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Promotional Printing

Promotional Printing
The Complete Guide to Promotional Printing

Custom promotional printing for campaigns, events, retail, and giveaways. Paper bags, plastic cards, postcards, banners, calendars, scratch cards, puzzles, and more, printed in-house since 2003. Full-color offset, digital, screen, and dye-sublimation production, with finishing from foil stamping to wire-O binding. Free quote and pre-production samples available.

What Is Promotional Printing?

Promotional printing is the production of printed items whose job is to get a brand noticed and remembered. Where business printing supports daily operations, promotional printing is built around campaigns: a product launch, a trade show, a seasonal sale, a giveaway. The pieces are chosen to be used, carried, hung, scratched, or assembled, and every one of them carries the brand with it.

The common thread is engagement. A flyer gets read once. A scratch card gets scratched. A calendar hangs on the wall for a year. A paper bag walks down the street in a customer's hand. Each format earns a different kind of attention, which is why most campaigns combine several of them rather than betting on one.

ZXC Print's promotional printing division covers eight product families:

  • Paper Bags: retail shopping bags and gift bags in kraft, C1S art board, and art paper.
  • Plastic Cards: PVC, PET, loyalty, membership, and hotel key cards with magnetic stripe, chip, or NFC.
  • Postcards: full-color self-mailers for direct mail and invitations.
  • Banners: vinyl, fabric, and mesh large-format signage for indoor and outdoor use.
  • Calendars: wall, desk, and pocket calendars that stay in view all year.
  • Scratch Cards: win cards, coupon cards, and password cards with latex scratch panels.
  • Puzzles: custom jigsaw puzzles in cardboard, wood, magnetic, and plastic.
  • Advertising Products: a wider range of custom branded items for promotions and events.

Paper Bags: Branding That Walks Out the Door

A paper bag is the only print product that leaves your store in the customer's hand. It gets seen on the street, on public transport, and at the destination, which makes it a moving billboard you only pay for once. For retailers, restaurants, and boutiques, the bag is often the last impression of a visit, so it pays to make it a good one.

The construction matters as much as the printing. Flat-bottom bags stand up on their own and carry weight reliably, which is why they are the standard for retail. Square-bottom bags (also called SOS bags) fold flat for storage and open into a square base, common for grocery and takeaway. Gusseted bags expand in the middle for bulky items. Wine bottle carriers and die-cut handle bags round out the range.

On materials, kraft paper gives a natural, uncoated look that suits organic and artisan brands. C1S art board prints bright full color on the coated side and is the choice for high-end shopping bags. Art paper sits between the two. Handles are rope or ribbon, and single-side lamination is available so the bag survives a bit of weather.

Quantities start at 500. Full specifications are on the Paper Bag Printing page.

Plastic Cards: Durable, Functional, Everyday

Plastic cards are the promotional item people actually carry in their wallet. A loyalty card, membership card, or gift card sits in constant use, so the brand impression is not a moment, it is a habit. Plastic also allows functionality paper cannot: a magnetic stripe, a barcode, an embedded chip, or an NFC antenna.

Most cards are standard CR80 credit-card size, printed on PVC or PET in full color, then laminated for durability and die-cut to exact dimensions. From there the options split by function. Hotel key cards and access cards carry encoded stripes or chips. Loyalty and membership cards are often printed with a barcode or a card number. Gift cards add a scratch-off panel for the balance. Custom shapes are possible too, though they cost more than the standard rectangle.

For environmentally conscious brands, PET and other recyclable card stocks are available without giving up print quality. Runs go from 500 to over 500,000 cards, with encoding and personalization done in-house.

See the full range on the Plastic Card Printing page.

Postcards: The Self-Mailer That Still Works

Postcards have been doing direct mail for over a century, and they keep working because they are simple: one piece of card stock, a design on the front, a message and an address on the back, no envelope needed. The whole piece is the mail, which keeps the cost down and the response measurable.

They work for a wide range of jobs. Direct mail campaigns, event invitations, product announcements, holiday greetings, and portfolios all arrive as postcards. Printed on 250–350 gsm art board, they feel substantial in the hand, and matte lamination is the usual choice because it takes handwriting well on the back.

Finishing options are where postcards move beyond the basics: spot UV on a logo, hot foil stamping for a polished feel, or embossing for texture. Sizes run from A6 up to A5 and custom dimensions, with quantities from 250 to 200,000+.

Specifications and options are on the Postcard Printing page.

Banners: Built to Be Seen From a Distance

Banners answer a different question than the rest of promotional printing: how do you get a message seen from across a street, a trade show hall, or a parking lot? The answer is large-format printing on materials chosen for the environment, because a banner that fails in wind, rain, or sunlight fails completely.

Outdoor vinyl is the workhorse. It stands up to weather for months, prints in vivid color, and takes hemmed edges and grommets for mounting. Mesh banners let wind pass through, which makes them the right choice for fences, stadiums, and other breezy locations. Fabric banners give a wrinkle-free, polished look for indoor events and exhibitions. Rigid materials like PVC foam board are used where the sign needs to stand on its own, such as displays and signage panels.

We print banners in vinyl, fabric, mesh, and more than 25 other materials, at any size, with digital, screen, or dye-sublimation output. Hemming, grommets, pole pockets, and reinforced edges are all done in-house, so a banner arrives ready to hang.

See materials and sizes on the Banner Printing page.

Calendars: One Print, 365 Days of Exposure

Most print marketing has a short life. A calendar is the exception: it hangs on a wall or sits on a desk for an entire year, and someone looks at it every single day. That makes it one of the best cost-per-impression deals in promotional printing, which is why companies have handed out calendars for decades and keep doing it.

Wall calendars are the classic format, usually 13 sheets (a cover plus twelve months) bound with wire-O or spiral, printed on satin art paper with lamination. Desk calendars use a smaller format with a stand, and pocket calendars fit in a wallet for field sales teams and technicians. Every format can be printed full color on both the image side and the date panels.

Custom sizes and shapes are available, and finishing like spot UV or foil stamping on the cover adds a refined touch without much cost. Quantities start around 100 copies, which makes calendars a practical option even for smaller businesses.

Options and sizes are on the Calendar Printing page.

Scratch Cards: Print That Asks to Be Touched

A scratch card is the rare print product that demands interaction. The latex panel hides a result, and the customer has to scratch it to find out. That small moment of anticipation is what makes scratch cards so effective for promotions, and it is also what makes them technically interesting to produce.

The scratch panel itself is the key detail. It is printed as an opaque latex layer over the concealed area, in silver or gold, and it has to scratch off cleanly without lifting the printing underneath. Variable data printing puts a unique code, prize, or password under each panel, which is how win cards and recharge cards work.

Cards are printed on 300–400 gsm paper or durable PVC, usually in credit-card size (86 × 54 mm) or custom dimensions. Finishing like foil stamping, embossing, and spot UV is common, since the card is a direct representation of the brand.

Details are on the Scratch Card Printing page.

Puzzles: The Giveaway People Keep

Most promotional items end up in a drawer. A custom puzzle tends to end up on a table, because puzzles get used, and a used puzzle keeps the brand in front of people for hours at a time. That makes puzzles a strong choice for gifts, retail products, education, and board game manufacturing.

Cardboard is the standard substrate, die-cut with steel rules into interlocking pieces from 12 up to 1,000+. Wood puzzles have a satisfying feel and are popular for children's toys and keepsake gifts. Magnetic puzzles are compact and travel well, and plastic is used where durability or washability matters.

The image is printed full color with CMYK or UV ink, and the cut quality is what separates a good puzzle from a frustrating one. We control the die-cutting in-house, so pieces interlock consistently, and we offer custom packaging, QR codes, and full OEM and ODM service for brands that want the puzzle under their own name.

See materials and piece counts on the Puzzle Printing page.

Advertising Products and Custom Branded Items

Beyond the seven core families above, the Advertising Products category covers the longer tail of branded merchandise: items produced for specific promotions, events, and campaigns where the format does not fit a standard category. If you have a promotion in mind and are not sure what format it should take, this is the place to start.

What Drives the Price

Promotional printing prices follow the same logic as other print, with a few twists. Quantity is first, as always: offset setup spreads across the run, and a 5,000-piece postcard run costs a fraction per unit of a 500-piece run. Materials are second, and promotional printing spans an unusually wide range, from a simple paper postcard to a PVC card with an embedded chip.

Functionality is the third factor, and it is where promotional printing differs from the rest. A magnetic stripe, a scratch panel, a wire-O binding, a grommet, an NFC antenna, a steel die for a puzzle: each of these is a real production step with its own setup, and together they can double the price of an otherwise simple piece.

The advice we give clients planning a campaign: pick the format that matches how the item will be used, order the quantity the budget allows, and spend the finishing budget on the one detail people will notice. A plain paper bag with a great logo beats an over-finished bag with a weak one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum order quantity for promotional printing?
It varies by product. Postcards, plastic cards, and scratch cards start at 500. Paper bags start at 500. Calendars start at 100. Puzzles start at small runs depending on piece count and substrate. Tell us the format and quantity and we will quote the most economical production path.
Can promotional items include variable data, like unique codes?
Yes. Scratch cards, plastic cards, and other items can carry variable data: unique codes, serial numbers, passwords, or prize levels printed under each panel or encoded on a stripe or chip.
Do you offer custom shapes and sizes?
Mostly yes. Die-cut shapes are available for cards, tags, and bags; banners can be any size; calendars and postcards can be custom-dimensioned. Custom dies carry a one-time setup cost that becomes worthwhile when the item is reordered.
How long does production take?
Typically 5–10 business days for most items, and 5–12 days for banners and calendars depending on size and finishing. Rush production is available for campaigns on a deadline.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, worldwide, to North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania. Shipping is quoted per order based on weight and destination.

Why ZXC Print for Promotional Printing

  • One factory since 2003: printing, die-cutting, binding, encoding, and assembly in-house, so promotional timelines stay under control.
  • Wide format range: from a 500-piece postcard run to 500,000+ cards and 100,000+ bags.
  • Functional printing: scratch panels, magnetic stripes, chips, NFC, wire-O binding, grommets, and steel-rule puzzle dies.
  • Heidelberg offset quality: consistent full-color output across every run.
  • Pre-production samples: approve a physical sample before the campaign prints.

Our Promotional Printing Product Categories

Each product family has its own page with full specifications, materials, and options.

Related reading: marketing materials for stickers, brochures, flyers, and posters, and business printing for hang tags, envelopes, notepads, and folders.