ID card size: CR80 and the others

The standard CR80 size

Almost every plastic ID card is CR80, defined by the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard. In numbers that is 85.6 by 54 mm, which is 8.56 by 5.4 cm, or about 3.375 by 2.125 inches. It is the same footprint as a credit card and a driving licence, which is why CR80 fits standard lanyard holders, wallet slots and PVC card printers without any fuss.

If a supplier quotes CR79 or CR100, those are simply slightly smaller or larger variants for special cases. For day-to-day staff, student and membership cards, CR80 is the size you want, and it is the default this generator opens on.

CR80 in pixels at 300 DPI

Print resolution decides the pixel count, and card printing is done at 300 DPI. At that resolution a CR80 card is about 1011 by 638 pixels for the visible area, and most bureaus ask for a small bleed beyond the cut line, which brings a print-ready file closer to 1039 by 666 pixels. This tool renders at 300 DPI at the true millimetre size, so you do not have to work the pixels out yourself.

A common mistake is to design a card at screen size, around 343 by 216 pixels at 96 DPI, then send that to a printer, where it comes out soft and pixelated. Exporting at the print size is the difference between a crisp card and a blurry one. If you need to hit an exact pixel target for a specific system, resize the image in pixels after you download.

Portrait, badge and other sizes

Cards worn on a lanyard are often portrait rather than landscape, and event badges are larger so the name can be read across a room. This generator carries the full set: CR79, CR90 and CR100, the ISO ID-1, ID-2 and ID-3 sizes, business-card formats, and a range of portrait badge and lanyard sizes. Orientation is built into each size, so picking a portrait size rotates the layout for you.