Specifications

26 Elements of Card Design
Backgrounds
Usethefollowingsuggestionstohelpyouselectabackgroundforaprofessional‐
lookingcard.Forbestresults,makesurethebackgrounddesigndoesnot
emphasizethelocationofcardfeatures,suchasembeddedelectronics.
• Considerusingawhitebackgroundforthecardtoachieveconsistent
professionalresults.
• Considerusingsmallerblocksofcolor,patternedareas,orgradientsto
highlightprintedcardfeaturessuchasaname,photo,orlogo.
• Avoidusingasolid‐colorbackgroundorhalftoneoveralargeareaofthecard.
Itcanshowflawsonthecard(suchasanunevensurface)orthelocationof
cardfeatures(suchasasmartcardchip).
• Avoidhalftones,especiallygray,whichcanhighlightthelocationofcard
featuresandflaws.
Image Placement
Usethefollowingsuggestionstohelpyoulocate
importantimages,suchasaphoto, logo,orbarcode.
Whenplacingimages,avoidunevenareasandareas
ofhighwear,whichcanresultininconsistentprint
quality.
• Donotplaceanimportantimageonthefrontof
thecardinthesameareaasamagneticstripeor
othermachine‐readablefeature.Frequentuseofacar dinareadercanwear
awaytheimageontheoppositesideofthecard.
• Donotplaceanimportantimagedirectlyontheothersideofasignature
panel.Residuefromthepanelcancauseprintingproblemsonanadjacent
card.Placetheimageabove,below,ortothesideofthepanel.
• Donotplaceanimportantimagedirectlyontheothersideofasmartcard
chip.Thecardmightnotbeasflatinthatarea,andprintingvoidscanoccur.