Quick Summary
This is the pre-press decoder for custom Card Printing artwork — the specification that the designer sends to the printer before the cards are printed. A card artwork file has six non-negotiable elements: 3 mm bleed on every edge, a separate dieline layer in a spot colour, full CMYK colour throughout, 300 DPI raster resolution at the final printed size, fonts converted to outlines or embedded, and a press-ready PDF/X export with the dieline on a separate layer. Skipping any one of the six produces a card deck that signals amateur quality — a white sliver on the edge, a misaligned cut, a colour shift between the screen preview and the printed card, a missing font glyph, a visible pixelation in a photograph, or a font substitution at the printer. The Tokenceartwork template library ships the templates in the standard card formats (poker 63×89 mm, tarot 70×120 mm, bridge 57×89 mm, mini 44×67 mm) so the designer can drop in the artwork without rebuilding the dieline from scratch.
Why the Artwork Specification Is Where the Card Project Wins or Loses
A custom card deck has three pre-production decisions that determine whether the printed result looks professional or amateur: the artwork specification, the colour model, and the file format. The artwork specification governs the cut quality (does the card snap cleanly to size, or does it have a visible white sliver at the edge). The colour model governs the printed colour (does the brand blue match the on-screen blue, or does it shift to a duller tone after the printer's CMYK conversion). The file format governs the production efficiency (does the printer have to rebuild the dieline and re-embed the fonts, or can the printer drop the file into the press workflow immediately).
Most first-time card buyers assume the artwork specification is the printer's problem. It is not. The artwork specification is the buyer's problem, because the buyer's designer is the one who has to set up the file with the correct bleed, the correct dieline, the correct colour space, the correct font handling, and the correct export settings. The printer can check the file and flag errors in pre-flight, but the printer cannot redesign the file to fix the errors without going back to the designer. The artwork file is the foundation of the card deck, and the foundation has to be right before the press can run.
The Tokence card deck product line includes poker decks, tarot decks, bridge decks, drinking-game decks, and educational card decks. The artwork specification applies to all of them, with the only variation being the dieline dimensions (poker 63×89 mm, tarot 70×120 mm, bridge 57×89 mm) and the card stock specification (310gsm black core, 330gsm blue core, plasticised PVC). The pre-press workflow described below is identical across the deck family.
Bleed: Why Every Card File Needs Background Art to the Edge
Bleed is the extension of the background artwork beyond the trim line that ensures no white edge is visible after the card is cut. The industry-standard bleed for card printing is 3 mm on every edge, which for a 63×89 mm poker card brings the artwork file to 69×95 mm. The printer cuts the card to the 63×89 mm trim size after printing, and the 3 mm bleed is sacrificed in the cut. If the the artwork does not extend to the bleed edge, the cut will reveal the white substrate underneath, producing a white sliver on the card edge that signals a low-quality print job.
The bleed requirement applies to every card in the deck, both faces and backs. The card back artwork must extend to the bleed edge on every side; the card face artwork must also extend to the bleed edge, even though the printed content (numbers, indices, pips) typically sits inside the safe zone. A poker face card that has white space at the bleed edge is a manufacturing defect, not a design choice.
The bleed is set in the artwork file at the document setup stage, not added later. In Adobe Illustrator, the bleed is configured in File Document Setup → Bleed. In Adobe InDesign, the bleed is configured in Document Setup → Bleed and Slug. In Affinity Designer, the bleed is configured in Document Setup → More. Setting the bleed after the artwork is laid out typically produces an artwork file where the bleed is not consistently applied to every layer, which is a pre-flight failure.
Dieline: The Vector Outline That Drives the Cut
It is the cutting reference — a single closed vector path on its own layer, drawn in a spot colour (typically 100% magenta). The printer drives the laser or the die from this layer; even a 0.5 mm misalignment shows up as off-centre cards that fail the snap-and-shuffle test. The dieline is a separate cut-line layer, drawn as a single spot colour path that drives the cutting die. The die or laser reads the dieline path; the press then cuts every card to that exact contour.
The dieline must be a closed vector path with no open ends, no self-intersections, and no duplicated nodes. A poorly constructed dieline forces the pre-press operator to rebuild the cutting path, adding one to three days to the production cycle. A dieline drawn at the wrong scale (a poker card drawn at 70×100 mm instead of 69×95 mm including bleed) propagates the error into every cut piece and ruins the entire production run. The designer should verify the dieline scale by measuring the dieline path with the ruler tool in Illustrator before exporting the file.
The Tokence artwork template library includes pre-built dielines in the standard card formats (poker 63×89 mm, tarot 70×120 mm, bridge 57×89 mm, mini 44×67 mm, square 70×70 mm) so the designer does not have to draw the dieline from scratch. The template also includes the bleed edge and the safe zone as separate layers, which the designer toggles on and off in the layer panel. The template is the starting point for the artwork file, not the finished artwork; the designer replaces the placeholder artwork with the real artwork and the placeholder dieline remains the cutting reference.
CMYK vs RGB: Why the File Must Be CMYK From the First Draft
CMYK only. An RGB file is silently converted at the printer, producing a colour shift the designer cannot preview on their RGB monitor. The CMYK inks also clip out-of-gamut RGB colours (vivid blues, fluorescent tones). Begin in CMYK with the ISO Coated v2 (ECI) profile for coated stock or ISO Uncoated v2 (Fogra) for uncoated stock, and stay there through every revision. The press is calibrated for CMYK inks; an RGB file triggers a printer-side conversion that the designer cannot preview on their own screen. The conversion silently clips out-of-gamut RGB colours (vivid blues, fluorescent greens) into duller CMYK approximations.
The file remains in CMYK through every revision, never reverting to RGB for colour selection or asset placement. The CMYK colour profile depends on the press and the paper stock, but the two most common profiles for card printing are ISO Coated v2 (ECI) for coated card stock and ISO Uncoated v2 (Fogra) for uncoated card stock. The card printing industry has converged on these two profiles as the working standards, and most card printers will request the artwork file in one of the two profiles.
The International Color Consortium (ICC) maintains the cross-platform colour profile specification that the design software uses to embed the colour profile in the artwork file. The designer selects the colour profile in the document setup (in Adobe Illustrator, Edit Color Settings → Working Spaces → CMYK), and the profile is embedded in the artwork file when the file is exported to PDF. The embedded profile is what allows the printer to reproduce the on-screen colour on the press.
Resolution and the 300 DPI Minimum
Yes, 300 DPI is the minimum. Vector elements (logos, geometric shapes, type) draw at any size since the press renders curves, not pixels; raster elements (photographs, gradients, scanned textures) must hit 300 DPI at the card’s actual print size. The common pre-flight failure is the 72 DPI web photograph — fine on a screen, pixelated on the proof sheet.
The resolution check is a common pre-flight failure. A designer who places a 72 DPI web-resolution photograph into a card artwork will and produces a visible pixelation that the printer flags before production. The fix is straightforward — replace the low-resolution file with a 300 DPI version, typically by sourcing a higher-resolution original photograph or by re-exporting the source file at the correct resolution.
The 300 DPI rule applies to the artwork at the final printed size. A photograph that is 900×900 pixels at 300 DPI will print at 3×3 inches (76×76 mm); the same photograph at 300 DPI will print at 6×6 inches (152×152 mm) at 150 DPI. The size of the photograph in the artwork file determines the print size, not the photograph's pixel dimensions. The designer has to scale the photograph in the artwork file to the intended print size before checking the resolution.
Font Handling: Convert to Outlines or Embed
Two valid approaches: convert to outlines (Type → Create Outlines), which eliminates font-substitution risk at the printer but makes the text uneditable; or embed the font in the PDF, which preserves editability but requires a font licence that permits embedding. The split is straightforward: outlined press PDF for the printer, editable AI or INDD source for the designer. Outlining converts every glyph to a vector shape; the rendered text cannot be edited in the outlined file. Embedding keeps the typeface in the PDF, but only when the licence permits redistribution and the PDF is exported as a proper subset.
The pre-press standard is outlined text in the press PDF plus an editable source file (AI or INDD) with live text for future revisions. The editable source file is for the designer; the outlined file is for the printer. This is the standard practice in commercial pre-press, and it is what most card printers expect.
The font choice affects the printed result. A font that is too thin (less than 0.5 mm stroke width at the printed size) disappears at the print quality of card stock; a font that is too thick (more than 1.5 mm stroke width) bleeds visually and looks unprofessional. The recommended font weight for card body text is 0.7 to 1.0 mm stroke width at the printed size, which corresponds to a 7- to 10-point sans-serif font at the typical card scale. Card index text (the "10" or "J" on a playing card) is typically 1.5 to 2.5 mm stroke width, which corresponds to a 16- to 24-point bold sans-serif.
Safe Zone: Where Text and Critical Graphics Must Stay
The safe zone is the area inside the trim line where text and critical graphics must remain. The standard safe zone is 3 mm inside the trim line on every edge, which for a 63×89 mm poker card leaves a 57×83 mm safe zone. Artwork past the bleed edge is cut off; artwork in the trim zone but outside the safe zone survives but wears out quickly.
The 3 mm safe zone is not a margin that wastes card real estate — it is the margin that protects the artwork from the cutting tolerance. A poker card where the rank "10" touches the trim edge loses the index after a few shuffles as the corners wear; a card where the rank sits 3 mm inside the trim edge retains the index through hundreds of shuffles. The 3 mm buffer absorbs the cutting tolerance and the long-term edge wear.
The safe zone is documented in the Tokence artwork templates as a dedicated layer that the designer toggles on for the export check. The export check is the last chance to catch artwork that extends outside the safe zone, because the printer's pre-flight software will warn about artwork outside the safe zone but will not always reject the file outright.
File Format and the Press-Ready PDF/X Export
PDF/X-1a (CMYK only) or PDF/X-4 (CMYK plus spot colours), exported with Use Document Bleed Settings, fonts outlined or embedded, images at 300 DPI, and the dieline on a separate spot-colour layer. TIFF with a separate dieline layer is acceptable second choice. JPG, PNG, and unflattened AI files require manual rebuilding at the printer and add 2 to 5 days to the pre-press cycle. PDF/X is the industry-standard pre-press format that the Idealliance (now part of PRINTING United Alliance) maintains as the standard for commercial printing, including card printing.
TIFF with a separate dieline layer is the second-best option for designers who cannot export press-ready PDF. JPG, PNG, and uncompressed AI files require the printer to rebuild the dieline, re-embed the fonts, and verify the colour profile — work that adds two to five days to the pre-press cycle and that introduces errors that the designer would have caught at export.
The export settings for press-ready PDF are critical. In Adobe Illustrator, the export is File → Save As → PDF, with the Preset set to PDF/X-1a:2001 (for CMYK-only artwork) or PDF/X-4 (for artwork that includes spot colours). The compatibility is set to Acrobat 4 or Acrobat 5 for maximum compatibility. The compression settings are set to "Do Not Downsample" for images that are already at 300 DPI, and "Automatic (JPEG High)" for image compression. The bleed is set to "Use Document Bleed Settings" so the 3 mm bleed is included in the PDF. The printer's pre-flight will check these settings and flag any deviations.
Specification Summary by Card Format
The artwork specification varies by card format. The table below consolidates the bleed, safe zone, dieline, and resolution specifications for the four most common card formats in the Tokence product line. The specifications apply to the artwork file at the printed size, not at the display size on the designer's monitor.
| Card format | Trim size | Artwork size (with 3mm bleed) | Safe zone | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poker | 63 × 89 mm | 69 × 95 mm | 57 × 83 mm | Standard Playing Cards, drinking game, party game |
| Bridge | 57 × 89 mm | 63 × 95 mm | 51 × 83 mm | Bridge deck, narrow-format card game |
| Tarot | 70 × 120 mm | 76 × 126 mm | 64 × 114 mm | Tarot, oracle, divination decks |
| Mini / square | 44 × 67 mm / 70 × 70 mm | 50 × 73 mm / 76 × 76 mm | 38 × 61 mm / 64 × 64 mm | Travel card game, educational flashcard, collector |
| Square box | 210 × 210 × 50 mm (tuck box) | 216 × 216 × 56 mm | 204 × 204 × 44 mm | Card game storage box, gift box |
| Magnet closure box | 205 × 205 × 49 mm | 211 × 211 × 55 mm | 199 × 199 × 43 mm | Premium card game box with magnetic closure |
The Tokence artwork template library ships the templates in all six formats above, with the bleed, safe zone, and dieline pre-built on separate layers. The designer downloads the template, opens it in Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer, replaces the placeholder artwork with the real artwork, and exports to PDF/X with the dieline on a separate spot-colour layer.
The Downloadable Artwork Checklist
The pre-flight checklist below is the specification that a designer confirms before sending the artwork file to the card printer. Every item on the checklist is a common pre-flight failure that the printer has to flag and that costs the buyer one to three days of pre-press back-and-forth.
Artwork Pre-Flight Checklist
- Bleed: 3 mm on every edge (artwork extends to bleed edge on every layer)
- Dieline: separate layer, single spot colour (100% magenta or dedicated cut-line colour), closed vector path, no open ends
- Colour space: CMYK throughout (not RGB), ISO Coated v2 (ECI) or ISO Uncoated v2 (Fogra) profile embedded
- Resolution: 300 DPI minimum at final printed size for all raster artwork
- Fonts: converted to outlines (Type → Create Outlines) for the final artwork file; live text preserved in the editable source file
- Safe zone: text and critical graphics inside the 3 mm safe zone on every edge
- Export format: press-ready PDF (PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4) with bleed and dieline on separate layers
- Specialty colours: Pantone spot colours declared as spot channels, not converted to CMYK
- Card count: deck size (54 cards for a poker deck, 78 cards for a tarot deck, custom for branded decks) defined in the artwork layout
- Face / back: face artwork and back artwork on separate pages or separate files, registered to the dieline
The checklist is the minimum specification for a card artwork file. A more advanced check includes the colour profile verification (open the exported PDF in Adobe Acrobat and confirm the colour profile is embedded), the dieline verification (open the PDF in Illustrator and confirm the dieline layer is on a separate spot colour), and the resolution verification (open the PDF in Acrobat's pre-flight and confirm no images are below 300 DPI). The advanced check is recommended for the first artwork submission of a new card deck.
Common Artwork Errors and How the Printer Catches Them
Five artwork errors account for the majority of pre-flight failures in card printing. The errors are common because the designer's RGB preview hides them, and the errors are visible only when the printer runs pre-flight or prints a proof.
| Error | Symptom | How the printer catches it |
|---|---|---|
| Missing bleed | White sliver on card edge after cutting | Pre-flight bleed check fails |
| RGB colour in CMYK file | Colour shift between screen preview and printed card | Pre-flight colour space check fails |
| Low-resolution raster | Visible pixelation in photograph or gradient | Pre-flight image resolution check fails |
| Font not outlined / not embedded | Font substitution warning, missing glyph | Pre-flight font check fails |
| Text outside safe zone | Text cut off after trimming or uncomfortably close to edge | Visual review of proof |
The Tokence pre-press team runs the standard Idealliance PDF/X pre-flight checks on every artwork file before production, and flags any of the five common errors in a written report to the buyer within 24 hours. The buyer then has the choice of fixing the errors themselves (preferred for the designer's learning) or asking the Tokence pre-press team to fix the errors for an additional pre-press fee.
How to Submit the Artwork File
The artwork file submission is the last step in the pre-press workflow. The buyer submits the file through the Tokence contact channel with the artwork specification (card format, card stock, quantity, finish) and the deck layout (number of cards, face/back artwork, special cards). The pre-press team runs the pre-flight check within 24 hours and returns the pre-flight report.
If the pre-flight passes, the production team schedules the production run and provides the production timeline (typically 7 to 14 days for the first deck after pre-press, depending on the deck size and the finish specification). If the pre-flight fails, the buyer fixes the artwork file and re-submits, and the pre-flight cycle repeats until the file passes.
The first deck from a new buyer typically takes 2 to 4 weeks from artwork submission to delivery, with the pre-press cycle accounting for the first 1 to 2 weeks and the production cycle accounting for the next 1 to 2 weeks. The second deck from the same buyer takes 1 to 3 weeks because the pre-press cycle is shorter (the designer knows the file requirements) and the production cycle is the same.
Quick Reference: Card Artwork Specification
The artwork specification for a custom card deck is six non-negotiable elements: 3 mm bleed on every edge, separate dieline layer in spot colour, CMYK throughout with an embedded ICC profile, 300 DPI raster resolution at final size, fonts converted to outlines, and press-ready PDF/X with the dieline on a separate layer. The five common errors that the printer catches in pre-flight are missing bleed, RGB colour in a CMYK file, low-resolution raster, font not outlined, and text outside the safe zone. The Tokence template library includes the standard card formats (poker, bridge, tarot, mini, square box, magnet closure box) with the bleed, safe zone, and dieline pre-built. Submit the file with the artwork specification through the contact channel to start the pre-press cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard bleed for card printing?
Three millimetres on every edge is the de facto industry standard for card printing artwork. The bleed absorbs the cutting tolerance so that no white substrate shows after trimming; without it, even a quarter-millimetre cutting shift becomes a visible white sliver at the card edge. The 3mm bleed doubles as the design constraint that lets a 63×89mm poker card become a 69×95mm artwork document with a 57×83mm safe zone inside.
What is a dieline and why does card printing need one?
A dieline is the artwork layer that the cutting press actually reads. It must be a closed vector path with no open ends or self-intersections, drawn in a single dedicated spot colour. The press generates the cutting die or drives the laser from this layer, so half a millimetre of dieline shift produces cards of inconsistent size that fail the visual alignment check at the proof sheet.
Should card printing files be CMYK or RGB?
Always CMYK. RGB artwork is silently converted at the press and the conversion is not previewable on the designer’s RGB monitor. The press cannot reproduce vivid screen blues, fluorescent greens, or saturated cyans that sit outside CMYK’s gamut. Use ISO Coated v2 (ECI) for coated stock and ISO Uncoated v2 (Fogra) for uncoated stock, and stay in CMYK from the first sketch to the final PDF.
What is the difference between CMYK and Pantone for card printing?
Process CMYK (four-colour halftone) handles photographs and complex multi-colour artwork. Pantone (PMS) is the right spot ink when the colour must match a brand standard or when the ink must be metallic or fluorescent. Most branded decks combine the two — CMYK for the artwork and Pantone for the logo on the box.
What is the recommended resolution for card printing artwork?
Yes, 300 DPI is the minimum. Vector elements (logos, geometric shapes, type) reproduce at any size because the press renders curves directly; raster elements (photographs, gradients, scanned textures) need 300 DPI at the actual card print size. A typical pre-flight failure is the 72 DPI web photograph, which looks fine on a screen but becomes pixelated at the proof sheet.
How should fonts be handled in a card printing file?
Two paths work. Outlining (Type → Create Outlines) turns every glyph into a vector path so the press renders shapes, not typefaces — no font file required at the press, but the text becomes uneditable. Embedding the font in the PDF keeps the typeface inside the file, but only when the licence permits redistribution and the PDF is exported with a proper subset. The industry-standard split is an outlined press PDF plus an editable AI or INDD source file with live text for future revisions.
What is the safe zone for card artwork?
Three millimetres inside the trim line on every edge. For poker (63×89mm trim), the safe zone is 57×83mm. Anything outside this zone is at risk: artwork past the bleed edge is cut off; artwork in the trim zone but outside the safe zone survives cutting but wears out after repeated shuffling. The safe zone is the production buffer that lets a card deck hold up under months of handling.
What file format should card artwork be exported in?
PDF/X-1a for CMYK-only artwork, PDF/X-4 if the deck uses Pantone spot colours. Export with Use Document Bleed Settings enabled, fonts either outlined or embedded, raster at 300 DPI, and the dieline on a separate spot-colour layer. TIFF is a workable backup but requires the printer to verify fonts and colour profile manually. JPG, PNG, and uncompressed AI files are not acceptable for production because they require the printer to rebuild the dieline and re-embed the fonts — work that adds days to the pre-press cycle. Adobe Illustrator (.AI) source files are accepted by some factories but the printer prefers PDF/X because the PDF is the unambiguous, pre-flighted output.