Square Greeting Cards Are “In”

Wow! It seems like a real run on square cards lately. We’re seeing all sorts of interesting artwork coming from all over the globe that lends itself to printing on square cards.

You can print artwork on square cards that trim to 5.25”. Each custom printed square card ships with a 5.5” envelope. Clear, protective packaging is available in a variety of closure styles. Cards can be packaged individually in a snug-fitting clear plastic sleeve, or in sets in a larger sleeve, or a clear plastic greeting card box. Boxes ship with a gold seal, or you can dress up your gift card set with an elastic stretch loop, available for purchase in a variety of colors.

Before preparing your artwork for printing, decide if you want your card to have a white border, or if the image will bleed (print all the way to the trim). If you want the card to have a white border, make sure your artwork is square. If it is rectangular, the horizontal and vertical borders will be uneven.

Although your artwork and card are square, the card still has a horizontal or vertical orientation, and its orientation is what determines the placement of the artwork in relationship to the fold. A greeting card that has a fold at the top of the card has a horizontal orientation and opens in an upward direction. If your image has a vertical orientation, the card has its fold on the left.

Take into consideration that the specifications listed above reflect a standard set up for printing greeting cards in America. Other countries may have different standards and cards may read in different directions.

If you want your image to bleed, it must extend 1/8-inch beyond the trim on the three sides without the fold. The additional image area is necessary to insure that no white edge shows on your card. Make sure that your signature and important image data are far enough from the edges so that they won’t be trimmed away.

This is a reduced view of the 5.25-inch square greeting card template. Click on the image to view and download a full size 72 dpi .jpg template that you can use to create the square greeting card.