Laminate is a thin film bonded to the printed sheet. It is not a coating or a varnish: it is a separate layer, which is why a laminated card resists scuffing, moisture and bending far better than an unlaminated one.
On our business cards you can apply matt or gloss laminate to one side or both.
Gloss laminate
High shine. Colours come up richer and blacks go deeper than they print unlaminated — the film stops light scattering off the paper surface, so you see more of the ink. Photographs in particular look considerably better.
The costs: it reflects, so under overhead lighting parts of the card can be hard to read, and it shows fingerprints immediately.
Matt laminate
A flat, slightly soft surface with no shine at all. Colours read a little more muted than gloss — the same ink, but the film diffuses the light. Text stays readable at any angle, and fingerprints do not show.
Matt has become the more common choice for cards where the design is typographic rather than photographic, largely because it feels more considered in the hand.
The thing to check first
You cannot reliably write on gloss laminate. Ballpoint skids and smudges, and it never fully dries. If anyone is going to write an appointment time, a name or a price on the back of these cards, either use matt or leave one side unlaminated.
This catches people out constantly, and it is not recoverable after printing. Laminating one side only — gloss on the front, nothing on the back — is a real option and often the right one.
Does laminate change the colour I approved?
Slightly, yes, and in a predictable direction: gloss deepens, matt softens. The on-screen proof you approve before paying shows the printed artwork, not the laminate's effect on it. If you are matching an exact brand colour and the difference matters, tell us before you order.
Worth knowing: colour on screen is RGB and colour on press is CMYK, and that shift is usually larger than anything the laminate does. See RGB vs CMYK for print.