Art & Card Specs

File Support

Recommended - Ai, EPS, PSD, Indd and PDF

Supported (As long as resolution is up to
300 dpi) - JPG, PNG and GIF 

Artwork

Please prepare artwork to size and include all linked graphics. Keep all critical text and logos inside the safe design area as shown on our  card templates.

Resolution

Submit art files at no less than 300 dpi at 100%. Lower images will result in poor quality.

Bleeds/Safe Area

Keep all critical text or logos within the safe
design area shown on our templates as a dashed line. This ensures nothing gets cut off during production. Also, make sure that the artwork has an extra bleed that extends 1/8" outside of the solid line to ensure there are no white edges on your card.

Reverse Text

Should be bold and at least 6 pts at the thinnest part of the character, as fine serif or script type may fill in.

Colors

All artwork needs to be defined in CMYK with all pantones converted. We cannot print in RGB.

Hole Punches

Must have 1/8” clearance from cut edge and/or from image to hole placement.

Standard Card Dimensions

Artwork - 3.625 in x 2.375 in (This accounts for the bleed)

Final card - 3.375 in x 2.125 in

Text/Fonts

All text should be 7 pt or higher with 8 pt being our recommendation. Make sure all fonts are converted to outlines or are included in the packaged file. Watch this video to learn how.

Standard Criteria for Data Transformation or Creation

Data transformation is the process of converting data from one format (e.g., a database file, text file, or Excel sheet) to another. Because data often resides in different formats, data transformation is necessary to ensure data from one application or database is moved into the correct format needed for personalization. Data creation is the process of taking a string of numbers and inserting the necessary machine codes to create a format needed for personalization. This document lists the standards for the inbound data files and what is with-in the scope of standard data transformation and creation at CARDSource.

Standard File Formats That We Accept
  • Excel (.xls or .xlsx)
  • Comma Separated Value (.csv Dos Formatted)
  • Tab Delimited (.txt Dos formatted)
  • Pipe Delimited (.txt Dos formatted)
  • Fixed Length Text File with carriage returns at each record (.txt Dos Formatted)
Standard File Format Best Practices
  • Please provide a header in the file that accurately lists what the data in the field represents.
  • No floating lines of data. Keep all fields lined up in the file.
  • Keep text casing as you want it to print. Unless specifically requested, data is printed as is.
  • If supplying multiple files, ensure that file names are uniquely identified per version of card.
  • Data is scrubbed and ready for transformation processes.
Data and Card Layout
If CARDSource is creating the data, please provide:

 

  • The starting number as it needs to be printed on the cards.
  • A layout of the card with the fields shown for printing position.
  • Any specific fonts or barcode symbology needed.
  • If you need a check digit added to the barcode data.

If you are supplying CARDSource data to be used for personalization, please provide:

  • A data layout of where to pull the information from in the inbound data or a header records in the data that states what each field represents.
  • A layout of the card with the fields shown for printing position.
  • Specific Font types or barcode symbology needed.
  • If you need a check digit added to the barcode data.
Other Data Services

CARDSource offers data scrubbing, truncation or concatenation of data fields and presort services for mail files including NCOA services. All data cleansing, reformatting or manipulation of data files other than the standard data transformation processes listed above is billed at $175.00 per hour. You will be notified of pending issues with data files and an estimate will be provided to you in advance of the work being preformed.