Businesscardland

Why are there two versions of each business card design?

Each design is offered in both a "full bleed" and "no bleed" template. "full bleed" designs are for use with "print-to-the-edge" business card paper offered by manufacturers such as Avery®.  You can also use these designs when you will be cutting them yourself.  Because the design needs to "bleed" over the edge (with the extra part cut off), you cannot use these designs with business card paper that puts the cards flush together, as the 10 cards per page papers do.  For these papers use the "no bleed" designs.

What size business card should I choose for my country?

Choosing the right card size is most important if you plan to use pre-cut Avery paper. The American Size (3.5” x 2”, 91mm x 59mm) is used in the United States, Canada, and most of Latin American Countries.  The International Size (85mm x 54mm) is used in Europe.  You can find out which size Avery paper is available in your country by going to the Avery Worldwide website.  There are sometimes more than one size card used in different regions.  We have chosen to use the size that corresponds with the Avery templates in use to make it easier to print your own cards.

What kinds of pre-cut business card paper do these templates work with?

For “American” sized cards (3.5” x 2”, 91mm x 59mm) our free templates work with these Avery papers:

For “Full Bleed”, 8 cards per page, choose Avery papers 8869, 8373, and 5881.

For “No Bleed”, 10 cards per page choose Avery papers 8872, 8873, 8874, 8876, 8877, 8878, 8879, 28873, 28877, 5871, 5876, 5877, 5878, 5882, 8374, 8371, 8376, 8377, 8471, 8476, 27871, 5371, 5376, 5377, and 5911.

For “International” sized cards (85mm x 54mm) our free templates work with these Avery papers:

For “Full Bleed”, 8 cards per page, choose Avery papers C32006, C32015, C32018, C32028, C32096, C32097, C9312

For “No Bleed”, 10 cards per page choose Avery papers C32010, C32014, C32029, C9362

Why doesn't anything happen when I click "Create PDF" on the Business Card Maker? 

If you have a pop-up blocker or your web browser's settings block pop-up windows, you will need to enable pop-up windows for the PDF to be loaded (it opens in a new window). If you need more information on how to change the settings on your web browser, click here for instructions on changing your pop-up blocker settings .

I am using the AOL web browser and having trouble using the Business Card Maker.

We have heard from several users that they have not been able to make PDFs while using the AOL browser.  We recommend trying another web browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Why does one of the fields on my card say "undefined"?

If you have checked a box on the "Enter Your Information" screen, but left the field blank, it will say "undefined" on your card in the Business Card Maker.  It's important to either include information on that line, or deselect the check box in the "Edit Information" window.  Go back to the entry page by clicking on your card, and uncheck the box.  If you leave entry lines blank without deselecting the check box, the information lines on your final card will not be positioned correctly.

Why do the colors look darker or muted on the PDF version of my cards?

The PDFs created by the Business Card Maker use CMYK colors, which are best for printing and required by most commercial printers for printing jobs.  They may display darker on your screen depending on what application you are using to view the PDF.  This is particularly noticeable when using the built in "Preview" application on a Mac as opposed to Acrobat Reader.  The best way to see the colors of your card is to print a test sheet to make sure you are happy with your card's colors. 

How do I cut business cards out myself?

Well, we recommend an Exacto knife and a metal ruler, or a good clean straight edge of some sort.  The idea is to line up your ruler along one set of guides and start your cut inside the edge of the paper, so you don't cut the entire edge off. If you leave some of the paper attached on each edge, you will have all of the marks left as you cut each card.  If you cut through the entire page, you won't have some of the marks you will need to cut each card out.  Use a sharp blade and cut slowly for a clean edge with no slipping. You can also use a small paper cutter that has a ruler on it. Keep in mind the cards 3.5" wide by 2" high.

My cards are printing out too small (so don't line up on my Avery paper, or aren't measuring the standard size).

On Windows systems, often the default setting to print PDFs in the "Page Scaling" area of the Windows print dialog box is not set to print at actual size.  "Page Scaling" should be set to "None".

My cards are printing out at the correct size,  but they are not centered.

Make sure you have selected "Print Maximum Area" from the print dialog box that pops up when you have hit "print".  This is usually found in the "Preferences" area of the print dialog box, under the "Paper" tab. 

My cutting guides are missing on one side. 

For PC Users: Make sure you have selected "Print Maximum Area" from the print dialog box that pops up when you have hit "print".  This is usually found in the "Preferences" area of the print dialog box, under the "Paper" tab.

For Mac Users: If you have the option to "Print Maximum Area" in the print dialog box that appears after you have designed your card and have hit "Print", you should choose it.   However, not all printer drivers for Mac OS X have this option (OS 9 drivers do).  So, if you are finding you are not seeing all of the page or are missing some of the cut guides, a possible work-around is to create a custom Paper Size from the Page Setup box which first appears after you hit print. Steps to creating a custom Paper Size in OS X are as follows:

1. After you hit the "Print" button, the first dialog box's first line will be called "Settings".  Choose "Custom Paper Size" from the pull-down menu.

2. In the "Custom Paper Size" window, click "New".  Name your new size, and set the page margins to .25" (or 6mm) on all sides.  Leave the page size as 8.5" x 11 (or A4).  Save the setting when prompted.  Make sure this paper size is selected from the initial page setup when you print using Businesscardland templates.

Do you keep any of my personal information?

No, we do not keep any personal information entered using the Businesscard Maker.  As an additional safety feature for our users, your personal information is encrypted when being sent to our server, and is only used to generate the PDF file.  Please save a copy of your PDF once you have made your cards, as we do not save your cards or information in any way.

I want to change the design around more!  Maybe move the type....

Businesscardland is focused on providing well-designed, ready-to-print cards, that non-designers can use for free.  If you want to design your own card from scratch, you would be better off using a design software package such as Illustrator or Publisher.  We do plan to offer Illustrator templates of our existing designs in the near future, which you can tweak to a greater degree.