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A2 Card Templates (4.25x5.5)

A2 is 4.25 × 5.5 inches: the thank-you card, the RSVP card, the note card, the folded greeting card. 3 templates at that size, at 300 DPI with 0.125 inch of bleed — and it is exactly a quarter of a letter sheet, so four fit a page with no waste.

A2 card templates (3)

Black and White Minimalist 4.25×5.5 A2 Folded Sympathy Note Card4.25 × 5.5 in2 pagesA2 folded note — 4.25 × 5.5 in finished, two pages. Quiet by design: one rule, one line of type, and the rest left blank for the handwriting that is the actual message.

Blush and Oat Elegant 4.25×5.5 A2 Folded Wedding Thank You Note4.25 × 5.5 in2 pagesA2 folded note — 4.25 × 5.5 in finished, two pages: the cover and the inside right. Printed on 8.5 × 5.5 in and folded, which is the standard note-card fold every envelope maker sizes to.

Coral and Navy Playful 4.25×5.5 A2 Folded Birthday Greeting Card4.25 × 5.5 in2 pagesA2 folded greeting card — 4.25 × 5.5 in finished, two pages. Confetti drawn as shapes, so the cover recolors in one pass and the inside stays blank for a real message.

A2 means 4.25 × 5.5 inches, and it is not ISO A2

This catches people out constantly and it is worth being blunt about.

In the US stationery trade, "A2" is a card and envelope size: 4.25 × 5.5 inches. In the ISO paper system, A2 is a sheet 420 × 594 millimeters — roughly 16.5 × 23.4 inches, a poster. The two have nothing to do with each other beyond the name.

If you are buying envelopes in a US store and the packet says A2, it means 4.375 × 5.75 inches and it fits a 4.25 × 5.5 card. If you are ordering paper from a European supplier and the spec says A2, you are getting something the size of a small poster. The word is the same; nothing else is.

Four to a sheet, which is the whole economic argument

4.25 × 5.5 is precisely half of 8.5 by half of 11. A letter sheet divides into four A2 cards with nothing left over, and that is why this size is cheap in every direction: cheap to print at home, cheap at a shop, cheap to guillotine, and no offcut.

Practically, for a home print run:

• Lay four cards on an 8.5 × 11 document and print without bleed, then cut on the two center lines. Two cuts per sheet, both straight across, both easy to get square.
• If you want bleed, you need gutters between the cards and a trimmer accurate enough to land inside an eighth of an inch — otherwise the bleed works against you rather than for you.
• Feed heavy stock one sheet at a time and let each dry before stacking. Inkjet on coated card offsets onto the back of the next sheet for several minutes.

The folded card is 8.5 × 5.5 flat

A folded A2 note card — the standard thank-you shape — is an 8.5 × 5.5 inch flat sheet scored down the middle, folding to 4.25 × 5.5. That is a letter sheet turned landscape and folded once, which is again why the size is everywhere.

Design it flat at 8.5 × 5.5 with the front on the right-hand half. Remember that the inside is two panels, that the back panel usually carries very little, and that anything crossing the fold gets a crease through it.

Ask for a score on anything above about 80 lb cover. Card that weight cracks white along the fold if it is folded cold, and the crack is the first thing anyone notices.

Questions

What size is an A2 card?

4.25 × 5.5 inches — the standard US note card, thank-you and RSVP size. It is not ISO A2 paper, which is a poster-sized sheet; the names collide and the sizes are unrelated.

What envelope fits an A2 card?

An A2 envelope, 4.375 × 5.75 inches. That is the packet you will find in a US stationery aisle labeled A2, and it is stocked in more colors and finishes than almost any other size.

How many A2 cards fit on a letter sheet?

Exactly four, with no waste — 4.25 × 5.5 is precisely a quarter of 8.5 × 11. Two straight cuts per sheet. That is the main reason to choose this size for a home print run.

How do I make a folded A2 card?

Design it flat at 8.5 × 5.5 inches with the front on the right-hand half, and score the middle before folding. Anything above about 80 lb cover will crack along the fold if it is not scored first.

Does an A2 card need bleed?

0.125 inch on each side if color reaches the edge. For a home run printed four-up, it is usually easier to skip the bleed and keep a white margin — bleed only helps if you can cut accurately enough to land inside it.

What is an A2 card used for?

Thank-you notes, RSVP cards, enclosure cards, gift-tag notes and folded greeting cards. It is the default small card in US stationery, which is why the envelopes are everywhere and cost almost nothing.

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