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At a glance, these two finishes look nearly identical. Pick them up and they feel completely different. This guide covers both from every angle: feel, print quality, durability, design fit, and price. Both finishes are printed on the same thick 20pt stock. Both are part of the business cards lineup. The finish is what changes everything about how someone experiences your card. For the broader three-way comparison against Mohawk Superfine, see Soft Touch vs Standard vs Mohawk Superfine.
Two finishes, same foundation
Same 20pt thickness. Same Jukebox print quality. Different in every way that counts the moment the card changes hands.
Soft Touch
A heat-applied film laminate bonded directly to the printed surface. The result is a velvety, suede-like texture that is warm to the touch and impossible to describe without holding one. This is a true film coating, not a varnish. Previously known as Silk Matte. It is our most-ordered finish for a reason. Thickness 20pt. Coating Soft Touch (velvety). Brightness 93. Starting from $33 for 50 cards. Writes with ballpoint or marker. Feels suede, warm, textured.
Matte
Also a heat-applied film laminate, not a matte varnish. That distinction matters: film gives you a more consistent, durable surface with a cleaner finish than a varnish can achieve. Non-reflective, smooth to the touch, and reliable across every design style. The finish stays out of the way and lets your artwork lead. Thickness 20pt. Coating matte (flat, smooth). Brightness 93. Starting from $31 for 50 cards. Most pens work great. Feels smooth, flat, clean.
The part specs don't tell you
Both finishes are heat-applied film laminates, not matte varnishes. That is worth knowing because film bonds more consistently, holds up better over time, and produces a cleaner surface. The difference between them is what that film does to the card in your hand.
Soft Touch is the one people always ask about. The Soft Touch coating goes on after printing is done. The result is a finish that most people reach for words like "suede," "peach skin," or "velvet" to describe. It's warm and tactile in a way no flat finish really gets close to. When someone picks up a Soft Touch card for the first time the reaction is almost always the same: they pause, and they feel it again.
Colors under the coating look rich and saturated, with a slightly muted, cinematic quality. That works particularly well for dark or moody designs. Light-colored and minimalist layouts look clean and intentional against the velvety surface.
Matte is clean, sharp, and out of the way. Matte is smooth with no surface texture. Flat, non-reflective, reads as clean and reads as professional without trying to say anything on its own. That's the point. Your typography, logo, and artwork carry the weight without the coating competing for attention.
If you're building a corporate brand identity, ordering for a big team, or working with a minimal design that relies on precision and legibility, Matte is a solid choice. It handles handwriting well too, which matters if you jot notes or personal details on the back. For the head-to-head between matte and gloss specifically, the matte-vs-gloss comparison runs through it.
Side-by-side comparison
Thickness. Soft Touch and matte are both 20pt.
Coating type. Both are heat-applied film laminates (not varnish). The film bonds directly to the stock for a more durable, consistent finish.
Surface feel. Soft Touch is velvety and tactile (suede-like). Matte is smooth and flat (no texture).
Brightness rating. Both 93.
Color reproduction. Soft Touch reads slightly muted, warm, and cinematic. Matte reads clean and direct, faithful to your CMYK values.
Writability. Soft Touch accepts ballpoint or fine-tip permanent marker (avoid gel pens and felt tips). Matte takes virtually any pen cleanly.
Best for. Soft Touch suits client-facing brands, creative work, dark designs, photography, and anyone who wants the card to make a tactile first impression. Matte suits corporate, B2B, team orders, typographic designs, and anyone who wants the finish to disappear behind the design.
Starting price. Soft Touch from $43, matte from $40 (50 cards in CAD; USD and EUR available at checkout). Next-business-day turnaround on orders approved by 10am PST.
Who orders each one
Real patterns from thousands of orders, not guesswork.
Soft Touch is the right call if: you want people to notice the card the moment they pick it up, you work in a client-facing creative or impression-driven field, your design uses dark backgrounds or rich photography or bold contrast, you want a finish that stands out in a stack of cards on a table, or you're a beauty salon, photographer, agency, realtor, consultant, or hospitality brand. The card itself is part of the brand experience you want to create.
Matte is the right call if: you want a clean professional finish that works across every design style, you're ordering for a team and need consistent quality at volume, you hand-write notes or numbers or personal details on your cards, your design is typographic or minimal or relies on sharp color accuracy, or you're a corporate professional, law firm, accountant, startup, or tech company. You want the finish to stay out of the way and let your branding do the work.
The details that actually matter
Color and print reproduction
Both finishes are heat-applied film laminates bonded to the stock after printing. Film behaves differently to matte varnish. Varnish sits on the surface and can crack or wear unevenly over time. Film bonds directly to the stock and produces a cleaner, more consistent finish. Both Soft Touch and matte share that foundation.
The difference is in how each film interacts with color. On Soft Touch, the velvety layer creates a slightly muted, warm version of your design. Colors come out rich and deep, which works particularly well on photography, dark palettes, and designs with strong tonal contrast. On matte, the flat film renders colors clean and direct, faithful to your CMYK values. No warmth added, no softening. If color accuracy and sharpness are the priority, matte's the better call. Neither finish uses gloss, so you won't get the reflective sheen that washes out detail in bright light.
Which designs work best on each
Soft Touch is particularly strong on dark or black backgrounds. The depth of color against the velvety surface creates a look that's hard to get any other way. Minimalist layouts with a lot of white space also land well here, and the coating adds a premium quality even when the design is simple. Photography and gradient-heavy work benefit from the warmth too. Matte is the more neutral surface. Typographic cards, illustrated designs, geometric layouts, anything where color precision matters, it handles all of it without adding its own opinion. If your design needs to print exactly as it looks on screen, matte is the safer choice.
Long-term handling and wear
Both hold up fine for normal networking use. Matte is slightly more resistant to scuffing. The flat surface has less texture to catch abrasion. In a wallet that sees daily use over months, you're less likely to notice visible wear marks on matte than on Soft Touch.
Soft Touch can develop faint shiny scuff marks over time with heavy rotation. Most people never run into this. But if you're handing out cards constantly and they're living in a busy wallet, matte will hold up better long-term. For presentation pieces, portfolio use, or cards kept in a holder, Soft Touch stays looking great.
Writing on your cards
If you write on your cards regularly, whether that is a personal note, a direct number, or pricing details, this one matters. Matte is the more forgiving surface. The flat coating accepts ink from most pens cleanly, including felt-tips, ballpoints, and fine-liners. Soft Touch is fine with a ballpoint or fine-tip permanent marker. Gel pens and felt tips tend to smudge on the coating though, so avoid those. If you write on cards occasionally, either finish works. Daily habit? Matte is the safer pick. For maximum writability, our uncoated stocks like Cotton or Mohawk Superfine are the easiest surfaces to write on.
Add-ons and upgrades
Both finishes are available with rounded corners, and both can be ordered in all four of our standard sizes. Painted edges work on either, but they read differently. On Soft Touch the contrast between the velvety coating and the hand-painted edge is sharper and the combination tends to get noticed. On matte, painted edges are a nice upgrade but the contrast is subtler. If edge color is part of your design, Soft Touch is the better canvas for it. The full business card materials guide covers every premium option Jukebox prints.
Quick decision guide
If you want the card to make an impression before someone has even read your name, go with Soft Touch. That tactile moment of recognition is exactly what the coating is built to create.
For a clean, professional finish on a 20-person sales team order, Matte is the right call. Consistent, reliable, and sharp at any volume without the premium price bump that comes with a specialty coating.
Got a dark, moody design and want it to look incredible? Order Soft Touch. The coating amplifies dark designs in a way that flat matte cannot. The depth and contrast is genuinely striking.
Writing appointment times or notes on the back of your cards? Matte handles any pen cleanly. If writability is your top priority, also look at our uncoated stocks. Cotton and Mohawk Superfine are the easiest surfaces to write on.
Adding painted edges? They look better on Soft Touch. The velvety surface makes the painted edge pop in a way that a flat matte finish just does not. One of those combinations that consistently gets noticed.
Still overthinking it after twenty minutes? Order the sample pack. Hold them. Decision made in under a minute.
The bottom line
Soft Touch wins on tactile impression. Matte wins on versatility, writability, and price. Both are premium-grade 20pt cards built on the same foundation. The honest answer to "which is right for you" is the one that matches your brand voice and the way the card will actually be used. For the broader stock landscape and where matte and Soft Touch sit among the rest of the lineup, business card materials compares every option side by side. For the head-to-head against Standard and Mohawk Superfine, see Soft Touch vs Standard vs Mohawk Superfine. Both finishes are live on the business cards page - same 20pt baseline, different feel in hand.
