Sourcing custom cards from China means approving paper, finition, emballage, and freight terms before you hold any of them. The work that protects the order happens in documents and samples, not in a factory visit.
This guide follows the order a purchase actually moves in: check the plant, then lock the artwork. Next comes the proof that answers your question, then the freight and payment terms. Every supplier statement below is quoted from our own pages, including the manufacturing overview et le sampling guide.
What Changes When You Print Overseas
A local supplier is a drive away. An overseas one is a set of documents: a quotation with an Incoterm, a dieline, a signed proof, and a packing list. Those documents decide the result, so the first vetting question is how much of the process a supplier publishes.
Use our factory as the pattern. Le manufacturing page names the registered company, Impression Cie. de Guangzhou Xinyi., Ltd., and the street address in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou. It splits the plant into prepress, impression, finition, and packing departments, and lists the machines in each.
- Match the street address on the quotation to the address on the website and on the business license.
- Ask for a live video walk-through of the printing and packing lines rather than a stock clip.
- Ask which stages run in-house and which are subcontracted. A department list is easy to write and hard to defend on a call.
- Ask for a certificate copy that carries the company name. ISO 14001 et FSC are the two the manufacturing page publishes.
Machine names say more than floor area. The published list includes a Kodak CTP plate system, a Komori four-color press, a Heidelberg six-color press with a coater unit, and die-cutting and rigid-box forming lines. Ask which of them runs your job, and ask what the supplier does not own. Our cost guide shows where the difference between two quotes usually comes from.
Protect Your Artwork Before Files Move
Ask for confidentiality in writing before you send layered artwork. The answer on the buyer FAQ states that NDA arrangements are available for licensed IP and confidential artwork. It also asks you to share access, approval, and anti-counterfeit requirements before files are transferred.
A general NDA still leaves four gaps worth closing in the order document:
- Name the files. Attach the artwork list so the scope is not arguable later.
- Say who owns the die, the plates, and the tooling, and whether the supplier may reuse them for another customer.
- Set the rule for marketing use, including case studies, social posts, and trade-show samples.
- State the license position. The manufacturing page lists collectible cards with licensed content required, which is the wording to mirror in your own agreement.
A supplier who will not put any of this in writing has already answered the question. Move the file check one step earlier with the file setup checklist.
Ask for the Proof That Matches the Decision
Sample types are not quality tiers. Each answers one question and fails to answer another. The table below reproduces that split from our MOQ and sampling page.
| Approval route | It checks | It does not replace |
|---|---|---|
| Material pack | Paper feel, revêtement, laminage, finish examples | Your artwork, component fit, final assembly |
| Existing product | General workmanship from a past run | A sample built to your size and spec |
| Digital PDF proof | Layout, texte, placement d'images, card order, dieline alignment | Paper feel, printed color, finish texture, box fit |
| Pre-production sample | Taille, matériel, imprimer, finition, conditionnement, component fit | Normal tolerances across the full run |
Quantity and timing follow the same page. The sampling page lists 200 sets for a typical card and box project, et 1,000 pieces for a single loose card design. A custom sample runs 5 à 7 jours ouvrables, with complexity moving that number. Stock samples are listed as free with the buyer paying international freight, et le product FAQ says customized and pre-production sample fees can be refunded against order value.
When the pre-production sample lands, the page asks you to confirm print color direction, card feel, finish alignment, box fit, component count, opening experience, and pack-out. Sign off against that list and keep the approved unit. Mass production then follows the approved material, taille, imprimer, finition, binding, et structure within normal industry tolerances, which is the standard the same page publishes. Change the size, matériel, finition, card count, or packaging and a new proof may be required before production starts.
Quality Checks You Can Ask to See
Ask a supplier to name the instruments, not the values. Our quality assurance section runs five stages. Incoming checks use moisture instruments and a UPM caliper on paper stocks. Press control uses a colorimeter that holds printed color to the approved sample within strict delta-E tolerances, plus a bar code meter and real-time comparison against sample decks.
In-process checks cover coating adhesion, précision d'estampage à chaud, emboss clarity, and die-cut size and corner shape. Assembly checks functional fit, card count, and accessory inclusion. Outgoing checks cover export labels, précision du code à barres, scellage de cartons, and paperwork. Ask which of those are recorded, and ask to see a record from a live run.
Then verify the paper claim against a measurement. Le materials page publishes a thickness reference for varnished and laminated 300, 350, et 400 GSM C2S, and states that actual thickness varies by mill and paper construction. That is why the approved sample is the reference and the datasheet is not. The same page confirms the current paper mill and finish compatibility at quoting, which is the sentence to ask for in writing.
For the finish side of that check, see the matte and gloss comparison et le trading card paper guide.
Packing and Freight Decide Landed Cost
The freight line is where a low unit price disappears. Start with the export pack. Our shipping page lists BC double-wall corrugated cartons at around 6.5 à 7.5 mm, with gross weight kept within 15 kg per carton. The same page adds void fill, internal corner protection, and moisture barriers matched to the route. Palletized shipments use ISPM 15-compliant pallets with corner protection, strapping, or stretch film. The ISPM 15 reference covers the wood packaging rules that apply to pallets moving between countries.
Production time is published as a reference table rather than a single promise. Cards run 10 days under 5,000 and under 10,000 unités, then add one day per 10,000. Cards with a rigid box run 12 days below 5,000 et 15 days below 10,000, then add one day per 3,000. Cards with a folding box run 10 et 12 days on the same quantity split. The page adds approximately six days for order processing, dielines, préparation du dossier, proofing, and scheduling after artwork confirmation.
Transit sits on top of that, and the published planning estimates are wide. The United States shows 10 à 50 days by sea and 9 à 12 by air. The United Kingdom shows 60 days by sea and 12 à 15 by air, and Germany 40 à 60 by sea and 35 by rail. Treat a range that wide as a prompt to ask for a route-specific quote.
Terms decide who carries the risk in the gaps. Incoterms are the published commercial terms that split responsibility between exporter and importer. On our shipping page, EXW means your forwarder collects from the factory, and FOB means the goods are loaded at the agreed origin port. CIF covers ocean freight and insurance to the destination port, and DDP is door-to-door including duties on supported routes. Ask which term a quotation uses, and what the seller still pays for. Le packaging page lists the six details to send with that inquiry.
Payment Terms and Documents to Confirm
The published structure on our flashcard product FAQ is a 30% deposit, with the balance paid against a copy of the bill of lading. Accepted methods are T/T wire transfer, credit cards, Vérification des e-ets, Paypal, and Western Union, under EXW, GOUSSET, Cif, Que, or DDP delivery terms. Confirm the split and the trigger in writing before paying anything. A balance released against a bill of lading copy is a different risk from one released on arrival.
Documents are the other half. For applicable shipments the shipping page provides the commercial invoice, the packing list, and the customs declaration paperwork needed for the agreed route. Check that the invoice description, the carton count, and the packing list agree before the container moves. A mismatch at customs is resolved on the destination side, at your cost.
Ask how a short or damaged delivery is handled. Le buyer FAQ asks for order details, carton labels, quantities, photos, and an unpacking record. Set that evidence routine with your receiving team before the first pallet arrives. Our card game deck range et flashcard manufacturer checklist follow the same specification path.
Foire aux questions
What is the minimum order for custom cards?
The sampling page lists 200 sets as the starting quantity for a card deck supplied with its box, et 1,000 pieces for a project printing one card design only.
How long does a pre-production sample take?
Custom sample timing is published as 5 à 7 working days as a reference. Complexity changes the number, so confirm it against your own size, matériel, finition, et emballage.
Which Incoterm should a first-time buyer choose?
Choose by how much of the move you want to control. EXW leaves you arranging freight from the factory door. CIF has the seller covering ocean freight and insurance to the destination port, and DDP is door-to-door with duties on supported routes. Ask each supplier to quote the same term before comparing prices.
What do I check when a shipment arrives?
The buyer FAQ asks for order details, carton labels, quantities, photos, and an unpacking record when goods arrive damaged or incomplete. Photograph the pallet and the carton labels before opening, then count against the packing list.
Pensées finales
Sourcing custom cards from China is a documentation exercise. Ask for the address, the machine list, the confidentiality terms, and the inspection stages. Then add the export pack, the Incoterm, and the payment trigger, and compare suppliers on the same page. A supplier that publishes those answers is faster to check than one that answers by phone.
Want to test the process on one product first? Send the specification through our contact page. We confirm the material, finition, quantité, and route before a sample is cut.
Send a Card Specification
