Business Card Sizes and Print Specs, Explained

A business card only works if it prints cleanly. These are the specs that matter — and the ones that trip people up.

Standard sizes

• US: 3.5 × 2 inches (89 × 51 mm)
• Europe: 85 × 55 mm
• Square: 55 × 55 mm, increasingly popular

Pick the size your local printer expects — most templates are built to the US or EU standard.

Bleed and safe margins

Bleed is the extra 0.125 in (3 mm) of background that extends past the trim line, so no white edges appear if the cut is slightly off. Safe margin is the 0.125 in inside the trim where you keep text and logos, so nothing important gets cut. Every print-ready template should already include both.

Colour and resolution

Print uses CMYK, not the RGB your screen uses — designing in CMYK avoids dull, shifted colours. Export at 300 DPI so nothing looks pixelated. A print-ready file is CMYK, 300 DPI, with bleed.

The shortcut

If that sounds like a lot to set up, it is — which is why templates exist. Our Modern Business Card Pack is already CMYK, 300 DPI and set up with bleed, so you can add your details and send it straight to print.