Print Data & Templates for Plastic Cards
Supplying your own print data, for example for staff IDs, loyalty cards or cards with your own design? Here you'll find everything your file needs for a perfect result. In short: the right format with bleed, important content kept away from the edge and a sufficiently high resolution.
The card format
Unless stated otherwise, we print all cards in the international standard format ISO 7810 ID-1, the classic credit card size.
| Card size (final format) | 85.6 × 53.98 mm |
|---|---|
| File size incl. bleed | 87.6 × 56 mm (1 mm bleed on all sides) |
| Safe area | 3 mm from the card edge |
| Corner radius | 3.18 mm |
| Card thickness | 0.76 mm (NFC cards up to approx. 1 mm) |
| Material | recycled PVC, new PVC for cards with a chip |
| Printing process | retransfer printing, 600 dpi, edge-to-edge |
What the perfect print file looks like
- File format: PDF (preferred), alternatively PNG or JPG
- Size: 87.6 × 56 mm including 1 mm bleed on each side. Backgrounds and images meant to reach the edge must extend into the bleed.
- Safe area: place text, logos and other important content at least 3 mm from the card edge so nothing gets lost when trimming.
- Resolution: at least 300 dpi at original size. For best results, up to 600 dpi, which matches our print resolution.
- Colour mode: CMYK / RGB (sRGB)
- Fonts: embed them or convert them to outlines.
- Front and back: as two separate files, clearly named.
- Corners: the cards have rounded corners (3.18 mm radius). Please don't place important content right in the corners.
Things to keep in mind
Punched holes: if your card is getting a slot or round hole, keep the punched area free of important content. You'll find the position and size of the hole in our templates.
Cards with NFC chip: the chip sits inside the card. The print may be slightly less even over the chip area, so please avoid fine details or very small text there.
White: white isn't printed but comes from the white card itself. [For black or coloured blank cards, please get in touch with us first.]
Fine details: for good legibility, we recommend a font size of at least 6 pt and line weights of at least 0.25 pt.
Templates for a quick start
Our templates already have the format, bleed and safe area set up correctly. They're available for Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer. [Print data templates will be added shortly.]
We're happy to help
[Before printing, we check your data for obvious errors and get in touch if something isn't right.] Not sure whether your file is suitable, or have a special requirement? Just call us on +49 3672 3769590 or use our contact form, we'll be glad to advise you.