Business Card Printing & Dimension Tips

Business Card Bleeding Area

When it comes to printing, this is one of the most essential things.

The bleeding area is where the card will lose some of its edges, and you should consider this when you are creating your design.

Without a bleeding area you might lose essential information, and the layout of your card might be messed up as well.

Business Card Edges

On every card you will have the area of the edges, where the card will be cut away from the paper. Before you print the card, make sure that these are clearly marked to make cutting easier afterwards.

Business Card Test Printing

Make a test print before you decide to print out all your cards. Check if the bleeding area is correct and see whether everything is legible and easily visible. You can also see whether you made a mistake easier when the card is in your hands and not on the screen.

Business Card Tips:

Choosing the right paper

Make sure you choose high quality sturdy paper and not something flimsy that will be bent and will break after a couple of weeks. Also make sure that you have a paper that is easy to print on. There are certain papers for instance the ones with a texture that look really good but that will come out looking very bad when you try printing on them.

 
Printing colored and gradient cards

If you have a lot of colors on your cards and you have a gradient background, it is better to choose a glossy paper than a mat one. Also to assure that the colors are the right ones, make a test print. It might come out different than on the monitor, so it’s better to check.

 
Use the print quality settings

If you decide to print at home, use the print quality settings before you begin. Make sure you choose the highest quality print options possible to have a nice card in the end.

Standard size and non-standard dimensions

(formats) in inches, mm and pixels

Surprising it may be, but different countries have different standard sizes for visiting cards. It is essential to keep this in mind if you have potential clients and customers in these countries. Here are some of the most common standard sizes for visiting cards in millimeters, inches and pixels.

 
1. Europe

In most European countries such as Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium a standard business card size is 85×55 mm (3.346×2.165 inches and 1004×650 pixels).

 
2. Canada and USA

In the United States and Canada as well the standard sizes for business cards are 3.5 inches by 2 inches (88.9×50.8 mm and 1040×591 pixels).

 
3. UK

In the United Kingdom the format is 3.346 inches x 2.165 inches.

 
4. Other Groups of Countries

Countries such as Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Sweden, Vietnam have the following standard business card sizes: 90×55 mm , 3.54×2.165inches 1063 650 pixels, while for instance countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Mexico and South Africa accept the format of 90×50 mm (3.543×1.968 in 1063×591 pixels) for visiting cards.

 
5. Japan

In Japan a business card should be 91×55 mm or 3.582×2.165 inches (1075x 650 pixels).

 
6. Hong Kong, China, Singapore

In these countries the standard sizes are 90×54 mm , 3.543×2.125in and 1063×638 pixels.

 
7. Iran

In Iran the standard visiting card size is 85×48mm (3.346×1.889 in, 1004×567 pixels).