Standard US Business Card Template?

[CrashX]

I'm not a designer - which is why templates are SO incredibly awesome in Affinity Designer. 

And, when there is no template - I'm basically screwed. I just wish to open the proper template, with the guides all set up for the bleed and whatnot - then live happily ever after in my ignorance?

Where I've obviously screwed up is using Affinity's included template for business cards. Apparently every country has their own dimensions and margins and bleeds for business cards.

So, being an idiot, I have the wrong country's template. I need the US template.

I tried setting it up for myself - using the 3/16" margin and 1/8" bleed for the 3.5 x 2 US Business Card. But I then attempted to export that, and it apparently isn't obeying the same rules as the template I was using - it's cutting off the parts I can actually see - as opposed to what I imagine to be the "bleed box" - the part covered in black that Affinity snaps to as the outer "bleed" area?

There is likely just no way I'm going to understand anything anyone attempts to explain to me, as to creating the proper template myself? 

So I was just very much hoping that one of the gurus here or at Affinity - where the world apparently only exists in millimeters, not the backwards US inches - 

That someone MIGHT be kind enough to provide a standard US Business Card template? That annoying country over where India was supposed to be? 

Again, I am SO GRATEFUL for the templates that do exist - I understand them and I can work with them. But they're alway in millimeters, and... again with the United States and our stupid, hateful backwards inches? 

I understand that I should likely take a design course, or an introduction to Affinity Designer tools course? 

Just REALLY hoping that - instead - someone can point me to where the US Business Card template already exists - or, if one doesn't exist, possibly create one that behaves in the same manner as the one provided by Affinity - where the outer edges are covered in black, but Affinity knows where those boundaries are and properly snaps to them - and then there's the part I can see, where I know there's the area near the edge that might not print, depending on the "cut" or whatever at the print shop? 

Whatever that thing might be? I would be SO VERY GRATEFUL to have that? Because I can design within it, and it makes sense to me? 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, CrashX said:

Where I've obviously screwed up is using Affinity's included template for business cards. Apparently every country has their own dimensions and margins and bleeds for business cards.

I'm perhaps confused, but as far as I know Serif does not provide a business card template for any iyf the Affinity applications. Can you tell us its name and where you got it?

In any case, when I have made business cards I just went to the Avery website, searched for business cards, selected one, and downloaded its template in PDF format, or PSD, or Docx.

[GaryLearnTech]

28 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

as far as I know Serif does not provide a business card template for any iyf the Affinity applications

Perhaps @CrashX was referring to the New Document preset, simply called "Business Card"?  It appears near the end of both the Print and the Press Ready groups so, depending on how large you've set the New Documents window, you may have to scroll a bit to see it.

[v_kyr]

• US Business Card Tutorial (Affinity forum)
• Create a Reusable Business Card Template in Affinity Designer + Download Affinity Designer template
• Free Affinity Designer Business Card Templates <---***
• RoosterKids Business Card - MPL 12-07-2017.afphoto <-- ***
• How to Create a Business Card in Affinity Designer (Youtube video)
• Affinity Designer Tutorial - How to create a Business Card (Youtube video)
• How To Design A Business Card in Affinity Publisher | Tutorial
• ...
• affinity us business card (Google search)
• ... and so on ...

[CrashX]

I was definitely just exploring, and whatever Affinity provided - I would have obviously used. I wasn't even aware of the various countries daring to differ, much less that the US wouldn't be the default

But whatever it is provides a window of what might actually be printed, surrounded by black - but with invisible guides that Affinity snaps to for the "bleed". For example - you can download a photo from Unsplash, toss it in there, then resize that photo to snap to those guides - and you're assured that the "bleed" is then covered? Part of it's hidden by the black - but it's obviously still there - 'cuz you see it when you export the version with the bleed. 

And you're then left with a window, where you can design your card - with the understanding that anything close to the edge is possible to get lost in the cutting process. I sadly do not know what that area is called, but it's odd that Affinity doesn't have a dotted line or whatever representing that "unsafe" area? 

Again, I've tried creating the "template" myself - entering all of the information correctly - 3.5 x 2, 1/8" bleed, 3/16" margin. The guy at the print shop was even kind enough to provide me an .ai template. 

BUT - it doesn't obey whichever possibly imaginary rules I was following with the Affinity template? When I export with no bleed, it just cuts into the window of what I can see? And I have no idea why it's doing that - so no clue how to fix it?  

I liked the bit with the black part that was no man's bleed land - I'd have preferred the hint with a dashed line but there was of course none to indicate possibly unsafe areas? But I could at least guesstimate - designing safely within the window, being careful not to get too close to the edges. 

Now? I have no clue what it's doing. It just exports whatever it apparently wishes to export. Or possibly the "margin" things are cutting into it - I have no idea? 

Anyhow - I click to export and I just get a cut off mess that doesn't seem to have any bearing on what I can see on the screen. And that's obviously a bummer. 

Guessing I'm just doing something VERY wrong - because, formerly with the built-in template, it certainly seemed LOGICAL. Now... I have no clue what it's doing or why? So... LOGICAL - and then I apparently need 4 years of design school? I preferred the LOGICAL approach?

[CrashX]

1 hour ago, v_kyr said:

• US Business Card Tutorial (Affinity forum)
• Create a Reusable Business Card Template in Affinity Designer + Download Affinity Designer template
• Free Affinity Designer Business Card Templates <---***
• RoosterKids Business Card - MPL 12-07-2017.afphoto <-- ***
• How to Create a Business Card in Affinity Designer (Youtube video)
• Affinity Designer Tutorial - How to create a Business Card (Youtube video)
• How To Design A Business Card in Affinity Publisher | Tutorial
• ...
• affinity us business card (Google search)
• ... and so on ...

I appreciate the links. 

What I'm not understanding - likely I'm just missing something? 

Again, I set up the document - 3.5" x 2", 1/8" Bleed, 3/16" margin. I double-checked to make certain I'd entered the appropriate values. 

Possibly it's ONLY available with Serif supplied templates? But, in mine, the bleed area is visible. So, when I export with no bleed, part of the image I can see is of course cut off. 

But maybe, because i set it up myself, I forgot to tick one of the boxes? 

Basically, in my document, there is no indication of the 3.5" x 2" area. I even put a yellow border on the bleed area, and a red border on the margins. 

I preferred it how it was before? The viewable area is what will print, with the margins possibly being cut off - with the "bleed" area hidden, but Affinity "snaps" to it for proper placement of "background" images? 

I can't currently see - there are no guides as to the actual area - again, the 3.5" x 2" area has no bounding box or indication of any kind? 

With the bleed being hidden, that was kinda weird - BUT at least I knew the boundaries - now it's just all goofy? And, even if I create a rectangle to represent the 3.5" x 2" area - I don't think Affinity will naturally snap to it, like it does with its own templates and the bleed being "out" of my visible design area? 

So - am I just not clicking a correct box? Or does Serif only do whatever I expect it to do with templates created by Serif - and everything else is just tough luck? 

[v_kyr]

8 hours ago, CrashX said:

Possibly it's ONLY available with Serif supplied templates?

Not sure what, or which sort of templates you mean here, in ADe there is just one predefined B-Card size under templates, where as default nothing is setup as bleeds/margins?

[Lee D]

@CrashXIf you're still having an issue perhaps upload a sample document, then visually show what's happening to it.

This may give us a better idea as to what to advise.

[R C-R]

19 hours ago, CrashX said:

Again, I set up the document - 3.5" x 2", 1/8" Bleed, 3/16" margin. I double-checked to make certain I'd entered the appropriate values. 

Possibly it's ONLY available with Serif supplied templates? But, in mine, the bleed area is visible.

Do you have Show Bleed enabled in the View menu? If so, what happens if you disable that?

[CrashX]

On 9/8/2022 at 3:33 PM, R C-R said:

Do you have Show Bleed enabled in the View menu? If so, what happens if you disable that?

Thank you! Once I disabled "Show Bleed", it's back to what I expected. 

I'm just guessing that the default for new documents is to "Show Bleed" - and that's how I got completely thrown - whereas I'm guessing the included templates disable the bleed. 

But, if I switch that off and then save my own template - creating a new document with that template luckily preserves the option to not show the bleed, as with the builtin templates.

It does seem weird that - prior to pasting a graphic - the "Show Bleed" document had the bleed blacked out. Not loving that logic? 

My apologies for wasting everyone's time with that. Thanks again!

Edited September 9, 2022 by CrashX
Misplaced question mark

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, CrashX said:

But, if I switch that off and then save my own template - creating a new document with that template luckily preserves the option to not show the bleed, as with the builtin templates? 

If you are asking if your template preserves the show bleed setting, why not just try it for yourself?

[orangefizz]

FWIW: in my experience, business cards are typically arranged 8-up or 10-up on a single sheet, with crop marks for cutting by the printer. Essentially what you'd find in an Avery template—and most online printing places I know of use this setup.