 100 percent black. Everything else should be white (no coating).
Technical constraints for the mask: no gradients (coating is binary — on or off), minimum text size of 8pt (smaller text can fill in due to coating thickness), and minimum line weight of 1pt.
The mask must align pixel-perfectly with the print file. Misalignment causes the gloss coating to appear offset from the underlying design, which is a visible quality issue.
When your client's designer is unfamiliar with mask creation, provide these instructions: duplicate the design file, delete everything except the elements to be coated, fill them with solid black, and save as a separate PDF. Our prepress team verifies mask alignment on every order at no additional charge.
Paper and Finish Combinations
Spot UV effect depends on the base surface. Matte surfaces produce the strongest visual and tactile contrast. Here are the combinations that deliver the best client impact.
14pt matte cover with spot UV is the premium combination for business cards and postcards. The thick stock signals quality, the matte surface provides sophisticated restraint, and the spot UV elements catch light and invite touch. This is the combination to sample and present.
100lb matte text with spot UV works for larger format pieces — flyers, brochures, and event materials. The matte surface delivers strong coating contrast, and the text weight keeps the piece lightweight for distribution.
Gloss base stock with spot UV adds tactile texture (the raised coating) but reduces visual contrast because both surfaces are reflective. Matte base is the recommended default for maximum spot UV impact.
Soft-touch lamination with spot UV is an ultra-premium option. The velvety base surface makes the spot UV areas feel even more dramatic by contrast. This combination commands the highest price point and the highest perceived value.
Presenting Spot UV to Your Client
The sell is in the sample. No description, photograph, or rendering communicates spot UV as effectively as putting a sample in your client's hands. Request our free trade sample kit — it includes spot UV business cards and postcards on matte stock.
Position spot UV as the finishing touch that makes the piece memorable. "Standard cards get filed. Spot UV cards get passed around the table." That single sentence has closed more spot UV upgrades than any spec sheet.
For cost-sensitive clients, offer a split run: spot UV on the first 500 cards (the ones they hand to VIP contacts and potential clients) and standard gloss on the remaining volume (the ones that go into a bowl at the reception desk). This gives them the premium experience at the touchpoints that matter most while keeping the overall cost manageable.
Price your spot UV markup at 40 to 60 percent above your trade cost. The perceived value easily supports this range, and your margin on spot UV orders will significantly outpace standard finishing.
Spot UV at Trade Pricing
Add spot UV to any trade order. Upload your print file and mask, and see wholesale pricing at checkout.
Place a Trade Order