The short answer
Minimum, prices and lead times for a small run of PVC cards
Figures from our 2026 price list for a standard card: 85.6 × 54 mm (bank card format), 0.76 mm white PVC, full colour printed on both sides, gloss laminated, rounded corners. Prices are indicative, excluding VAT and shipping; your quotation confirms the exact amount.
| Minimum order | 50 cards per design. Below 50, ask us: a single sample run is sometimes possible for a programme that will scale. |
|---|---|
| 50 cards | around 111 € (about 2.20 € per card) |
| 100 cards | around 126 € (about 1.26 € per card) |
| 500 cards | around 263 € (about 0.53 € per card) |
| 1,000 cards | around 345 € (about 0.35 € per card) |
| 2,000 to 5,000 cards | around 460 € to 920 € (0.23 to 0.18 € per card) |
| Personalisation | Names, sequential numbers and barcodes printed in black: from about 168 € for 50 cards, 183 € for 100, 329 € for 500. Colour photos and variable colour data: a few dozen euros more per batch. |
| Encoding | Magnetic stripe (Lo-Co or Hi-Co): around 139 € for 50, 150 € for 100, 291 € for 500. NFC (NTAG213): around 185 € for 50, 213 € for 100, 489 € for 500. |
| Standard lead time | 8 to 10 working days after proof approval, then 1 to 3 working days of tracked shipping in Europe, 2 to 3 to the UK with customs handled by us. |
| Express | 2 to 4 working days of production on request, subject to availability when your order goes into production. Tell us your date in the quote request. |
| Proof | Free digital proof (PDF) before production, including a sample of the personalised data. |
Indicative prices, 2026 price list, excluding VAT and shipping. Quantities between the steps shown (for example 200 or 300 cards) are priced in proportion.
What changes between 50, 100 and 1,000 cards
The unit price drops fast because most of the cost of a short run is preparation: artwork check, print set-up, lamination, cutting, data import. Printing 100 cards instead of 50 costs about 15 € more; printing 500 instead of 100 costs about 137 € more and divides the unit price by two and a half.
What does not change is the card itself. Short runs are printed on the same 0.76 mm PVC as large runs, laminated on both sides, with the same colour management and the same rounded corners. A loyalty card printed in 50 copies for a pilot store looks identical to the 5,000 copies printed later for the whole network.
- 50 to 100 cards: pilot programmes, VIP or staff cards, a first batch of membership cards for a club, replacement cards.
- 250 to 500 cards: a single store or venue, a school year, an annual event.
- 1,000 cards and more: the price per card becomes marginal and offset printing becomes available for special finishes.
What can be personalised on 50 cards
Variable data is included in every run, whatever the quantity. Send a spreadsheet (one row per card) and we print on each card: the holder’s name, a sequential or custom number, a barcode (EAN-13, Code 128, QR code) that your till or reader already knows, a validity year, a membership tier, or a photo. Numbering and barcodes are printed in black; photos and colour variable elements are printed in full colour.
Encoding is also available on short runs: magnetic stripe (Lo-Co 300 Oe or Hi-Co 2,750 Oe), NFC chips (NTAG213, NTAG215) for contactless scenarios, Mifare Classic and DESFire for access control. We check the encoding against your reader specification before production.
Finishes available from 50 cards: gloss or matt lamination, signature panel, scratch-off panel, hot-foil gold or silver, embossed numbers. Some finishes carry a fixed tooling cost that weighs more on 50 cards than on 500; the quotation shows it as a separate line.
How to order a small run, step by step
- Brief: card type, quantity, what must be printed on each card, finish, delivery country and deadline. The form on this page is enough; no account needed.
- Quotation: itemised, within one working day, in euros or pounds for UK customers.
- Artwork: send your print-ready file or ask our studio to lay out the card from your logo and data. We check bleed, resolution and the position of the magnetic stripe or chip.
- Digital proof: a PDF showing the front and back with real data from your file. Nothing is printed before your written approval.
- Production and delivery: 8 to 10 working days, then tracked shipping. You receive the tracking number by e-mail.
Reorders are simpler: we keep your artwork and specifications, so a second batch of 50 or 500 cards only needs a new data file.
When a short run is the right choice, and when it is not
A short run is the right choice when the programme is new (test the card before committing to thousands), when the population is small by nature (a club, a team, a school year, a VIP list), or when cards are personalised and reordered as members join. It is also the practical answer when a previous supplier imposed a 500 or 1,000 minimum you never needed.
It is the wrong choice when you already know the yearly volume: 4 batches of 250 cards cost noticeably more than one batch of 1,000, and the artwork is checked four times. In that case we quote the full quantity with staggered personalisation or delivery if you need it.
Paper is sometimes the better material for very small runs with a short life (an event, a one-month promotion): see our paper cards, available from 50 units in business card format.