Membership Card Template: Free Download

What’s in the free membership card template?

One template covers every standard full colour membership card, whether it’s for a gym, a social club or a sports club. Both files show the same guides, so use whichever suits your software. Need a layout first? See our 10 membership card design ideas.

You design in a graphics program and send us the file, and we supply the cards in 760 micron solid PVC, in full colour on both sides. For a portrait card, turn the template on its side, so the artwork is 60mm wide by 92mm tall: see portrait or landscape cards.

What do the lines on the template mean?

The red area is bleed, the black line is where the card is cut, and the blue line is the safe margin. Backgrounds go to the edge of the red, and anything that has to be read stays inside the blue.

1. Bleed, the red area. 3mm all round. Your background needs to extend all the way into it. It’s trimmed off.
2. Trim line, in black. The edge of the card once it has been cut: 86 x 54mm.
3. Safe margin, in blue. 3mm inside the trim line. No important details, wording or logos should go beyond it.
4. The background runs right out to the edge of the bleed, so no white line shows after cutting.
5. The logo and fixed wording sit inside the blue line.
6. Space for what changes. Names, numbers and dates that change from card to card aren’t on the artwork. A date that’s the same on every card is.

Cards are printed on large sheets and cut out, and a small amount of movement can happen. That’s why the margins exist, and why a thin border is risky: one set 4mm from the edge could end up 3mm from one side and 5mm from the other. Leave it off, or move it further in. Our artwork setup guide has more on bleed, resolution and colour.

How do I fill in the template?

Put your design over the template, then remove the lines before you save. Use the template twice, once for each side, and save them as separate files. Printing both sides costs nothing extra.

1. Open the template in your design software and keep the document in CMYK.
2. Add your background, running it to the outer edge of the red.
3. Add your logo and fixed wording inside the blue line. Keep text at 6pt or larger, use no more than two fonts, and set black to C0 M0 Y0 K100.
4. Leave space for extras. Signature strips, and names, numbers and barcodes that change from card to card, are added when the cards are made, so they don’t go on the artwork. A barcode that’s the same on every card is part of your design. Our guide to membership cards with barcodes covers type and size.
5. Remove the lines and save. Your file should have no crop marks, calibration marks or outline of the card.

Using it in Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva and others

Sample gym membership card: layout and wording

A gym membership card needs the member’s name and number, an expiry date and, if you scan people in, a barcode. There’s no separate gym membership card template: use the one above and copy this wording, swapping the made-up details for your own. Notes in square brackets aren’t wording. Our guide to what to put on a membership card has wording for other kinds of club.

We usually apply barcodes as Code 39 with the number printed underneath. On a dark background a white box round the barcode helps a scanner, so show the box on your PDF visual, and ask us if you’re not sure whether to put it in your artwork. We can’t print a different photo on each card, so if your gym wants photos, a photoseal seals a passport-sized photo on instead. For tap entry there are RFID cards, which we supply unencoded. Our guide to plastic cards for gyms compares the options.

Sample social club membership card: layout and wording

A social club card usually carries a name, a number, a membership level and date, and a signature strip on the back. Most of the membership cards we supply have a strip. It’s added to the card, not printed, so leave a white area in your artwork and show us where it goes. On a coloured background the strip picks up the colour behind it.

Nothing can be printed on a signature strip, so the word “Signature” goes above, below or beside it. More layouts are on our social club examples page.

Sample sports club membership card: layout and wording

A sports club card usually shows the season rather than an exact date, so everyone’s card runs out together. A running or cycling club often adds an emergency contact panel on the back, labelled ICE (in case of emergency), which members fill in with an ordinary pen. Running a club? See our guide to club membership cards.

A QR code that’s the same on every card is part of your design, so it goes on the artwork and costs nothing extra. Make it at least 15mm, in black on a white square. Our sports club examples and running club examples show more layouts, and our guide on how to design a membership card covers fonts, colour and logos.

What do I send when the template is filled in?

Send your finished files by email to sales@cpcards.co.uk with your quantity. If a file is too big to email, tell us and we’ll give you somewhere to upload it. To ask for a price first, use our quote form.

• The front and back as separate files, such as card-front.pdf and card-back.pdf, each 92 x 60mm. PDF is preferred, and we also take AI, EPS, PSD and TIFF. If you used Canva, follow the download steps in our Canva guide instead.
• CMYK, with photos at 600dpi, and fonts converted to outlines or embedded.
• A PDF visual if you want extras, showing the numbers, barcode or signature strip in place.
• A spreadsheet if names or numbers change from card to card, with one row per card. For plain running numbers, a start number is enough. Format number columns as Text, so leading zeros aren’t lost. Check your spreadsheet before you send it, because our artwork check is technical and doesn’t cover names or spelling.

Our artwork check is free. It looks at bleed, resolution, colour mode and how the file is set up. If something’s wrong, we tell you what and why, and you can correct it at no charge or we’ll do it for £10 +vat. We don’t check wording or spelling.

Next we email a free photorealistic proof, so you can check the layout and wording. It shows where the names and numbers sit. The colours on the proof are a guide only, because every screen shows colour differently. If a colour has to be right, add a postal proof. Standard production is 7 working days from proof approval and payment. Express takes 3 to 4 working days: ask us for cost and availability.

What if I’d rather not use a template?

You don’t have to: our design service builds the artwork for you, and there are two other routes.

Can I get real sample membership cards by post?

Yes. Our sample pack contains the different types of cards we offer, and the request form lets you ask to see membership cards. The cost is deducted from your order if you order within 30 days. To hold your own design, add a postal proof to your order: it’s optional, £65 +vat, and takes around 5 working days.

How much do printed membership cards cost?

Membership cards start at £75.00 +vat for 25. The price per card falls as the quantity goes up, because much of the work in an order is the same whatever the quantity.

Full colour on both sides, 760 microns, for one design printed from your print-ready artwork. Delivery is free within Great Britain, and our delivery prices list the charges for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands. Prices exclude VAT and optional extras, which are priced on your quote.