Color

Our business card products are printed by the highest quality Heidelberg printing presses utilizing the industry standard CMYK 4-color printing process. Therefore all colors in your files must be CMYK (i.e., no pantone or spot colors). Please start and finish all artwork in CMYK mode to avoid the possibility of a color shift. Please click here to learn more about CMYK.

It is impossible to guarantee 100% color accuracy because of the many different variables that go into the design of a print ready file, as well as the printing of that print ready file. For instance, most graphic design software gives you the option of working in one of two color modes – CMYK or RGB. Scanners and digital cameras create images – while computer monitors and desktop printers display images – using a combination of just three colors: (R)ed (G)reen and (B)lue. So the design on your computer screen or one printed on your desktop printer will appear a shade different from what comes off a digital press, because presses print full-color pictures and images using the CMYK color profile.

If your artwork contains a solid black background, please be aware that over saturation of black can lead to complications on your order. To prevent this we recommend you design your background using Cyan (C) 40, Magenta (M) 30, Yellow (Y) 20, and Black (K) 100, the so-called rich black.

When using a blue in your design, always make sure to leave at least a 30% difference in your Cyan and Magenta values (for example: (C) 100, (M) 70, (Y) 0, (K) 0) to avoid having your blues turn out purple. Blue is close to purple in the CMYK spectrum, so it is important to use a low amount of magenta whenever using high amounts of cyan.

File Format

We need 300 dpi resolution for acceptable reproduction. Files below 300 dpi may produce poor color and pixilated text. Make sure photos are at least 300 dpi, not 72 dpi.

File Types We Recommend

• Acrobat PDF (Flattened)

Additional File Types We Accept

• Acrobat PDF unflattened
• Adobe Illustrator w/ fonts outlined
• Adobe Photoshop (flattened) (not accepted in our on-line upload system at the present time).
• EPS or PS with fonts outlined

File types that require exporting to PDF/TIF/JPG:

• Quark
• Indesign
• Corel Draw
• Publisher

File Types We DO NOT Recommend

• Publisher Documents
• Corel Draw
• Print Shop/Paint Shop
• Any MS Office program

Please turn all overprint objects off before submitting your files. Unexpected results can occur if you have accidentally set certain objects to overprint. Always check logos and other artwork before submitting.

File Size / Dimensions

Artwork for each side of the card must be in its own file (1 for the front, 1 for the back).

Please remove any crop marks.

The dimensions of your files should be the exact trim size plus a 0.125″ total bleed on each dimension. For example, a standard 2″ x 3.5″ business card file must be sized at 2.25″ x 3.75.”

Borders are not recommended as even slight shifting in the cutting process may make borders appear uneven.

Please click here to view our template for a standard 2″ x 3.5″ business card. Extend your design all the way to the edges, beyond the “cut” zone –  BUT – keep all your critical text and images inside the “safety,” which is represented by the grey dashed line in the template.

Custom sizes are available for business cards. If you have a size in mind, use our custom quote form and we’ll see if we can do that size. There is no template available so please ensure that you add 0.125″ on each dimension (for example, a 2.75″ x 2.75″ business card file should measure 3″ x 3″).  Also make sure all your non-bleed artwork and text stays well within the bleed line.

Spot UV, Foil Stamping or Embossing

Please click here for special instructions.

Perforation and Scoring

Please click here for special instructions.

Envelopes and Letterhead

Envelopes must follow this template. We recommend not having envelopes that bleed past the fold lines since the fold may shift during the process up to an 1/8″. For letterhead, please use this template.

When using any template, please make sure to delete or hide it from your files before uploading, otherwise the template lines will print too!