StretchLearn Course

Design business cards that print sharp and cut clean

Trim and bleed, CMYK colour, premium finishes, and real print specs

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This hands-on course teaches the production craft of business card design, the gap between a nice layout on screen and a card a press can actually print and cut. You will set up correct trim sizes with 3mm bleed and a safe zone, build a clean grid and typographic hierarchy that survives at 85 by 55mm, mix CMYK colour and a proper rich black instead of a muddy four-colour grey, and design for premium finishes like spot UV, foil stamping, letterpress, and die-cut. You will leave able to export a print-ready PDF/X file and order a real card from MOO, Vistaprint, or a trade printer without a rejection.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Choose the right format and trim size for a card, from standard 85x55mm to square, folded, and die-cut

Set up an artboard with 3mm bleed, a safe margin, and crop marks that a press can cut to

Build a legible grid and type hierarchy that holds up at business card size in real print

Mix CMYK colour and a correct rich black, and proof so the printed card matches intent

Design for premium finishes including spot UV, foil, letterpress, and die-cut with separate spot layers

Export a press-ready PDF/X-1a file and order correctly from MOO, Vistaprint, and a trade printer

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: What a Business Card Actually Is

The formats, sizes, and production reality behind a card, so you design for a real press and guillotine rather than for the screen alone.

3 lessons

Formats and Trim Sizes Around the WorldContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Card Stock, Weight, and FinishContent · 45 min

LMS Access

The Information a Card Must CarryContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Setting Up a Press-Ready Document

Bleed, trim, and safe margins, a grid that fits card size, and the file setup that keeps a guillotine from cutting into your design.

3 lessons

Bleed, Trim, and the Safe ZoneContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Grids, Margins, and AlignmentContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Typography at Card SizeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Colour, Black, and Print Accuracy

CMYK colour that prints the way it looks, a correct rich black instead of a muddy grey, and proofing so the printed card matches intent.

3 lessons

RGB, CMYK, and Spot ColourContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Rich Black and Ink CoverageContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Proofing and Colour AccuracyContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Premium Finishes, Files, and Ordering

Designing for spot UV, foil, letterpress, and die-cut, exporting a press-ready PDF, and ordering correctly from MOO, Vistaprint, and a trade press.

3 lessons

Spot UV, Foil, Letterpress, and EmbossingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Die-Cut and Special ShapesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Exporting and Ordering from Real PrintersContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

business card designprint designbleed and trimCMYK printspot UVfoil stampingdie-cut cardsprint-ready PDF