A business card is one of the smallest print jobs a company orders, and at the same time the one that forgives the least.
On a surface the size of a palm every mistake shows: a shifted cut, a phone number set too small, paper that bends in a pocket. Below are the rules that work in practice, together with concrete values to enter in the design.
1. Format and proportions
In Poland business cards are most often printed at 90 by 50 millimetres. The European variant is 85 by 55, and the format close to a payment card measures 85.6 by 54 millimetres and fits in every wallet.
Unusual dimensions and rounded corners need a cutting die, which raises the cost and lengthens production. It is worth knowing that at the design stage rather than at the quotation.
2. Paper and finishing
A weight below three hundred grams means the card bends at the first touch. The standard is 300 to 350 grams, and with single layer cards it is sometimes more.
Finishes:
- Matt lamination
- Gloss lamination
- Spot varnish
- Embossing and metallised foil
Uncoated paper absorbs the ink and slightly dulls the colours. That is not a fault but a property worth allowing for when choosing the palette.
3. The key information
The content should be considered and limited to what is really needed:
- the first name and surname,
- the position or speciality,
- the company name,
- the telephone number,
- the email address,
- the website address.
The rest is optional and usually does harm. A registered address makes sense for a business with premises, a registration number belongs on an invoice rather than on a card, and a full list of services kills legibility very effectively.
4. Typography
- Do not go below seven points in the contact details. A phone number that cannot be read without glasses does not do its job.
- Keep to two typefaces, and if possible to two styles of one. Contrast is built with weight and size, not with the number of typefaces.
- Avoid decorative type in the contact details. It may appear in the company name, never in an email address.
- Mind the spacing between lines. Tight setting on a small surface becomes illegible faster than it seems.
You can check the choice of typeface and size in our typography tool, which shows the relations between type size, leading and line length.
5. Colours and visual identity
The colours of a card should follow the identity of the company rather than the taste of the designer. The trouble starts where a brand colour was chosen on a screen: some saturated colours cannot be reached in print and will be replaced by the nearest available one.
Before you order the run, check your colours in the CMYK simulation. You will see which of them fall outside what the inks can do and how they will be reproduced. Where a colour is critical for the brand, consider printing with a spot colour.
6. The company mark
The mark has to be legible at its smallest permitted size and has to come from a vector file. A version downloaded from a website is a few hundred pixels wide, which is enough for a screen and turns to mush on paper. Keep the clear space around the mark as well, that is the area where nothing else is placed.
7. Margins, bleed and trimming tolerance
Here lies the most frequent cause of disappointment. A card is cut from a large sheet, and the knife hits the line with a certain spread. That is why the design needs a bleed, that is artwork extended beyond the trim line, and a safe area in which nothing important is placed.
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Bleed | 3 mm on each edge |
| Safe area | about 5 mm inward |
| Untrimmed format for 90 by 50 | 96 by 56 mm |
The values vary, because they depend on the precision of the particular printer. Some lower the required bleed to one and a half millimetres, some ask for more with binding and large format. The specification of the printer doing the job always outweighs a general rule.
It is worth distinguishing two things here. Bleed is a reserve of artwork, while tolerance is the actual spread of the cut. It is the second that decides how the finished card comes out against the design. Take a frame running 5 mm from the edge:
| Tolerance | Frame on one side | On the other | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| ±1.5 mm | 3.5 mm | 6.5 mm | 1 : 1.9 |
| ±3 mm | 2 mm | 8 mm | 1 : 4 |
Hence a practical conclusion: on business cards avoid frames and borders running parallel to the edge, because nothing exposes the spread of trimming as clearly. Build symmetry against other elements of the design rather than against the edge of the paper.
You can work out the trimmed and untrimmed dimensions for the chosen format in the bleed and margin calculator, together with a preview of the safe area.
8. QR code
- Do not go below fifteen millimetres per side. A smaller code can be unreadable for older cameras.
- Leave a clear field around it, that is a quiet zone. A code pushed up against the edge or against text stops scanning.
- Mind the contrast: a dark code on a light background. Inverting the colours can look decorative and be unreadable.
- Check the code on a print, not on a screen. The ink spreads slightly and small modules can merge.
You can prepare the code in the QR code generator, straight away at a resolution fit for print.
9. One side or two
A second side costs little and gives room for what does not fit on the front: a line, a list of specialities, a QR code or simply clear space with the company mark. It is worth using especially when the front is dense. A reverse left blank can be a deliberate choice, but it can also be a wasted opportunity.
10. Fitting the trade
A design studio can afford an unusual format and a strong colour, while a law office or an accountancy practice gains from restraint. It is not a matter of taste but of what the recipient expects: a card should confirm the impression the company wants to make, not contradict it.
Before you send it to print
- trimmed and untrimmed format matching the specification,
- bleed on every edge, important elements inside the safe area,
- colours in the print space, black text made of black alone,
- type converted to curves or embedded,
- the company mark from a vector file,
- resolution of raster elements sufficient for print viewed close up,
- the QR code checked on a proof print.
You can verify all of it in our PDF file check before the design goes onto the machine.
Summary
A good business card is not the result of one idea but of several well made decisions: a legible layout, paper that sits well in the hand, colours that can be printed and margins that allow for the unavoidable imprecision of trimming.
The biggest differences come from the least spectacular things. Seven points instead of five in the phone number, five millimetres of clearance from the edge, three hundred grams instead of two hundred.
Designing business cards for your company? Take a look at our offer of small format printing. We will advise on the paper and the finish, and check the files before production.
