Artwork templates

Add your artwork to the design templates.

Stripe provides design templates (Adobe Illustrator) for cards, carriers, and envelopes. We recommend the following best practices to optimize the artwork for the printing process. If you’re not familiar with Illustrator templates, Stripe can help review and update the template to meet the criteria.

Upload card artwork in design template	General Card size: 85.6 mm x 53.98 mm. Artwork size: Minimum 87.6 mm x 55.98 mm, including a 1 mm bleed on all sides. Logos and text: Keep a 2 mm distance from the card edge to avoid important elements being cut off. Thin linework: Minimum line thickness accepted is .08 mm or .25 point (pt). Type and logos Minimum type size for San Serif Fonts: 4.5 pts. Minimum type size for Serif Fonts: 5 pts. Position logos and text at least 2 mm away from non-printed elements such as chips, holograms, signature panels, magnetic stripes, and so on. Create type and logos in a vector program for cleaner artwork and maintain sharpness and clarity. Provide the fonts used in your artwork to avoid font compatibility issues. Linked images Raster images (JPG, TIFF, PNG) work best in a minimum resolution of 350 ppi for good print quality. Include all linked images with your artwork. Linked images must be in CMYK, grayscale, multichannel, or duotone color mode (avoid RGB color mode).
Upload carrier artwork in design template	Bleeds: Include 1/8 (0.125") bleeds on all sides of the artwork. This ensures that there’s enough room for trimming during the printing process. File Resolution: For any artwork or photos, make sure they have a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Additionally, include all placed, linked, or embedded images with the final files. Color and Treatments: For better color matching, we recommend choosing PMS colors for reference. Specify the color mode directly in the Illustrator file or include an accompanying CMF (Color Matching File) document. The paper used for the cards can’t have thermographic, high gloss, coated, or varnish finishes. The carriers provided are suited for laser printing.
Additional best practices	Limit light colors: Exercise caution when using light colors for large areas, as there might be a more noticeable color shift from card to card. Limit dark gradients: Dark gradients in your artwork might lead to unexpected results, so we suggest limiting their use. Use black and gray: Avoid using CMYK builds to achieve black and gray colors. Instead, create the artwork using solid black, a percentage of black, or a PMS gray to make sure more accurate and consistent results. Avoid border designs: Due to slight movement during the cutting process, it’s challenging to guarantee perfectly even borders all the way around the card. Keep this in mind if your artwork includes a border design. Large solid gray areas: For large, solid gray areas, we recommend using specific PMS colors. Light Gray—PMS 428, Medium Gray—PMS 430, and Dark Gray—PMS 430, as they provide consistent results. Matte finish and solid color artwork: Cards that are mostly black or have solid color artwork with a matte finish might show surface scratches more easily compared to a gloss finish and varied artwork.

Upload card artwork in design template

General

Card size: 85.6 mm x 53.98 mm.
Artwork size: Minimum 87.6 mm x 55.98 mm, including a 1 mm bleed on all sides.
Logos and text: Keep a 2 mm distance from the card edge to avoid important elements being cut off.
Thin linework: Minimum line thickness accepted is .08 mm or .25 point (pt).

Type and logos

Minimum type size for San Serif Fonts: 4.5 pts.
Minimum type size for Serif Fonts: 5 pts.
Position logos and text at least 2 mm away from non-printed elements such as chips, holograms, signature panels, magnetic stripes, and so on.
Create type and logos in a vector program for cleaner artwork and maintain sharpness and clarity.
Provide the fonts used in your artwork to avoid font compatibility issues.

Linked images

Raster images (JPG, TIFF, PNG) work best in a minimum resolution of 350 ppi for good print quality.
Include all linked images with your artwork.
Linked images must be in CMYK, grayscale, multichannel, or duotone color mode (avoid RGB color mode).

Upload carrier artwork in design template

Bleeds: Include 1/8 (0.125") bleeds on all sides of the artwork. This ensures that there’s enough room for trimming during the printing process.
File Resolution: For any artwork or photos, make sure they have a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Additionally, include all placed, linked, or embedded images with the final files.
Color and Treatments: For better color matching, we recommend choosing PMS colors for reference. Specify the color mode directly in the Illustrator file or include an accompanying CMF (Color Matching File) document. The paper used for the cards can’t have thermographic, high gloss, coated, or varnish finishes. The carriers provided are suited for laser printing.

Additional best practices

Limit light colors: Exercise caution when using light colors for large areas, as there might be a more noticeable color shift from card to card.
Limit dark gradients: Dark gradients in your artwork might lead to unexpected results, so we suggest limiting their use.
Use black and gray: Avoid using CMYK builds to achieve black and gray colors. Instead, create the artwork using solid black, a percentage of black, or a PMS gray to make sure more accurate and consistent results.
Avoid border designs: Due to slight movement during the cutting process, it’s challenging to guarantee perfectly even borders all the way around the card. Keep this in mind if your artwork includes a border design.
Large solid gray areas: For large, solid gray areas, we recommend using specific PMS colors. Light Gray—PMS 428, Medium Gray—PMS 430, and Dark Gray—PMS 430, as they provide consistent results.
Matte finish and solid color artwork: Cards that are mostly black or have solid color artwork with a matte finish might show surface scratches more easily compared to a gloss finish and varied artwork.