When it comes to premium printing techniques like embossing, debossing, and letterpress, they add an extra touch of luxury to your project. But there’s one big question that often comes up: What happens to the back of my card when I emboss the front? The last thing you want is for a beautiful design on the front to leave an unwanted impression on the back. This is where duplex (2-ply) cards come in.

What Is Duplexing, and Why Does It Matter?

Duplexing is the process of bonding two sheets of paper together to create a thicker, sturdier card. The magic of duplexing is that it completely hides the impressions made by embossing or debossing on the front, ensuring the back remains smooth and pristine. This gives your card a clean, professional look that wouldn't be possible with a single-ply card.

But that’s not all. Duplexing also lets you get creative with rich paper stocks. Imagine pairing a soft cotton paper on the front with a bold, premium black stock on the back. The possibilities are endless, and at Jukebox, we offer a vast range of specialty papers, from premium Mohawk Superfine to luxurious cotton stocks and our Premium Black papers.

Most Popular Stocks to Duplex

Here's a table showcasing some of our most popular stocks to duplex, along with their recommended print techniques:

See the Difference with Duplex Cards

Let’s take a look at what happens when you don’t use a duplex card. Here’s an example of a business card produced on 20pt stock with beautiful gold embossing. While the front looks stunning, the back clearly shows the unwanted impression left by the embossing.

Now, compare that to these examples of duplexed cards:

1. 20pt Cotton with Letterpress and 18pt Colorplan Backing

   • The front features a deep letterpress impression, while the back remains perfectly flat and smooth, thanks to the duplexing process.
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2. 18pt Mohawk with Gold Foil and 18pt Brown Kraft Backing

   • The front has stunning gold foil, and the back features a contrasting brown kraft paper with gold foil, offering a unique, tactile experience.

     
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3. 17pt Cannabis with Sculpted Gold Foil Embossing and 17pt Cannabis Backing

   • The front showcases sculpted gold foil embossing, while the back stays flawless, showing how duplexing keeps your design looking sharp.

     
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4. 18pt Colorplan Various Colors with 18pt Colorplan Backing

   • The front and back sides feature luxurious raised rooftop embossing with Bitfrost Silver foiling. There’s no impression on either side, making these cards truly unique.

Each of these examples showcases how duplexing ensures the perfect finish for your desired effect, whether it's maintaining a flawless back side or achieving a unique, tactile experience with different paper stocks. However, it's important to note that duplexing is a more involved process. It requires the skill of a craftsman and takes longer to produce, which means it comes at a higher cost. But the result is well worth it—a truly premium product that stands out.

Beyond Business Cards

Duplexing isn’t just for business cards. It’s perfect for flyers, postcards, and even premium wedding invitations. Whether you want to make a great first impression or ensure your design looks flawless on both sides, duplexing is the way to go.

And duplexing isn’t just about hiding the impressions from embossing, debossing, or other premium techniques. It’s still a popular choice even without these add-ons.

Simple and stylish duplex of our 9pt Mohawk and 18pt Brown Kraft, with black printing on both sides.

You can duplex any of our stocks to create a thicker, more substantial card, even if you’re just printing on both sides. This versatility makes duplexing an excellent option for all types of print projects.

Ready to take your project to the next level? Get a custom quote here: Jukebox Print Quote Request.

Our 2-ply business cards can be created in any combination of stocks, so the final thickness will vary depending on your selections.

Any combination will be very sturdy and extra thick. As an example, our 2-ply W1S Brown Kraft and White Recycled Business Cards have a final thickness of 34pt - much thicker than a normal card.

We include two examples of a 2-ply business card in our Recycled Sample Pack. A 32pt Brown Kraft card sample is an example of using two of the same stocks to double the thickness. A 34pt W1S card sample is a great example of combining two different stocks as it uses 100% Recycled Brown Kraft on one side and 17pt Smooth Uncoated White on the other.

If you would like to receive samples of other unique 2-ply combinations such as W1S Wood or Premium Black, you can order them in a Specialty Sample Pack.

Duplex Business Cards (previously named 2-ply) involve two stocks pressed together. This can be produced with two of the same stocks to double the thickness, or it can be done with two different stocks to allow for a different appearance on each side of the card, and add a layered look to the edge.

Most of our offerings can be found from our Duplex Business Cards page. If there is a combination not available from our standard options, you may request a Custom Print Quote and a member of our Print Estimations team will provide you with a quote.

See: Design Considerations for Duplex (2-ply)

Since 2-ply products are created with two stocks, they tend to be very thick in the final product. This is perfect for adding coloured edging, however please keep in mind that some coatings are not compatible with edge colour. If you want to order 2-ply cards with coloured edging, please submit a Print Quote request and our Estimators can let you know if your desired stocks will work with this add-on.

Other add-ons that can be requested with a 2-ply order (depending on stocks used) include die-cut shapes, foil stamping, screen printing and embossing. Please place a Print Quote request for these services.