A door hanger is a die-cut card with a hole and an open slot that clears a handle, printed on 260–350 gsm art card and usually matt-laminated. EZ Print prints them in Singapore on the same press run as postcards and greeting cards, then cuts the hole and slot as a finishing step. The things to settle are the size, the stock and where the printed message sits around the cut.
What is a door hanger and how is it made?
A door hanger is a card die-cut with a hole and an open slot, so that it loops over a handle. It is printed first, like a postcard, and cut afterwards. The hole and slot are removed from the card by a die, which means anything printed in that area is cut away and the message has to be drawn around it.
Door hangers are printed on 260–350 gsm art card, usually matt-laminated so that the card survives a wet handle. They are used for a message or a hotel room status, and they are also sold as door-knob hangers, door tags and do-not-disturb signs. The postcard and door hanger page covers the stocks and finishing.
What sizes and card stock do door hangers use?
Door hangers are cut from the card sizes of the postcard range: A6 105 × 148 mm, DL 99 × 210 mm, A5 148 × 210 mm and square 148 × 148 mm, with custom sizes on request. The stock is art card at 260–350 gsm, gloss or matt, printed 4C/4C or 4C/1C in CMYK. Confirm the size you need in the enquiry.
| Choice | Option | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Size | A6, DL, A5, square or custom | The hole and slot take part of the printed area |
| Stock | 260–350 gsm gloss or matt art card | Confirm the weight in the quotation |
| Printing | 4C/4C or 4C/1C | Full colour both sides, or full colour front and one colour on the back |
| Lamination | Matt or gloss, if wanted | Film on both faces cannot be written on |
The minimum run listed for this card range is 50.
How is a door hanger die-cut?
A steel rule is bent to the outline of the hanger, set in a forme and pressed through the card. The same forme cuts the hole and the slot. Rule bends to a radius rather than to a point, so every internal corner arrives with a curve in it, and anything narrower than about 2 mm is fragile in the tool and in the finished piece.
The die is made once for a new shape and kept, so a repeat of the same hanger starts from a tool that already exists. A new outline, or a change in the hole and slot, is a new tool. The die-cut shapes guide explains what a rule can and cannot cut. Other finishing on the card range includes round-cornering, lamination and spot UV.
How should door hanger artwork be prepared?
Build the artwork at the finished size with 3 mm bleed all round and a 4 mm safe margin in from the trim, and supply the cutter as a separate vector path on its own named layer. Keep headlines and phone numbers clear of the hole and slot, and outline the fonts. PDF/X-4 is preferred.
The hole and slot remove card, so a message printed over them is cut away. Draw the cutter on its own layer so that the die can be made from it, and bleed the artwork past the cut line so a small shift does not show a white edge. If the hanger is to be written on, ask for film on one face only, because lamination on both faces cannot be written on. The artwork preparation guide lists the general checks.
Worked example: a hotel room-status door hanger
Hypothetical planning example. Actual production timing, paper availability, and logistics are confirmed individually upon artwork and specification review. A hotel wants a door hanger for guests to hang outside the room, with a different message on each face, such as a request for privacy on one side and a request for housekeeping on the other. Both faces must stay readable once the hole and slot are cut.
- Quantity: 1,000 hangers, one design.
- Size: DL 99 × 210 mm.
- Stock: 260–350 gsm art card, matt-laminated, printed 4C/4C.
- Finishing: die-cut hole and open slot to the card edge, set up from a cutter path on its own named layer.
- Artwork: print-ready PDF/X-4, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe margin, fonts outlined, text kept clear of the hole and slot.
- Needed by: the date, stated on the enquiry.
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days. Express is quoted per job.
Frequently asked questions
What is a door hanger made of?
A die-cut card with a hole and an open slot that clears a handle, printed on 260–350 gsm art card and usually matt-laminated so it survives a wet handle.
What sizes can a door hanger be?
The card sizes listed are A6 105 × 148 mm, DL 99 × 210 mm, A5 148 × 210 mm and square 148 × 148 mm, with custom sizes on request. The hole and slot are cut into the card and take up part of the printed area.
How much bleed and margin does a door hanger need?
3 mm bleed all round and a 4 mm safe margin in from the trim. Keep type clear of the hole and slot as well.
What is the minimum run for door hangers?
The minimum run listed for this card range is 50.
How long does door hanger printing take?
Standard turnaround is 7–14 working days, laminated or bare. Express is quoted per job.
How do you order door hangers from EZ Print?
EZ Print has been trading since 2017 and prints door hangers with postcards and greeting cards. Each job is quoted from its specification: size, stock, quantity, lamination and the date it is needed. The flyer printing page covers other single-sheet formats, and you can request a quote with your size and quantity.
Same-day and urgent printing available. Subject to artwork approval, payment, print type and production availability. Timing confirmed per job.