Z-CARD® Design Guidelines

Please make sure your Z-CARD®s design meets the following specifications before sending for production.

Begin your design with the correct Z-CARD®s electronic template for inner sheets and outer cards. Please do not alter the template or it will have to be corrected, which will affect production time and cost.

Note: There are separate templates for outer cards and folded inner sheets

Design inner sheets and outer cards on their own templates.

Be sure to follow the template guidelines. 1/8″ safety zone is required. All live art must exist at least 1/8″ within crop marks. All bleeds must extend past the crop marks by at least 1/8″ to allow for continuity of design. There is a 3/8″ safety zone around the outer cards. Copy and image safety zones are for manufacturing tolerances.

Either delete all magenta lines, frames, measurements, and instructions from the template, or put them on a hidden layer before submitting your art to us. Leave the crop and fold marks in place.

Be sure to include the supplied Z-CARD®s patent and trademark box. The patent box must appear anywhere within the layout, exactly as it is provided in the template folder.

With your completed files, please include a print-out (if mailing a disc) or a PDF (if posting to our FTP), indicating how you would like your outer cards positioned.

Minimum type size:
– Minimum point size for 1 color type, no background: 4 point
– Tint Matched type for more than 1 color, no background: 7 point
– Minimum point size for type reversed out of 1 color: 6 point
– Minimum point size for type reversed out of more than 1 color: 8 point

Acceptable files:
Art must be formatted for Mac and created in either QuarkXpress, InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop. Please be sure to include all fonts and linked images. Do not forget to include fonts that may be embedded in graphics as well. If your copy is in a foregn language, please outline all of the text before sending for production.

Z-CARD®s FTP instructions:
– Please contact your salesperson for instructions on uploading your files to the Z-CARD®s FTP site.

If you have design, software, or ftp related questions, feel free to contact the Z-CARD®s Designer, Jayme: jkilsby@zcardna.com/ 212-797-3450 ext 310

Z-CARD® Pre Press Checklists

Inner Sheets

Name of file
Software used
Format (Specify Z-Card, K-Card, or C-Card, the number of panels)
Size (Credit Card, Midsize, Jumbo, etc.)
Color Separation (check all that apply): Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
Spot color(s) used, if any
Fonts used
Linked images
Any special instructions

Download Pre-press checklists (.pdf)
Outer Cards

Name of file
Software used
Size (Credit Card, Midsize, Jumbo, etc.)
Color Separation (check all that apply): Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
Spot color(s) used, if any
Fonts used
Linked images
Any special instructions