Your Complete Guide to Holiday Card Printing 🎁

The holiday season is right around the corner and there’s no better way to share the joy than with beautifully printed cards that your friends, family, or customers can hold in their hands. Whether you’re celebrating together or miles apart, a thoughtfully printed holiday or New Year card is a lasting reminder that you care.

Using this complete guide to holiday printing, we will make it easy to bring your vision to life at CatPrint, whether you’re an artist selling festive prints, a business sending client greetings, or someone designing their family’s annual card. Here’s everything you need to know to get started and make the process smooth, creative, and stress-free.

🎨 Choose Your Design: Use a Template or Upload Your Own

If you already have a design, simply upload your file directly to our site. We support the following file types: PDF, TIFF, JPG, and PNG. But if you’re starting from scratch or need a little creative inspiration, check out our Template Gallery, filled with ready-to-use holiday and New Year designs. You can personalize a template with your own text, photos, or logo.

Pro Tip: Keep your file at a high resolution (300 dpi) and include a ⅛” bleed when printing your artwork to the edge without white borders.

🧵 Explore Paper Options to Match Your Style

Choosing the right paper makes all the difference in how your cards feel and look. Whether you want something sleek, festive, or full of texture, CatPrint has the perfect cardstock for your design:

• Satin: A soft, elegant finish that offers just the right amount of sheen. Satin paper brings out vibrant colors and fine details without the glare of full gloss — perfect for artwork or photo cards.

• Gloss: Bright and polished, Gloss card stock enhances color depth and contrast for designs that pop. Ideal for photo-heavy cards and bold, modern styles.

• Shimmer: Add a festive glow to your cards with our pearlescent Shimmer cardstock. The subtle sparkle catches the light beautifully — a perfect match for holiday greetings and winter-inspired designs.

• Linen: With its woven texture and timeless look, Linen cardstock adds a refined, classic touch. It’s a favorite for elegant holiday cards and professional client greetings.

• Felt: Soft to the touch with a subtle texture reminiscent of watercolor paper. Felt cardstock gives your cards a warm, handmade feel. It’s especially lovely for illustrated or hand-drawn designs.

• Uncoated: Smooth, natural, and easy to write on, Uncoated cardstock is perfect for traditional cards where you want to include handwritten messages inside.

If you’re not sure which option best fits your style, you can request free paper samples before placing your order. Seeing and feeling each paper in person helps you choose with confidence and ensures your cards look exactly how you imagined.

💌 Envelopes & Printed Addressing Options

No holiday card is complete without the perfect envelope! CatPrint offers a wide selection of envelope styles and colors to complement your design, from classic white and cream to kraft and shimmer finishes.

And to make things even easier, we also offer printed envelopes to save you time. You can add your return address, recipient addresses, or custom artwork directly on your envelopes for a polished, coordinated look. It’s a simple way to take one more task off your list during the busy holiday season!

Matching your envelope to your paper style and printing your addresses with us ensures everything arrives ready to send, beautifully finished and completely stress-free.

🧾 Proofing Made Easy

Not sure how your design will look in print? CatPrint offers free hard copy proofs so you can review colors, paper texture, and layout before committing to your full order. Once you’re happy with your proof, you can easily approve your project in just one click. This step helps you avoid surprises and ensures your cards come out exactly as you imagined.

📦 Fast Turnaround & Flexible Quantities

One of the best parts of printing with CatPrint is our on-demand printing model. You can order exactly the number of cards you need, whether that’s 10, 35, or 100, without waste or large minimums.

And because all printing is done in-house, our turnaround times are fast. Most orders ship within a few business days after approval, so even last-minute projects can make it in time for the holidays.

Shipping options include a standard 7-business-day, expedited options starting at 5-business-day, and a true overnight delivery, so you can choose what works best for your schedule.

🕒 Holiday Printing Timeline

Here’s a recommended timeline to help your holiday printing go smoothly:

• Mid–October: Start planning your design and order free paper samples.

• Early November: Upload your design or personalize a template and order a proof.

• Mid–November: Approve your proof and place your full order.

• Late November to Early December: Send your cards out and enjoy knowing they’ll arrive right on time!

💡 Design & Printing Tips

To make your holiday cards stand out:

• Use warm, festive tones like golds, reds, and deep greens — or go modern with metallics and winter neutrals.

• Include your logo or signature if you’re printing for your business.

• For photo cards, use bright, high-quality images with good lighting.

• Don’t forget to check your spelling and dates!

• Add foil finishing for a touch of holiday sparkle that catches the light beautifully.

Questions? Contact the experts.

Whether you’re sharing season’s greetings, showcasing your artwork, or celebrating a fresh start in the new year, your design deserves to shine in print. For additional questions, contact our Customer Service Team at support@catprint.com or call us at 877-228-7768.