File Spec

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.

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

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.

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File Format

We accept PDF, JPEG, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator (please downsave to CS3), EPS, and Tiff formats.  As we need 300 DPI resolution for acceptable reproduction, files below 300 DPI will be returned to the customer for modification.

  • PDF Format: Files must be flattened and fonts outlined before converting to a PDF.
  • Illustrator Format: Files must be flattened and fonts must be outlined (no embedded fonts).
  • EPS Format: Files must be flattened and fonts must be outlined (no embedded fonts).
  • JPEG: Minimum of 300 DPI, maximum 1200 DPI. When using a JPEG format please be aware that a slight quality difference may occur due to the compression it uses.
  • Adobe Photoshop Format: Files must be flattened. Minimum of 300 DPI, maximum 1200 DPI.
  • TIFF: Minimum of 300 DPI, maximum of 1200 DPI.

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.

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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″ bleed on each dimension. For example, a standard 2″ x 3.5″ business card file must be sized at 2.125″ x 3.625.”

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 “trim” zone -  BUT – keep all your critical text and images inside the “safe area,” which is represented by the blue line in the template and falls exactly 1/4″ inside each edge.

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″ x 2″ business card file should measure 2.125″ x 2.125″). Also make sure all your artwork is at least 1/4″ away from all 4 edges.

We do not do custom die cut shapes.

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Spot UV, Foil Stamping or Embossing

Please click here for special instructions.

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Perforation and Scoring

Please click here for special instructions.

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Envelops 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 it from your files before uploading, otherwise the template lines will print too!