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How to make a business card here
Pick a template, type your details, download. The preview starts with an example card, and your text replaces it as you type.
- Choose one of the 30 templates. The thumbnails use your own details, and the chips filter by style.
- Fill in name, job title, company and contact lines. Switch off any line you do not want with its On card checkbox.
- Add a logo (a transparent PNG works best) and, for the photo templates, a portrait.
- Download the PDF, or the A4 sheet if you plan to print and cut at home.
If some fields still show example text when you press download, the tool lists them first. Fine for a test print, but easy to send to the printer with someone else's phone number on it.
Card sizes and pixel sizes
Printers in Europe and Asia mostly use 85 x 55 mm or 90 x 55 mm. In the US and Canada the standard is 3.5 x 2 inches. All three are in the size menu. Bleed adds 3 mm on every side, which is what most print shops ask for.
| Size | Trim at 300 dpi | With 3 mm bleed | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 x 55 mm | 1063 x 650 px | 1134 x 720 px | Most print shops in Asia, the default here |
| 85 x 55 mm | 1004 x 650 px | 1075 x 720 px | Common in Europe and the UK |
| 3.5 x 2 in (88.9 x 50.8 mm) | 1050 x 600 px | 1121 x 671 px | US and Canada |
Portrait cards use the same numbers with width and height swapped. A 90 x 55 card will not fit a 3.5 x 2 inch holder, so check any card holder you own before you order.
Bleed, safe area and crop marks
A cutting blade moves a little, usually by a millimetre or so. If your background colour stops exactly at the trim line, a shifted cut leaves a thin white edge. Bleed means the colour runs 3 mm past the trim so a small shift is invisible. The safe area is the opposite: keep text at least 3 mm inside the trim so it is never cut or looks cramped against the edge.
Switch on the trim and safe-area guides to see both in the preview (they never print). Switch on bleed and crop marks when a print shop asks for them. With marks on, the page is 16 mm larger than the card, for example 106 x 71 mm for a 90 x 55 card, which is normal. If the shop wants the exact trim size with no extras, switch both off and the page is exactly 90 x 55 mm.
Printing at home, front and back
The A4 sheet puts 10 cards on a page, with the back page mirrored so the two sides line up when printed on both sides. Landscape cards give 2 columns by 5 rows. Portrait cards switch the page to landscape and give 5 by 2.
- Print at 100% or "actual size". "Fit to page" shrinks the cards by a few percent and the cuts will drift.
- For duplex, choose flip on long edge for landscape cards (portrait cards, which print on a landscape page, use short edge). Print one test page first and hold it to the light to check that the sides line up.
- Use 200 to 300 gsm matte card stock that your printer accepts.
- Cut with a ruler and a craft knife along the small tick marks outside the grid.
Home inkjets do not print to the edge and rarely line up the back within half a millimetre, so choose a light template for home printing. For colour right to the edge, take the PDF with bleed to a print shop.
Which template for which job
Pick by what people see first, not by what looks fanciest. A few examples:
- Corporate Bar, Legal and Notary, Classic Centred: offices, law, finance and consulting.
- Photographer, Beauty and Salon, Photo Avatar: work where a face or an image sells you. These use the optional photo.
- Cafe and Restaurant, Eco Natural, Playful: shops and small businesses where personality counts.
- QR First: events and sales, where most people will scan instead of retyping a number.
QR code: contact card or website?
The contact card option puts your name, company, title, phone, email and website into a vCard. One scan and the person can save you. It is dense, so the code needs a decent print size: about 20 mm square or bigger, and not on a busy photo. To keep the code readable, the tool trims the text (the address is dropped first) when the data is long.
The website option holds only a link, so the code is simpler and scans from further away. Use it for a portfolio, a menu or a booking page. If you are unsure, the website option is the safer choice for small cards.
Text size and fonts
Business card text is small. Keep contact lines at 7 pt or larger when printed and the name around 12 to 16 pt. The text-size slider scales everything together, but past a point lines get too tiny to read. If a long address or email makes the card crowded, switch off a line you do not need, such as a second phone number, rather than shrinking everything.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a standard business card?
In the US it is 3.5 x 2 in (88.9 x 50.8 mm). Most of Europe uses 85 x 55 mm, and Indonesia and a lot of Asia print 90 x 55 mm. The three sizes are in the Card size menu, and you can flip any template to portrait.
How do I print business cards at home?
Download the A4 sheet, open it and print at 100% scale (switch off "fit to page"). The sheet has 10 cards per page and small ticks outside the grid that show where to cut. For a double-sided card, print page 1, reload the paper and print page 2. Printers with automatic duplex need the flip set to long edge for landscape cards and short edge for portrait cards.
What is bleed on a business card, and do I need it?
Bleed is 3 mm of extra artwork past the cut line. If the background colour reaches the edge and a print shop trims the cards, bleed stops thin white slivers from showing. You need it for professional printing, not for cards cut by hand at home. Tick the bleed option and the PDF and PNG include it, and crop marks can be added to the PDF.
Can I put a QR code on my business card?
Yes. Choose a contact card (vCard) and anyone who scans it can save your name, phone, email and website straight to their phone. A website QR is simpler and scans better on small cards. Keep the code at least 20 mm wide and test it with two different phones before printing.
Is the file good enough for printing?
PNG files are rendered at 300 dpi, which is 1063 x 650 pixels for a 90 x 55 mm card, or 1134 x 720 pixels with bleed. The PDF keeps the exact card size on every page. Text is drawn at full resolution, so it stays sharp. A logo you upload is only as sharp as the file you give it.
Can I use a logo with a transparent background?
Yes. A PNG with transparency keeps its see-through background, so it sits cleanly on the template colour. On some dark backgrounds the template places the logo on a white tile. A JPG logo always carries its white box, so a transparent PNG is the better choice.
Are my details and photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The card is drawn in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. Your last draft is saved in this browser only, so you can come back later. Press Reset to delete it. Example text is never saved.
Why does the card already show someone else's name?
Empty fields show example text so you can judge a layout before you type. As soon as you type, your text replaces the example for that field. If a field is still using an example when you download, the page lists it and lets you go back or download anyway.