5 Steps In Making Print Ready Name Cards
Do you ever have those moments where you’re running on a tight schedule but nothing is going right? Do you ever find yourself having to adjust repeatedly? Infuriating isn’t it? Here’s how you can reduce the time wasted by making print ready name cards.
- Save files/templates
If your name cards require a certain special shape, it is best to create a generic template and save backups of your template just in case your original file crash and you need to re-do certain designs. That would save you a lot of time. Otherwise, it would be good to download several print ready free templates online so that you can take it straight for printing once you have finished designing.
- Bleed
Bleeding is a component you cannot miss when it comes to printing, if you want your print to come out looking perfect instead of having white lines appearing or looking too stretched out, which will distort your name cards and end in important details getting cut off.
Do some research and know the bleed value of your printer. Make changes in your template and scale it to fit while you design so that everything comes out well.
- Crop
Apart from the bleed value, you will also need to have crop marks. This is so that your printer can align know where to cut your name cards so that when you place your name card on the printing plates, it will come out nicely instead of going off center. The best way is to create the crop marks in PDF format.
- Ink
Before printing and designing, make sure that the format you are saving in is CMYK instead of RGB as CMYK is the most common and popular printer setting even in shops. The flexibility of it’s colour range differs from the ones in RGB so if you have to convert from RGB to CMYK, some of the colour values will not match and you will have to spend a longer time trying to edit that.
- Additional finishing
If your name cards require additional finishing like laminating, embossing, debossing and you’re commissioning a name card printing service provider to handle it, make sure you communicate the details exactly and know what you are getting into- Ask your service provider if there are any changes you need to be making to your name cards, how long it will take for the final name cards to be complete and other relevant details before you allow them to begin.
With these 5 steps in mind, your process of designing and producing print ready name cards will be sufficiently quicker- here’s to hoping you meet your deadlines and get them ready in time for the meeting!
