Business card sizes and dimensions – Size and layout of business cards
It’s helpful to know where to begin when creating great business cards, whether you’re a company owner or a graphic artist.
Using whatever software tools you have on your computer, you can easily create a professional-looking business card. You may start from scratch in any layout application, such as Microsoft Word, Publisher, or PowerPoint, as well as classic graphics products like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Learn Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator from the comfort of your home at Blue Sky Graphics online graphic design course in the UK.
Size and layout of business cards
Bleed is used in many printed designs. The “bleed area” is an additional 1/8 inch of room for design elements or backdrops that extend beyond the card’s completed borders. A bleed business card is printed slightly enlarged and then trimmed down to size, creating the impression that the printing “bleeds” down the edge of the card rather than having white borders.
Use the following tips while generating your business card design file:
Make the page size of the document equal to the card size plus the bleed area, or 3.75″ wide x 2.25″ high, to be cut down to the final size after printing. If you aren’t going to include bleeds, the bleed area isn’t essential, therefore leave the document size at 3.5 x 2 inches.
Simply swap the page width and height if you’re constructing a vertical card with the long size up so you don’t have to rotate the card to view the design the way you want it.
The typical business card size in the metric system is 8.9 × 5.1 cm (centimetres) or 88.9 x 50.8 mm (millimetres).
Standard business cards are 3.5′′ x 2′′ – but have you ever considered why most cards are that size and shape? You may have observed that they all fit neatly into a wallet, handbag, or pocket. For this reason, credit cards, appointment cards, and licences are all about the same size.
Keep an eye out for border crossings.
Because cutting might vary somewhat, it’s best to keep all of your important text and brand information inside the design safe zone. This zone is 1/8 inch around the card’s margin. Make sure your wording fits inside the card’s 3.25 x 1.75-inch dimensions. You wouldn’t want your phone number’s final digit to be omitted!
Designing with borders may be challenging. Outside the safe zone, thin margins less than 1/8th inch thick may not trim uniformly. To prevent an “off-centre” appearance, keep border lines or other thin lines inside the safe zone and away from the edge of your business card.
Form It Up
Standard business card measurements are often the best option for uniformity and recognizability. Different forms, on the other hand, may help you stand out – and create an impact.
business card sizes according to form
We discussed the advantages of using a regular business card size earlier, so now let’s look at when you may want to use square business cards or rounded corner business cards.
business card in white square format
Square business cards are 2.5′′ by 2.5′′ in size — the form is ideal for placing a logo or product photo front and centre, and they have a unique, fascinating atmosphere. The cards stand out on an event table, a bulletin board, or in the hands of a prospective consumer.
business card with rounded corners in red and white
Rounded corner business cards are 3.5′′ x 2′′ in size and have quarter-inch rounded edges. They have a distinct, contemporary appearance. So, if someone is looking at a stack of business cards, the edges help your cards stand out.
Design Principles
Thanks to our talented designers, we have hundreds of templates from which to make your card. However, you may also submit your own design. It’s as easy as picking a file on your computer, but there are a few things you should bear in mind.
Trim line and bleed area for business cards
Please keep in mind that these dimensions are for conventional business cards. Square and rounded corner cards have comparable bleed and safe printing regions in accordance to their real dimensions, however please contact us for further details.
3.61′′ x 2.11′′ Bleed Area
If you’re using a backdrop colour or pattern, make it stretch a little beyond the actual size of the card. Even if the cards are cut slightly off centre, you will never have white borders.
Actual Dimensions: 3.5′′ x 2′′
This is where we cut your cards, as the name implies. We try our best to ensure that all of your cards are centred and consistent, but please read about the safe printing area.
3.36′′ x 1.86′′ safe printing area
You most likely have any critical text or design components inside this region, which isn’t much smaller than the card’s real size. Keep everything within this box to ensure nothing is chopped off.
1050 x 600 pixels is the size of a business card.
If you or someone on your team is designing your card in a design application, the real card dimension is 1050 × 600 pixels. The complete bleed size, on the other hand, is 1083 × 633 pixels, while the safe printing area is 1008 x 558 pixels.
See our handy upload guide, given below, for a comprehensive list of our upload criteria and file formats we accept. Check out these business card samples for design inspiration and ideas.
91.7 x 53.6 mm 3.61 x 2.11 in 1083 x 633 px Standard Bleed
88.9 x 50.8 mm 3.50 x 2.00 in 1050 x 600 px
85.4 x 47.3 mm (3.36 x 1.86 in) 1008 x 558 px
91.7 x 53.6 mm Rounded Corner Bleed
3.61 x 2.11 inches (1083 x 633 pixels)
88.9 x 50.8 mm 3.50 x 2.00 in 1050 x 600 px
85.4 x 47.3 mm (3.36 x 1.86 in) 1008 x 558 px
66.7 x 66.7 mm Square Bleed
2.63 × 2.63 inches (788 x 788 pixels)
Trim 63.7 x 63.7 mm 2.51 x 2.51 in 752 x 752 px 63.7 x 63.7 mm 2.51 x 2.51 in 752 x 752 px
60.7 × 60.7 mm (2.39 x 2.39 in) 717 x 717 px
