Business cards are the most common step-and-repeat job in any print shop. Getting the imposition right decides how many sheets you print, how many guillotine cuts you make, and whether the backs line up with the fronts.
1. Start from the finished size plus bleed
A standard European card is 90 × 50 mm (also 85 × 55 mm); the US size is 3.5 × 2 in (88.9 × 50.8 mm). Each card needs bleed, artwork that extends past the cut line, usually 3 mm (⅛ in) on every side. So a 90 × 50 mm card occupies 96 × 56 mm on the sheet.
If the customer's PDF has no bleed, the background must stop exactly at the trim, and any small cutting error shows a white edge. Ask for bleed, or design with a white border.
2. How many fit? Real numbers
With 3 mm bleed, a 5 mm margin and rotation allowed:
| Card size | SRA3 (450×320) | A3 (420×297) | 13×19 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 × 50 mm | 21-up | 20-up | 24-up |
| 3.5 × 2 in | 21-up | 21-up | 24-up |
On SRA3 the best layout is 7 × 3 with the cards rotated. Upright, only 4 rows of 4 fit. Always compare both orientations; our free How many fit? calculator does it for any size.
3. Shared cuts or gaps?
For cards, the usual choice is shared cuts: cards sit edge to edge (bleed overlapping), so one guillotine cut separates two rows. That gives the most cards per sheet and the fewest cuts. Leave gaps between cards only if the design has a border that must be perfectly even, or for die-cut jobs.
4. Crop marks and registration
Crop marks show the guillotine operator where each cut goes. They sit outside the artwork, in the margin, and must never print on the card itself. Registration targets and sheet-centre marks help the press operator check alignment between colours and between front and back.
5. Lining up the backs
For double-sided cards, the back of each card must land exactly behind its front. When the sheet is turned over side to side, the back plate is a mirror of the front layout: the card in the top-left on the front sits behind the top-right position on the back. If the cards are rotated on the sheet, check which way your press or printer turns the sheet, so the backs face the right way up.
Do it in seconds with ImpoGrid
Open the customer's PDF in ImpoGrid, pick SRA3 (or any sheet), and it finds the best layout, adds crop and registration marks, and builds the back plate from page 2, lined up and ready for the press. Fonts, CMYK and spot colours stay exactly as designed.
Try ImpoGrid free for a month
Cards, tickets, booklets and books: press-ready plates in seconds, in your browser. No card needed, and your files never leave your computer.
Start your free month