Business card checklist: what to print and what to skip

A business card has one job: put the right details in someone's hand so they can reach you later. Most cards that fail do not fail on design. They fail on edits. Too many lines, type too small to read in a dim bar, a background that leaves a white edge after cutting, a QR code that will not scan.

This checklist walks through what belongs on a card, what to leave off, and the print rules that decide whether a good layout comes back from the printer looking the way it did on screen. Work through it once with your own details and you will end up with a card you can hand over without apologising for it.

What to print

Start with the short list. Everything on it earns its place by answering a question the person holding your card is likely to have.

• Your name. The largest text on the card. Use the version people will search for, not a legal name they have never heard you use.
• Your role or what you do. Four or five words is enough: "Studio Director", "Wedding photographer", "Mobile mechanic". If your business name already says it, you can shorten the role.
• Business name. If you have one, it belongs on the front or as the main element on the back, so the card still makes sense when it is found in a coat pocket a year later.
• One phone number. The one you actually answer. Add the country code (+44, +1, +995) if anyone outside your own country might call.
• One email address. A name at your own domain looks more settled than a free mailbox, and it is easy to read aloud.
• Your website. Print it as it will be typed, without "https://" and usually without "www". Short beats long: a page you can reach from one short address works better than a deep link.
• A physical address, only if people visit. Shops, studios, clinics and workshops need one. A consultant who works from a laptop does not.

That is five or six lines of contact detail at most. If your card carries more than that, the next section is for you.

What to skip

Cutting is the hard part, and it is where cards improve most.

• Fax numbers and landline duplicates. If you cannot remember the last time someone sent you a fax, leave it off.
• Two or three phone numbers. Each extra number asks the reader to choose. Print the one you want to hear from.
• Every social handle. Pick the single channel where you are genuinely active and reachable. A row of five tiny icons is five targets nobody will type.
• Taglines and mission statements. A short phrase on the back is fine. A paragraph is not. Nobody reads a paragraph on a card.
• A long list of services. A card is not a brochure. If you do eight things, name the one you most want to be hired for.
• Clip art, stock icons and decorative borders. They add noise and shrink the space left for the details.
• Labels like "Tel:", "Email:" and "Web:". People recognise a phone number, an @ address and a .com. Dropping the labels gives you room to use a larger type size.
• Full postal addresses on both sides. Once is enough.

A good test: cover each line with a finger and ask whether the card still works. If it does, that line was optional.

A quick reference table

Size and shape

Two sizes cover almost every order. The European standard is 85 x 55 mm. In the US and Canada the standard is 3.5 x 2 inches, which is 88.9 x 50.8 mm. They are close enough that a card from one market fits the wallet slots of the other, but the aspect ratio differs slightly, so pick the one your printer uses and design to it from the start. Resizing a finished design afterwards is how text ends up too near an edge.

Rounded corners, square formats and folded cards look distinctive and cost more. They are also harder to fit into a card holder. If you are unsure, choose the standard rectangle and spend your effort on the content.

Safe zone, trim and bleed

Printers do not cut with perfect accuracy. Paper moves a fraction of a millimetre in the press, and the blade drifts. Three terms describe how designers allow for this.

Trim is the final size of the card, the line where the blade is meant to cut.

Bleed is background colour or imagery that extends beyond the trim, usually 3 mm (0.125 inch). If the cut lands slightly outside the trim line, you still get colour to the edge instead of a thin white sliver. Any background colour, band or photo that touches an edge should run all the way into the bleed.

Safe zone is the margin inside the trim where text, logos and QR codes should stay. A common rule is 3 to 5 mm. Anything inside the safe zone survives a cut that is a little off. Anything outside it might lose a letter.

Crop marks are small lines printed outside the bleed that line up with the trim edges. They tell the person cutting exactly where to cut. When you send a file to a print shop, ask whether they want marks, how much bleed they use, and match their answer.

If you design in the business card maker, the preview shows all three at once: the outer edge is the bleed, the dashed rose line is the trim and the dashed mint line is the safe zone. Turn the guides off to see the card as it will look, and on again to check your margins.

Type size and readability

Cards are read at arm's length, often in poor light, often by someone in a hurry. That rules out the tiny type that looks elegant on a monitor.

• Keep body text at 7 pt or larger, and prefer 8 pt for contact lines.
• Make your name noticeably bigger, around 14 to 18 pt, and let the role sit between the two sizes.
• Choose a typeface with open shapes and clear numerals. Phone numbers are the most important thing on the card, and a font where 1, 7 and 4 look alike is a problem.
• Avoid very light weights for small text. Thin strokes can vanish on uncoated stock.
• Leave breathing room between lines. About 1.2 to 1.4 times the type size reads comfortably.

If a line does not fit at a readable size, shorten the text instead of shrinking it. A long email or address is a signal to simplify, for example by dropping the street from the address or using a shorter email alias.

Contrast and colour

Contrast is the difference in brightness between text and the surface behind it. The accessibility standard measures it as a ratio: 4.5 to 1 is the usual minimum for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text. Black on white is 21 to 1. A mid-grey on white can fall below 3 to 1 and look washed out once printed.

Some practical rules:

• Dark text on a light background is the safest choice, especially on uncoated paper.
• Light text on a dark background is striking but demands care. Ink spreads slightly, and small light letters can fill in. Use a heavier weight and 8 pt or more.
• Do not put text over a photo unless you add a solid panel behind it.
• Accent colours are for shapes, bars and rules. Many bright accents are too faint to read as small text on white, so use your ink colour for the words.
• Remember that screens are brighter than paper. A colour that glows on your phone prints duller. Print a proof.

The maker's print check lists your lowest contrast ratio per side, and warns about small reversed text.

Adding a QR code

A QR code can save someone from typing a web address, and it works best when it does one specific thing. Link it to a page that is made for a phone: your booking page, your portfolio or your contact page. Linking to a busy homepage is a missed chance.

Rules that keep it scannable:

1. Size. Aim for at least 18 to 20 mm square including the border. Below that, scanning gets unreliable.
2. Module size. Each little square should be about 0.4 mm or more. Longer links make denser codes with smaller squares, so a short link scans better than a long one.
3. Quiet zone. Leave a blank border of at least four squares around the code. Do not tuck it against an edge or a coloured shape.
4. Dark on light. Print dark squares on a light plate. Inverted codes confuse some scanners.
5. Location. The back is the usual home. It leaves the front for contact details and keeps the code from competing with your name.
6. Test it. Scan the printed proof with two different phones before you order a batch.

A contact-card QR, which stores your name, phone and email so people can save you in one tap, is convenient but dense. At small sizes the squares become too tiny. If you use one, make it large, or choose a plain website link instead.

Paper, finish and print method

Paper choices change how a card feels more than any layout choice.

• Weight. Most cards use 300 to 400 gsm stock. Under about 250 gsm feels flimsy; very thick stock can be hard to slide into holders.
• Uncoated paper has a natural, writeable surface and suits quieter, text-led cards. Coated or silk paper gives richer colour and sharper photos but can be hard to write on.
• Spot gloss, foil and embossing add tactile interest, but they only work with simple shapes and bold type. They also need artwork prepared as separate layers, which a PNG export does not cover.
• Borderless backgrounds need bleed. If you plan a full-colour edge, order from a printer that supports it.

If you print at home, choose a heavier card stock your printer accepts, set the print scale to actual size (100%), and expect an unprintable margin of around 4 mm. The 10-up sheet in the maker keeps a clear margin on A4 and warns when a paper and card size leave less than that.

Before you print: the last-look test

Run this list on a proof, ideally printed at actual size.

1. Read every line aloud. Typos in phone numbers and email addresses are the most expensive mistake.
2. Call the number. Send an email to the address. Type the website into a phone.
3. Check that no text sits closer than the safe margin to any edge.
4. Hold the card at arm's length. Can you read the smallest line?
5. Look at every colour edge. Does the background reach the edge with bleed?
6. Scan the QR code on two phones, in normal room light.
7. Hand it to someone who has never seen it and ask what you do. If they hesitate, simplify.
8. Check the front and the back line up when flipped. If you print both sides yourself, the back should not sit off-centre.

After the card: where it sends people

A card is only the first step. The person who picks it up will type your website, so that site needs to load quickly on a phone, say what you do in a line, and make your phone number or booking button easy to find. If you want a quick view of how yours is doing, you can grade your website free and get a short list of fixes in plain English. The small business website checklist covers the same ground in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

How much information should go on a business card?

Aim for five or six lines: name, role, business name, one phone number, one email and a short website. Add a street address only if people visit you. Anything beyond that is better placed on your website.

Should I print on both sides?

Usually yes. The front carries the details; the back can carry a logo, a short line about what you do or a QR code. A blank back is wasted space, though a clean back works if you want people to write a note on it.

What bleed and safe zone should I use?

Use 3 mm (0.125 inch) of bleed and keep important content at least 3 to 5 mm inside the trim line. Confirm the exact numbers with your printer, because some ask for a little more.

What is the smallest text that is safe to print?

Seven points is a sensible floor for contact details, and eight points is better. Name and role should be larger. Light weights and light-on-dark text need extra size.

Does a QR code belong on every card?

No. Add one when it saves effort, for example by taking people to a booking or portfolio page. Skip it if your website address is already short and memorable, or if there is no mobile-friendly page to send people to.

Can I print the cards at home?

Yes. Use card stock your printer supports, print at actual size, and cut carefully along the crop marks. For large runs or special finishes, a print shop will usually give a cleaner result.