If you’ve never ordered custom matchbooks before, the order and design can feel like it’s asking questions in a language you don’t speak. Size, stock, strike count, MOQ. None of it is complicated once you know what each choice is. This guide walks through specifying a matchbook from start to finish, so you can place your first order with confidence.
Step 1: Start with size and strike count
A matchbook’s size is described by its strike count, which is the number of match stems inside. The two standard books are the 20-strike, at 1.5 inches wide, and the 30-strike, at 2 inches wide. The 20-strike is the classic, pocket-friendly book most people picture. The 30-strike feels more substantial in the hand and gives you a bit more room for artwork, at a slightly higher price per book.
A simple rule: If you have a rectangular or wider logo the 30 strike, 2 inch matchbook will fit it better.
Strike count also hints at how the book gets used. A 20-strike gives roughly twenty lights, enough for a guest to use a few and pocket the rest. A book that leaves with the customer keeps your name in a coat pocket or a kitchen drawer for weeks. The 30-strike lasts longer and reads as a little more generous, which is why gift shops and hotels often size up.
Step 2: Choose your stock and finish
Stock is the board your matchbook prints on. We offer stock matches as an economy option that come in black, blue, green, red, purple with white color or foil. Our full color Quick Ship, Custom, and specialty matchbooks all print on a stock white board standard with a UV gloss on the outside and unfinished on the inside. Quickship matches don’t have a choice of varnish, but you can “flip/flop” the varnish and have the outside unfinished and inside with the matte varnish. Custom and specialty matchbooks offer matte varnish with minimums over 5,000 units.
A few specifics help. UV Gloss is the most popular finish because it makes color and foil pop, and it wipes clean. Matte has a flatter, more current look that photographs well and hides fingerprints. Colored board skips printed ink for the background entirely, since the stock itself is the color, which is both a look and a way to hold costs down on simple designs.
None of these change how the matches strike or burn, so the choice is how your art reads.
Step 3: Decide how it gets printed
Three printing methods sit at three price points. Stock-color printing uses a set palette of standard ink colors and is the most affordable route, with production around 4 to 6 weeks. Full-color CMYK printing reproduces any design, inside and out, and our quick-ship books run in under 12 business days. Foil hot-stamp adds a metallic shine that looks great on dark stock, with production around 6 to 8 weeks.
If budget is your first concern and your design works in a standard color, the super economy line is the value play. If you want printed matchsticks, look at the premium line.
Step 4: Nail down your colors
There are two color systems to understand.
- CMYK mixes four inks to produce full color and is what the quick-ship line uses. Expect colors to land very close to your design, with slight shifts possible.
- PMS is a spot-color system that matches an exact brand color, available on some lines for runs using fewer than four colors. If your brand lives or dies on one precise color, ask about PMS early because it changes your pricing and timelines.
If you want a color matchtip the specialty lines include 17 tip colors in the base price and have a Kraft matchstick. Domestic quickship, stock and custom matchbooks all come with a white tip and white matchstick.
Step 5: Know your minimum
Every product has a minimum order quantity. Quick-ship books start at 200. Stock and foil books usually start at 1,000. Specialty shapes vary. For planning, most restaurants and bars order between 2,500 and 5,000 books per design, which is roughly 3 month supply for a busy room.
Step 6: Send print-ready artwork
Clean artwork is the difference between a smooth order and a slow one. Send the highest-resolution file you have, vector art if possible, with fonts outlined so nothing reflows. Every order comes with a free digital proof, and nothing prints until you approve it. The faster you approve, the faster you print.
If you don’t have a designer, that’s fine. Send us your logo at the largest size you have and tell us roughly what you’re picturing, and our in-house team will help build your vision for $35.
You’ve just specced a matchbook
Six choices; size, stock, printing, color, quantity, artwork. If you’re unsure on anything email us (hello@promotionalmatchs.com) your artwork for a free proof and we’ll flag anything that needs attention before it goes to print.
