Guide
Tradie business cards: size, what to print and the phone number
A tradie's business card is printed at 90 × 55mm by most Australian printers, and the artwork carries 3mm of bleed, which takes it to 96 × 61mm. The phone number is the line to design around, with the licence number and ABN printed where a customer can find them.
Updated
In Australia. Australian cards are 90 × 55mm; the US standard is a different shape, so a template set up for the US will not fit an Australian print run.
| Standard size | 90 × 55mm |
|---|---|
| With bleed | 96 × 61mm |
| Credit card size | 85.5 × 54mm |
| Safe margin | 4mm |
| Our trade card | $19, PDFs trimmed and with bleed, both sizes |
The card size printers quote here, what a tradie's card has to carry, and why the phone number is the line to design around.
What size is a tradie's business card?
Most Australian printers quote business cards at 90 × 55mm. Some print at credit card size, 85.5 × 54mm, which fits a wallet slot. Every card we sell downloads at both sizes, so you can send whichever your printer quotes.
| Size | |
|---|---|
| Standard Australian card | 90 × 55mm |
| With bleed | 96 × 61mm |
| Credit card size | 85.5 × 54mm |
| Text kept inside the trim by | 4mm |
What should a tradie put on a business card?
A tradie's card is handed over on a site or left on a kitchen bench, and it is used later to ring you. So the phone number matters more than on most cards: it wants to be the largest line after the name, set so it can be read without glasses in a dim hallway.
After the number, the card carries the business name, your name, what you do in a few words and, for a licensed trade, the licence number. A customer can check a licence number on the state's public register, and a card that prints it saves them asking. Our cards have fields for the licence number and the ABN, and a field left blank is left off the card.
Why make the phone number the headline?
Our trade card sets the mobile number across the width of the card in heavy type, with the name above it at a size that identifies it and the licence and ABN under it in monospace. With no number typed, the name takes its place. It is $19, and any of the other cards on the shelf takes the same fields if you prefer a quieter layout.
How do you get the cards printed?
Each card downloads as print-ready PDFs of the front and back, trimmed and with 3mm of bleed, at both sizes. Send the bleed PDF at the size your printer quotes. Heavier card stock holds up better in a work shirt pocket, and your printer will tell you what weights they carry.
If the card goes out with a quote or into a letterbox beside a flyer, print both in the same colours and the same name lockup, so the customer who keeps one recognises the other.
Common questions
What size is a business card in Australia?
Printers here quote the standard Australian size shown on this page. Some print at credit card size instead, and our cards download at both.
Should a tradie put their licence number on a business card?
If your trade is licensed, yes. Customers can check it on the state's public register, and printing it saves them asking. Our cards have a field for it.
Should the ABN go on a business card?
It is worth including if you quote or invoice from the card's details. Our cards have an ABN field that is left off the card when it is blank.
What file does the printer need for a business card?
A print-ready PDF with bleed, one for the front and one for the back. Every card we sell downloads both, trimmed and with bleed, at two sizes.
Templates mentioned here
Written by BrandLaunch.