How to Set Up Artwork for Plastic Card Printing

1Bleed — Don’t Skip It

Plastic cards are printed on large sheets, then cut down to CR80 size — 86mm × 54mm, the same as a standard bank card. Cutting is not pixel-perfect: there is a small amount of natural movement, typically around 1–2mm. If your artwork has no bleed, you will get a white or unintended coloured border along one or more edges.

• Artwork document — 92 × 60mm. The file you send us: the card plus 3mm of bleed on every side. The shaded band is trimmed off and never appears on the finished card.
• Finished card — 86 × 54mm. Where the cutter lands, give or take the 1–2mm of movement that makes the bleed necessary in the first place.
• Safe zone — 80 × 48mm. 3mm inside the card edge. Keep all text, logos and barcodes within this line.

Here is what to do:

• Add 3mm bleed on all four sides, so your artwork file is set up at 92mm × 60mm.
• Extend your background colour or design elements right to the edge of the bleed area — not just to the card edge.
• Bleed is not visible on the finished card. It is insurance against the cutter, nothing more.

Common mistake Designing to exact card size (86 × 54mm) with no bleed, then wondering why there is a white line along the edge of the finished card.

2Resolution — 600dpi Minimum

Screen resolution and print resolution are not the same thing. A design that looks sharp on your monitor at 72dpi will print blurry. Set your document resolution to 600dpi (dots per inch) at the final print size.

What that means in practice:

• If you are working in pixels, a 92 × 60mm document at 600dpi is 2173 × 1417px. That is the floor for a full-bleed card, not a target to aim under.
• If you are using vector software (Illustrator, Inkscape), resolution is less of a concern — vector artwork stays sharp at any size. Just make sure any raster or photographic elements embedded in the design are also 600dpi. There is more on the difference on our raster versus vector page.
• To check: in Photoshop, go to Image > Image Size and look at the resolution figure. In Illustrator, check the resolution of any embedded raster images via the Links panel.

Never do this Scaling up a low-res image to make it fit. Taking a 72dpi screen-grab to 600dpi does not add detail — it just makes a blurry image bigger. There is a worked comparison on our resolution example page.

3Colour Mode — CMYK, Not RGB

Screens display colour using RGB (red, green and blue light). Printing uses CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink). They are different colour systems, and colours can shift when converted. Set your document to CMYK before you design, not as an afterthought.

• Convert to CMYK early. If you design in RGB and convert at the end, bright colours — especially vivid blues, greens and oranges — can shift significantly.
• Black: set every black to C0% M0% Y0% K100%. Black converted from RGB is made from all four inks (C75% M68% Y67% K90%) — muddy brown across a large area, blurred at the edges on small text.
• Spot colours: if you are working to a specific brand colour and Pantone accuracy matters, contact us before setting up your artwork. Standard card printing is CMYK; Pantone matching is a separate conversation.

If you only have an RGB file we can convert it — but be aware the colours may not match your screen exactly. Our pages on CMYK printing and CMYK versus RGB go into more detail.

4Safe Zone — Keep Content Away From the Edge

Bleed handles the outside edge. The safe zone handles the inside. Keep all text, logos and anything critical at least 3mm inside the finished card edge.

The same cutting tolerances that require bleed on the outside mean content too close to the edge risks being cropped. A phone number or a logo edge sitting 1mm from the card edge is a risk, not a design choice. In practical terms:

• Your finished card is 86 × 54mm.
• Your artwork with bleed is 92 × 60mm.
• Your safe zone is 80 × 48mm, centred within the finished card.

Most design templates, ours included, show this inner boundary. Stay inside it — you can download ours from the artwork guides page.

File Formats We Accept

• PDF — preferred. Embed all fonts and flatten transparencies.
• AI — Adobe Illustrator. Outline all fonts.
• EPS
• PSD — Photoshop. 600dpi, CMYK, flattened or with layers clearly labelled.
• TIFF — 600dpi, CMYK.

We do not accept Word files, PowerPoint, or low-resolution JPEGs exported from Canva. If that is what you have, we can still help — but expect a conversation before we can print. There is more on what file format to send.

Summary Checklist

Before you send your artwork, tick these off:

• Document size: 92mm × 60mm — card size plus 3mm bleed all round.
• Resolution: 600dpi minimum at final print size.
• Colour mode: CMYK.
• Background and design extends to the bleed edge.
• All text, logos and critical content inside the 3mm safe zone.
• Fonts embedded or outlined.
• File format: PDF, AI, EPS, PSD or TIFF.

Not Sure About Your File?

Send your artwork over when you place your order and we will check it before it goes to print. If there is a problem we will tell you exactly what needs fixing — we do not just reject files without explanation.

We manufacture in England, check every order manually, and will not put artwork to press if something looks wrong. If you would rather have it looked at before you order, that is what our artwork checking service is for.