Business card bleed and safe zone, measured for Australian printers

In Australia. Australian printers quote 90 × 55mm with 3mm bleed. Templates made for the US are sized in inches and are a different shape.

Bleed and safe zone for both card sizes

Bleed	3mm on every edge
Safe margin	4mm inside the trim
90 × 55mm card	artwork 96 × 61mm, safe area 82 × 47mm
85.5 × 54mm card	artwork 91.5 × 60mm, safe area 77.5 × 46mm
At print resolution	1134 × 720px and 1081 × 709px at 300dpi

Where the bleed edge, the trim line and the safe area fall on both Australian card sizes, drawn to scale and measured.

What is bleed on a business card?

Bleed is artwork that runs past the trim line, so the guillotine cuts through artwork rather than along its edge. Australian printers ask for 3mm on every edge, which makes a 90 × 55mm card 96 × 61mm as supplied.

The cut always drifts a little. On a card with a coloured background and no bleed, the drift shows as a white hairline down one edge.

What is the safe zone on a business card?

The safe zone is the area 4mm inside the trim where text, logos and borders belong, so a cut that wanders does not take anything off the edge. On a 90 × 55mm card it measures 82 × 47mm.

Where does each line fall on the card?

Measured from the outer edge of the artwork, the trim falls 3mm in and the safe area starts 7mm in.

How do you add bleed without changing the design?

Extend the background outward past the trim and leave everything inside the card at its true size. Scaling the whole design up to fill the bleed moves every margin, so text that sat inside the safe area can end up outside it.

What pixel size is a business card at print resolution?

At the 300dpi Australian printers ask for, a 90 × 55mm card with bleed is 1134 × 720px, and a 85.5 × 54mm card with bleed is 1081 × 709px.

The bleed calculator gives the same figures for any trim, with the working shown.

How are BrandLaunch business cards set up?

Our card templates ship both sizes, each as a trimmed PDF and a PDF with 3mm of bleed made by extending the artwork. The artwork is drawn at 312dpi, above the 300dpi printers ask for. See the business card templates.

Common questions

How much bleed does a business card need in Australia?

3mm on every edge. A 90 × 55mm card is supplied at 96 × 61mm, and a 85.5 × 54mm card at 91.5 × 60mm.

How far from the edge should text be on a business card?

At least 4mm inside the trim line. On a 90 × 55mm card that leaves a safe area of 82 × 47mm for all text and logos.

Is bleed the same as the safe zone?

No. Bleed is artwork that runs 3mm past the trim so the cut has something to go through, and the safe zone is the margin 4mm inside the trim that text stays within.

Do I need bleed if my business card has a white background?

Not if nothing touches the edge. Anything that runs to the edge, such as a colour, a photograph or a rule, needs bleed, or the cut will leave a white sliver where it drifts.