Trading Cards for Schools
Teacher cards that students collect, a card for every senior, sets for the band, the robotics team, and the PTA fundraiser. Roster in, proofs out, printed cards delivered before the event.
Why schools make trading cards
Teacher trading cards have become a staple of positive-behavior programs. Students earn a card for a specific teacher or staff member, and collecting the whole set turns into a school-wide game. Senior classes make cards as a keepsake, music and robotics programs make them the way sports teams do, and parent organizations sell sealed packs as a fundraiser.
Pennant Cards handles the parts that are hard at school scale. We import names, titles, and grades from a spreadsheet. Staff upload their own photo through a form link, or parents fill in their own child's card, so the office is not chasing 60 photos by email. Backgrounds are removed automatically, so photos taken in different classrooms look like one set.
Cards are standard 2.5 by 3.5 inches on 16pt gloss stock, printed in the USA. Districts and other large organizations can start from the overview of custom trading cards for organizations.
What schools order
Teacher and staff cards
The collect-them-all set at the center of many positive-behavior programs. Students earn cards for specific teachers, custodians, counselors, and office staff.
Senior class cards
One card per graduate with activities, plans after graduation, and a quote. A keepsake that outlasts the yearbook signature.
Clubs, band, theater, robotics
Programs that never got a card before. Same treatment as a sports team: photo on the front, role and season highlights on the back.
School sports teams
Every team in the athletic department, with school colors and logo on each set. See team trading cards for how a single team orders.
PTA and PTO fundraiser packs
Sealed packs of staff or team cards sold at games, concerts, and fairs. One order ships to the school, sorted and ready for the table.
Moving-up and graduation ceremonies
Fifth grade, eighth grade, and senior ceremonies, with a card in every program or handed out with the diploma.
What we can do
Custom templates
Front and back layouts designed from scratch to your brand guidelines, or one of our designs adapted with your colors, logo, and fields.
Custom development
When a project needs more than a template: cards generated from your database or spreadsheet, custom fields, photo collection forms under your own branding, and integrations with your systems.
Bulk data import
Names, titles, stats, and photos imported directly from your spreadsheets or systems and rendered automatically. Nobody re-types a roster of 500 people.
Sealed packs and labels
Foil heat-sealed or glassine packs with 1 to 25 cards each, sorted to your spec and sealed in-house, with UV gloss labels in your branding.
Proofing and QA
Every card is proofed before printing, and every printed card is inspected for print quality, surface, edges, trim alignment, and gloss coat.
Production and shipping
Printed in the USA on thick gloss cardstock, with rush options when the calendar is tight. Finished cards ship to you, your venue, or multiple locations.
What goes on the back
Each program tends to settle on one of these layouts, and fields are per person, so a blank never prints:
- Teacher profile. Subject or role, years at the school, favorite book, a fun fact, and one piece of advice. Students read these.
- Senior card. Activities, honors, plans after graduation, and a quote. Add the class year and school crest to the front.
- Team or club. Position or role, season highlights, and a stats table with columns you name.
- Roster. Every name on the team or in the cast, generated automatically.
How a school project works
1. Tell us about the project
Who the cards are for, roughly how many, what goes on the front and back, and your date. We will respond within one business day.
2. Design and data
We adapt a template or design yours, then import your names, titles, and photos. You see proofs before anything is printed.
3. Print, inspect, pack
Cards are printed, inspected one by one, then sorted into stacks or sealed packs with your labels.
4. Ship
Finished cards ship to your office, your venue, or several locations at once.
What you get
Standard trading card size
2.5 by 3.5 inches, the same size as a pack card, so they fit sleeves, top loaders, and binder pages.
16pt C2S cardstock
Thick, coated on both sides, with a UV gloss front. They feel like a real card, not a photo print.
Front and back printed
Photo, name, and title on the front. Bio, stats, contact details, a message, or a roster on the back.
Sealed packs optional
Foil heat-sealed or glassine packs, 1 to 25 cards each, with custom UV gloss labels.
Bulk photo and data handling
Photo backgrounds removed automatically, data imported from spreadsheets, cards rendered in one run.
Printed in the USA
Designed in New York, printed domestically, shipped by FedEx.
Frequently asked questions
Share one form link with staff. Each person uploads a photo and fills in their own fields (subject, years at the school, favorite book) from a phone in a couple of minutes. Submissions land in your project for review. For a quick start, send us a folder of existing staff photos instead and we match them to a roster spreadsheet.
Yes. Each student gets a private form link that a parent can use to upload a photo and fill in the card. The school keeps the design and reviews every card before anything prints. This is how our little league customers collect photos for hundreds of players.
Photos and student details are stored privately, used only to produce your cards, and never shown in any public gallery. Parents see only the form for their own child. If you want the project data removed after delivery, ask and we will delete it.
Yes. Sealed foil or glassine packs with your own label are a proven seller; we produce limited-edition packs sold at the ballpark for a collegiate league. Tell us the pack size and how to sort them, and one order ships to the school ready for the table.
Standard designs ordered through the web app start at $1.25 per card with a 25-card minimum, and fall to under $0.40 per card at volume. A custom school template, sealed packs, and labels are quoted per project. Nothing prints until you approve proofs.
Printing takes 4 to 5 business days plus shipping. Collecting photos is usually the slow part, so start the form three or four weeks before you need cards in hand. Rush options exist if the date is close.
Yes. We keep one layout across the district and swap colors, logo, and school name per building, so the sets look related but each school’s cards are clearly its own.
Tell us about your school's cards
A few details are enough to start. We will respond within one business day.