Color

Our business card products are printed utilizing the industry standard CMYK 4-color printing process.

All artwork must be created and submitted in CMYK mode. Pantone and spot colors are not accepted. To avoid color shifts, please start and finish your design in CMYK.

Because many variables affect print production, 100% color accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Designs may appear different on screen or desktop printers, which use RGB color, than they do on a digital press, which prints using CMYK.

For solid black backgrounds, avoid oversaturating black, as this can cause printing issues. We recommend using rich black:
C 40 | M 30 | Y 20 | K 100.

When using blue, maintain at least a 30% difference between Cyan and Magenta (for example: C 100 | M 70 | Y 0 | K 0) to prevent blues from appearing purple. High cyan combined with low magenta produces the most accurate blue tones.

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 or 150 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 0.0625″ total bleed on each dimension. For example, a standard 2″ x 3.5″ business card file must be sized at 2.125″ x 3.625.”

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 and Foil Stamping

For these special printing techniques,  you will need to submit a mask. The mask identifies where the treatment will be placed. The file ideally would be a vector graphic for the best results. Fonts should be outlined. The image should be black and white. The black is where the treamtment will be placed. The black should have the value of CMYK 0 | 0 | 0 | 100. If you need assistance with this, you can go here to have us create what you need for your order. 6