Printing & Technique
Over-the-edge
True full-bleed printing that wraps color over the card's edges with no border; produced only by retransfer printers.
Over-the-edge printing carries color all the way over the card's edges for a borderless, premium look. It is a hallmark of retransfer printing, where the image is laid onto a film that covers the whole card. Direct-to-card printers cannot do this; they leave a thin border ("edge to edge").
More on this in which print method you need.
Insist on over-the-edge only when you genuinely need a borderless card or you print technology cards, otherwise a direct-to-card printer is the smarter spend. See the edge-to-edge vs over-the-edge guide for a side-by-side.
Where this leads
If you are working this out for a live card program, start with our printer lineup.
Related terms
Questions about Over-the-edge?
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