{"id":184,"date":"2016-10-27T02:40:20","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T02:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graphicmama.com\/blog\/?p=184"},"modified":"2022-04-15T07:49:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T07:49:24","slug":"how-to-make-a-business-card-template-with-bleeds-in-adobe-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graphicmama.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-business-card-template-with-bleeds-in-adobe-illustrator\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Business Card Template With Bleeds in Adobe Illustrator"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this tutorial, we will teach you\u00a0how to create a print-ready\u00a0business card template with bleeds in Adobe Illustrator CC<\/a>. We are also going to tackle the concept of bleeds, trims, and safe areas and how to set up them in older versions of Illustrator, too.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Document Setup<\/h2>\n

Follow the next steps to create a new document.<\/p>\n

\"business<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Enter a name for your document in the Name <\/em><\/strong>text field.<\/li>\n
  2. Select Custom <\/strong>(if not set by default) from the Profile<\/strong> <\/em>drop-down menu.<\/li>\n
  3. Number of Artboards<\/strong><\/em>. Set this number to 2<\/strong> for two-sided, and to 1<\/strong> for one-sided business card templates.<\/li>\n
  4. Spacing<\/strong> <\/em>and Columns<\/em> <\/strong>are up to your preferences. They define the positioning of your artboards on the canvas.<\/li>\n
  5. Select Custom<\/strong> from the Size<\/strong> <\/em>drop-down menu.<\/li>\n
  6. Define the Width<\/strong><\/em>, Height<\/strong><\/em>, Units<\/strong>, <\/em>and Orientation<\/strong> <\/em>of the document. In this\u00a0case, we\u00a0will make\u00a0a horizontal\u00a03.5 by 2 inch\u00a0<\/strong>(1)\u00a0business card, while using inches\u00a0(2)\u00a0for measurements throughout the working process.<\/li>\n
  7. Newer versions of Illustrator would save you some time by\u00a0giving you the option to specify the\u00a0Bleed<\/strong>\u00a0zone\u00a0in the New Document<\/em>\u00a0dialog. Set all sides to 0,125 inches<\/strong> for now. Later, we will be talking\u00a0about bleeds\u00a0and how to set\u00a0them\u00a0manually in older versions.<\/li>\n
  8. Expand the Advanced<\/strong> <\/em>tab (if not already expanded) and set the Color Mode<\/em><\/strong> to CMYK<\/strong> and Raster Effects <\/em><\/strong>to High (300 PPI)<\/strong>. These are the standard settings for print materials.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    (1) 3.5′ x 2′ is a standard size in the US. Keep in mind that a\u00a0business card’s size and bleeds may vary in different countries. International Business Card Dimensions Guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    (2) Using inches as a measurement unit is not mandatory.\u00a0You can also work with\u00a0millimeters or\u00a0centimeters if you are not familiar with inches.<\/em><\/p>\n

    2.\u00a0Bleed, Trim and Safe Area<\/h2>\n

    Once the document is created, we need to make sure that our final design\u00a0will remain intact after the business card has been printed and trimmed.<\/p>\n

    \"businessBleed.<\/strong>\u00a0This is the portion of your design that will be trimmed off when after cutting the card to its final size. In this case, the final size of the business card template will be equal to\u00a0the size of the white artboard. The bleed’s purpose is to make sure your design or image entirely covers your card, leaving no unsightly white edges after trimming.<\/p>\n

    Trim.<\/strong> This is the final size of your card after the ‘bleed’ has been cut off.<\/p>\n

    Safe Area.<\/strong> This is an area inside the trim. Being smaller than your final card, the safe area is kept far away from blades and cutting machines. This is where you should place the most important information or sections of your design. Anything outside of this area runs the risk of being cut off!<\/p>\n

    2.1 Define the Safe Area<\/h3>\n

    We specified that we want to have a 0,125′<\/strong> bleed<\/strong><\/em> on all sides in the New Document<\/em> dialog box.\u00a0Illustrator handled that for us quite well. But we need to define the safe area ourselves. For this purpose, we will\u00a0create two\u00a03,25′ by 1,75′<\/strong>\u00a0rectangles and place\u00a0them\u00a0right in the centers of both artboards. Then we will\u00a0convert them\u00a0to guides and this will create a\u00a00,125′ indent<\/strong> from the Trim<\/strong> on each side.<\/p>\n

    \"defining<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Select the Rectangle Tool (M) <\/strong><\/em>and click on one\u00a0of the artboards.<\/li>\n
    2. Set\u00a0the\u00a0width to 3,25<\/strong><\/em> and the\u00a0height to 1,75<\/strong><\/em> inches.<\/li>\n
    3. Select the rectangle and\u00a0align it with\u00a0the center of the artboard by using the Horizontal Align Center<\/strong><\/em> and Vertical Align Center\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>from\u00a0the top sidebar.<\/li>\n
    4. Drag the rectangle to the other artboard by holding down <\/strong><\/em>the Alt \/ Option<\/strong><\/em> key to make a\u00a0copy of it. Then,\u00a0repeat step 3.<\/li>\n
    5. To convert the rectangles to guides simply select them both and right-click<\/strong><\/em> on one of them. Then\u00a0select Make Guide<\/strong><\/em> from the context menu.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      2.2 Manually Defining the Bleed<\/h3>\n

      If you are using an older version of Adobe Illustrator, there is a possibility\u00a0that it won’t have the Bleed<\/em> option\u00a0in the New Document<\/em> dialog window but don’t worry! It’s not that much of a deal to make it manually.\u00a0The difference between this method and the first one\u00a0is that you should create your document with the size including the\u00a0bleed zone and then, create two rectangles to define the final size of the business card template and its safe area.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Create a new 3,75′ by 2,25′<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0document with the same settings from the first method and then click OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      2. Take the Rectangle Tool (M)<\/strong><\/em> and create a 3,5′ by 2′<\/strong><\/em> rectangle.\u00a0Align it with the center of the artboard.\u00a0Convert it to a guide and you’ll have your final size (the trim).<\/li>\n
      3. Create another rectangle. Make it 3,25′ by 1,75′<\/strong><\/em> this time and align it with the center of the artboard. Convert it to a guide and your safe area <\/strong>will be set.<\/li>\n
      4. Repeat these 3 steps for the second artboard.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        It’s pretty simple. Here’s how your document should look like once you finish these steps:<\/p>\n

        \"manual<\/p>\n

        3. Exporting a Print-Ready PDF Document<\/h2>\n

        Let’s assume that this is our final design in the example below. We have a solid color background that we want to expand to the very edges of the business card template without leaving any unsightly white edges after trimming. That’s why we should extend it all the way to the end of the bleed. We’ve outlined the safe area to use as a design element. This way, we’ll end up with a nice, clean frame near the edges of the business card.<\/p>\n

        \"final<\/p>\n

        \u00a0Follow these steps to save the document as a print-ready PDF.
        \n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. Go to File<\/strong> <\/em>-> Save As<\/strong><\/em>.<\/li>\n
        2. Choose Adobe PDF (*.PDF)<\/strong><\/em> from the Save as type<\/strong><\/em> drop-down menu.<\/li>\n
        3. Make sure All<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0selected if you have more than one artboard and then click on\u00a0Save<\/strong><\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \"exporting<\/p>\n

          A new dialog box will open.
          \nIn the General<\/strong> <\/em>tab, set the Adobe PDF Preset<\/strong><\/em> to [Press Quality]<\/strong><\/em> and uncheck Optimize for Fast Web View<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

          \"exporting<\/p>\n

          Now, go to the Compression<\/strong> <\/em>tab and set the Color Bitmap Images<\/strong><\/em> to Do Not Downsample<\/strong><\/em> in case you have images in your design.<\/p>\n

          \"exporting<\/p>\n

          Move on to the Marks and Bleeds<\/strong><\/em> tab and check Trim Marks<\/strong><\/em> and Use Document Bleed Settings<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and then click on\u00a0Save PDF<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

          \"exporting<\/p>\n

          Here comes our final result. The trim marks indicate where the paper will get trimmed. The thin white frame we’ve made is actually our safe area. Keeping everything important inside of it ensures that the blades won’t get anywhere near our important information.<\/p>\n

          Notice that the background expands a little bit beyond the trim marks. This is the bleed zone. Now, when those cutting machines do their job, there wouldn’t be any chance of white edges ending up in our printed business cards.<\/p>\n

          \"ready<\/p>\n

          If you don’t feel like going through all these steps, you can use the template we’ve just made.
          \nA vertical business card template is also included.<\/p>\n\t\tDownload The File From This Tutorial<\/a>\n\t\n

           <\/p>\n

          You may also be interested in this related article:\u00a0The Top Online Business Card Makers in 2022<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          In this tutorial we’re going to learn how to create a print ready business card document with bleeds in Adobe Illustrator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[344,345,343,42],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Make a Business Card Template With Bleeds in Adobe Illustrator | GraphicMama Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to create a print-ready business card template with bleeds in Adobe Illustrator. 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