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If you want to have an elegantly designed business card, you need to start with a digital image of at least 300 PPI (pixels per inch). But what exactly is pixel size, and how will it impact your business card design? Let’s discuss how this small detail can make a big difference in your finished product.

What is Pixel Size?

Digital images are made up of pixels — those small, colourful tiles you see when you zoom in on a picture. Images that have a greater resolution have a higher number of pixels, while images with low resolution have fewer pixels. 

Different projects require different images of different pixel sizes. For example, an image posted on your website can still look great at a fairly low resolution, like 72 PPI (pixels per inch). Printed projects, on the other hand, require a much higher resolution if they’re going to look polished and professional. 

When you’re working on a printed project, you need to make sure that your image is the ideal size and resolution for printing.

What is the ideal business card size? In the UK, a business card is 85 x 55 mm. If you want to make certain that your image covers the card in full (without any white border on the edges), you’ll want to design an image with enough “bleed” to fill all the available space. This means that your image should be about 91 x 61 mm — or 1050 pixels x 600 pixels.

What about resolution? For printed materials, you’ll want to use an image with a resolution around 300 PPI. This will give you a high-quality printed image that looks crisp and clean. While you can use lower-resolution images in a pinch, we would recommend 300 PPI for the best quality (and we would also urge you to never use a lower resolution than 180 PPI).

Why Does Pixel Size Matter?

The right pixel size and resolution might seem like a trivial thing. It’s the kind of minor detail that only “tech geeks” get worked up over, right? 

Not quite. If the image for your business card is the wrong size or the wrong resolution, you might end up with a grainy, boxy-looking finished product. That can reflect very poorly on both you and your business. A pixelated logo or grainy contact information may be difficult to read — and when people struggle to read information, they’re not likely to follow up. 

Your business card represents both you and your company out in the world. This means that it should be as clean and well-designed as possible. Most businesses know this — it’s why they hire professional designers to create stunning logos and card designs. But if your image isn’t high-res, all the creative designs in the world won’t leave a positive impression!

Simply put, proper pixel size is essential if you want to have a card that looks great and is legible.

How Do I Know My Pixel Size?

So, now that you know what pixel size you need to print an effective business card, how can you be sure that your card design is correct? If you’re not a computer whiz, you might feel like checking the pixel size of an image — or worse, resizing it — is beyond your skill set. 

But don’t worry: we can help you locate the pixel dimensions for any digital image on your computer. 

Mac Users

If you have a Mac computer, you’ll want to right click on the image you’re checking. Then, select Get Info. You’ll see a pop-up window that contains information about your image. Look at the More Info section and locate the pixel height and width of your image. Remember, a 300 PPI image for a business card should have dimensions of 1050 pixels x 600 pixels.

PC Users

PC users can check the dimensions of their images by right clicking on the image file and selecting Properties. Once the pop-up window opens, click on the Details tab: there, you will find the image’s pixel dimensions as well as its resolution. 

The Easy Way

Finally, people who want high-quality business cards without worrying about pixel sizes can use a free design template from printers like Banana Print. We’ve developed a wide range of creative, attractive templates that you can use to design beautiful business cards that will make a real impression. 

Print Your Business Cards Online

Printing quality business cards online is a fast and easy way to get a beautiful and classy card for your company — but if you want your cards to be truly great, you need a little knowledge about digital printing. You can design digital cards at the right pixel size yourself, or you can let Banana Print do the work for you!

Our business card design templates will help you get a high-quality card with just a few clicks of a mouse. You can choose from a variety of coating and card stock options, upload your logo to an existing template, and get cards shipped to your door in 24 hours. With Banana Print, you can represent yourself and your business in a professional way without overspending. 

Explore our selection of business card templates and discover how Banana Print can help you promote your company today.