Eco-friendly business cards

Submission specifications for Eco-friendly business cards

Add 3 mm bleed.

To allow leeway for cutting differences in production, always add a bleed of 3 mm around all edges of your design. Make sure colours, background pictures and layouts extend into the bleed area so as to avoid leaving white lines as a result of cutting tolerances.

Keep 4 mm safety margin

Keep all important text and images at least 4 mm away from the edge of the finished size. Exclusive finishes need to be within the safety margin

Use CMYK as the color mode.

Prepare your files using CMYK as the color mode, not RGB. Use colormode FOGRA39 (ISO Coated v2) for coated papertypes and colormode FOGRA47 (PSO Uncoated ISO12647) for uncoated papertypes. If you are unsure of the colour mode of your file, don't worry we can always convert this for you. Keep in mind this can cause the colours to differ from the original file.

Resolution of at least 300 dpi.

Make sure the resolution of the images and graphics in your artwork are at least 300 dpi.

Convert fonts to outlines or embed all the fonts.

Make sure you convert fonts to outlines or embed all the fonts when saving it to PDF.

Make sure the ink coverage isn't higher than 300%.

Force Color Images to CMYK with a 260% ink limit (in Photoshop > Convert Color Profile > Photoshop 5 Default CMYK). Make sure the ink coverage isn't higher than 300%.

Save your files in uneditable, print-ready file formats.

Save your files in uneditable, print-ready file formats (PDF (1.4 or higher), TIFF, EPS, JPG). Deliver your files in one layer: the background layer.

Use the right values for full color black.

Use Rich Black (C:63% M:52% Y:51% K:100%) for larger areas and text to get a deep black color. Do not use this value for text smaller than 15 pt or plain text. This can only be used in full color printing. For designing black smaller texts use 100% black.

Check line thickness

Lines should be at least 0.25 pt. Negative lines should be at least 0.5 pt.

Check your artwork on overprint.

Make sure no elements in your artwork are set on overprint. Unless you want this effect in your design. The degree of transparency in printing depends on the ink, material, and printing method used.

Frequently Asked Questions for Eco-friendly business cards

What is this product exactly? And what can I use it for?

• A business card is a card that contains your company / contact information and can be printed completely according to your wishes. It's the best way to make a lasting first impression on prospective customers / business partners.
• 
  This product is used to / as:
• -Introduce people to your business
• • Exchange company/contact information

What materials are available for recycled business cards?

• For the recycled business cards, we have 3 materials for you to choose from:
  
  - White Recycled is a 300 gsm paper made from 100% recycled materials. Certified by RecyStar® Nature with visible fibres, this paper is suitable for showcasing every design.
  
  - Off White Recycled is also 300 gsm and made from recyclable paper with a grey-ish undertone. This material is certified by Bio Top ® and is chlorine free. Great for creating business cards with an authentic, eco-friendly feel.
  
  - Kraft Brown is certified by KraftFold® and is made from a combination of 15% recycled paper pulp and other recyclable materials. As this is a brown material, white cannot be used in the design but this 283 gsm paper is perfect for giving a natural look and feel to your business card.

What is the fastest possible turnaround?

• The fastest possible turnaround for Eco-friendly business cards is:
• Next Day
• NOTE: only applicable for products which require your design: To make sure that your order is delivered at the indicated time, it is important that we receive your file with your design for the product, on time (also called cut-off time). In this way the product can be moved into production on time. The deadline is always communicated in the final step when putting your product together and in the box on the right which details your entire order.
• The cut-off time for your printed item may vary. This depends on the combination you choose. This has to do with the manufacturing technique and / or the order quantities.
• NOTE: The product delivery shifts a day every time the deadline for submission has passed. This is also the case if the file is rejected by us and corrected artwork isn't supplied before the next cut off time.

Which production techniques do you use?

• Digital (up to 250 pieces): printed on professional HP Indigo printers, directly after your order is received. Digital printing is cheaper in lower order quantities.
• 
  Offset Lithography printing or Litho printing makes it possible to provide larger quantities at unbeatable prices. This technique creates images and text with wet ink and transferred to each paper sheet with aluminium and rubber plates. This method is more extensive than its 'digital’ counterpart because of the different printing materials that are used. Still, it is the most cost-effective option when you order bigger printed batches.

Which carriers are used for the delivery?

• For the delivery of your Eco-friendly business cards we use multiple carriers. Because of the highest reliability, in most cases we use UPS or DPD.
• UPS
• Other carriers we use are DHL and even our own courier service. These carriers are used for certain products (depending on the size, the turnaround and the quantity).

I can't find the product I'm looking for. Can I request a quotation?

• The Eco-friendly business cards that is chosen in most cases can be selected via our website.
• 
  If your material type, weight, quantity, size or other specification is not listed, you can request a quotation. We will send you our offer within 1 working day.
• Depending on the complexity this can take a bit longer.