How to Prepare and Upload Your Business Card for Printing
Setting-up Your Business Card File for Professional Printing
Q. Is artwork the proper size?
A. We do not require crop marks although you can place them is you wish. Crop marks signify to the printer what the final trimmed size of your order is. If bleed is required make sure you follow our pre press guidelines. Follow the same rules for bleed with horizontal and vertical layouts. In the this video we have used Horizontal as an example.
Here is a Quick Video on how to Properly set your File up with Bleed
.You can watch this video and use the controls to stop at anytime
Q. Is layout orientation correct?
A. Portrait or Landscape
Q. Are all necessary fonts provided?
A. Applications all have their own way of managing fonts. You should embed all fonts you have used in your digital file.
Here is a quick video on how the embed your fonts in Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator
.Q. Are all graphics/images provided?
A. Any images that are used in your projects should be fully embedded in your saved version. Linking images to projects can cause problems that result in unforeseen delays. Sometimes linking paths can get lost in translation. This is why we ask you to embed them, we may need to assign our own paths if they are linked.
Q. Are all graphics/images converted to CMYK?
A. CMYK is the format we printed in. There are many ways to convert to CMYK using different programs. Whichever program you are comfortable with should have the ability to convert to 4 color CMYK printing. If you use Adobe Photo Shop there is a tutorial here on color correction and converting. More on CMYK and RGB here
Q. Is a composite proof provided?
A. When sending files you should always send a bitmap, jpeg, gif or tiff image so we have a visual reference point. After we process your file we like to have a visual comparison (internal proof) of what your file should look like. A reminder, after you export your bitmap view it yourself before sending. The image proof for the project illustrated in the video would look like this:

The image is saved to the exact clipboard size.
Q. Is the artwork quality acceptable for Printing?
All non vector images should be 300 DPI. Low resolution images or bitmaps are a common problem, which will create visible pixelation in your finished order. We recommend 300 DPI for best results.
Once you have made sure your digital file is going to print at the highest levels you can go directly to the business card upload page. You can select the options that best suit you…
- Starting from $61/ 500 in CMYK inks.
- Round Corners $35 extra
- Shipping in 3 levels; 5-7 business days, 8-14 business days, 9-21 business days or use your own shipping account
- Choose quantities from 500 to 10,000
- Instant pricing
After you complete your upload and order you will receive a proof file from us. We send this proof to the email address used on the order form for your final approval.
Feel free to take a look at our upload video or contact us for further assistance.
More on Bleed here
Tags: how to upload a file, file upload host, offset printing, cheap business cards, upload a file, digital file for printing


Business Card Design and Printing » Blog Archive » Upload your Own Custom Business Card for Printing Said:
on September 6, 2007 at 4:51 pm
[…] Make sure your business card file is set up properly for printng. We prefer Adobe Illustrator, but we accept pretty well any recognized professional programs. […]