Free tool

Print template maker

The size to set your document to, and a guide to design on: bleed, trim, safe area and folds, for business cards, flyers, posters, folded brochures, labels and tags, round or rectangular. Download it as a PDF, or a PNG for Canva.

Free, no sign-upRuns in your browser

Template maker

Runs in your browser. Nothing to install.

How it works

SizeWhat you’re printingShapeUnitOrientation

Folds and sidesFoldSides

MarginsBleedSafe areaIn the unit above. 0.125 in (1/8 in) is the US standard; 3 mm elsewhere. Use your printer’s numbers if they give you some.

What’s on the template

Bleed, in pink: the extra around the edge that gets cut off. Backgrounds and photos that touch the edge run all the way out to here, so no white sliver shows after trimming.
Trim, the solid line: the finished size, where the guillotine cuts.
Safe area, the blue dashes: keep text, logos and phone numbers inside it.
Folds, the green dashes: with each panel named, so the front cover ends up on the front. Panels that fold in are made narrower so the piece closes flat.

The PDF is vector, with the guide on a layer of its own and the trim and bleed set in the file, and has no fonts in it. The PNG is for apps that can’t place a PDF. Already designed it? Check it with the print-ready file checker, or add bleed to a PDF that has none.

Just need a standard size? The free print templates are ready to download with no account: business cards, flyers, brochures and labels, round and rectangular.

Not sure which size you need? The print size guides list the standard sizes for business cards, flyers, postcards, rack cards, posters, brochures and menus, each with a link that opens this maker at that size.

Questions

What size should my print file be?

The finished size plus bleed on every side. With the usual 0.125 inch bleed, a 3.5 × 2 inch business card is set up at 3.75 × 2.25 inches and a letter flyer at 8.75 × 11.25 inches. With 3 mm bleed, an A4 page is set up at 216 × 303 mm.

What is the safe area?

A margin inside the trim, usually 0.125 inch or 3 mm, where nothing important should sit. The cut can drift slightly from sheet to sheet, so text and logos inside the safe area never get trimmed or sit awkwardly close to the edge. On folded pieces it applies at every fold too.

Why is one panel of a tri-fold brochure narrower?

The panel that folds inside has to be slightly narrower, by about 1/16 inch or 3 mm, or it buckles against the fold and the brochure won’t close flat. The template builds that in: on a letter tri-fold, the inside flap is 3.625 inches and the other two panels are 3.6875 inches.

How do I use the template in Canva?

Download the PNG, upload it, and place it over your design at the full page size, including the bleed, so you can see where the trim, safe area and folds fall. Delete it before you download your print PDF. Our guide to exporting a print-ready PDF from Canva covers the export.

How do I use it in Illustrator, InDesign or Affinity?

Set your document to the size the tool gives you with bleed, or to the finished size with the bleed set in the document settings. Then place the PDF on its own locked layer as a guide. The PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at any zoom. Delete or hide that layer before you export.

Does my printer use these numbers?

Most do: 0.125 inch bleed is the US standard and 3 mm is the standard in most other countries. Some printers ask for more bleed, or a wider safe area, especially for large formats and booklets. If your printer gives you a template or a spec sheet, use their numbers in the margins boxes.

Do I need an account?

To download, yes: a free one, with Google or an email link and no password. The preview and the numbers work without it. Your dashboard keeps every template you download, so you can get it again, open it here with the same settings, or ask us about it.

Put the template maker on your site

Run a print shop or sell packaging? Add it to your own site, free and with no sign-up: it gives your customers the right document size and a bleed and safe area guide before they design. It runs in your customer’s browser, so their files aren’t sent to us or anyone else, and there’s no account, tracking or chat inside it. A small “by Silentt Design” line stays under it.

Paste this where it should appear:

<script async src="https://silenttdesign.com/embed/template/embed.js" data-size="bc"></script>
<p><a href="https://silenttdesign.com/tools/print-template/">Print template maker</a> by Silentt Design</p>

data-size picks the size it opens at: bc (business card), pc (postcard), letter, tri (tri-fold brochure), lr2 (2 in round label), candletin, or any size in the menu above. Leave it out to start at a business card. Customers can still change everything.

Printer messages this helps with

“The file is the wrong size”: The printer needs the file at the exact finished size (the trim size) plus bleed, and in the same proportions as the product.
“The text is too close to the edge”: Anything important (text, logos, phone numbers) needs to sit at least 0.125 in (3 mm) inside the trimmed edge, an area called the safe zone or safe area.
“There’s no bleed”: Bleed is extra artwork that runs past the edge of the page, usually 0.125 in (3 mm) on every side, so nothing white shows when the printer trims the sheet.
“My design doesn’t fit MOO’s template”: MOO checks an uploaded design against three sizes: the bleed area the background must fill, the trim where the card is cut, and the safe area that text and logos must stay inside.
“The image is the wrong shape and too small for this product”: AI tools make images at their own pixel sizes and shapes, not at the size of your poster, shirt or sticker.

Rather have it done? Business cards & stationery, Flyers, menus & brochures or Catalogs, booklets & lookbooks, at a fixed price.

More free tools

EAN, UPC, Code 128, QRBarcode generator: UPC, EAN, QRMake a UPC, EAN-13 or QR code, free PackagingBox dieline generatorMake a box dieline, free Books, KDP paperbackBook cover size calculatorWork out a book cover and spine size, free

Or the rest: Print-ready PDF checker, DPI and print size calculator, Add bleed to a PDF, Seamless pattern checker, RGB and HEX to CMYK converter, Paper weight converter: GSM to lb, UPC and EAN check digit calculator, Label size calculator, and all of them on one page.

Rather we designed it?

Send your text, logo and photos. A print-ready design comes back on the right template, usually within 48 hours, at a fixed price.

Ask a designer See prices