If you want print-ready MTG proxies, your file settings matter more than your feelings. (Ask me how i know.) A proxy can have the coolest alt art in the world, but if the text is soft, the cut is off, or the border gets shaved, you’re going to notice every single time you draw it.
This guide covers the stuff that actually fixes that: DPI, bleed, safe margins, color settings, and the export mistakes that cause 90% of “why does this look bad?” moments.
Print-ready MTG proxies start with the right size
The first rule: don’t freestyle the canvas size and hope the printer figures it out.
Most MTG cards fall into the standard trading card family, and you’ll commonly see sizes listed as either:
- 63 × 88 mm (often used in card-print templates)
- 2.5 × 3.5 in (common shorthand in inches)
Those two are close, but not identical. It’s rounding and unit conversion. If you want a deeper breakdown (with the “why do these numbers differ?” explanation), Proxy Foundry already has a solid companion guide: MTG Card Size & Dimensions: The Numbers You Actually Need.
Here’s the practical takeaway: use the template your printer provides when possible. If you’re building your own file from scratch, pick one standard and stick to it consistently.
DPI and resolution: what 300 DPI actually means
“300 DPI” gets repeated like it’s a spell. But DPI only means something at final print size.
A quick way to think about it:
- DPI = pixels ÷ inches
- So a 750 × 1050 px image printed at 2.5 × 3.5 in is 300 DPI.
If you take a small image and just change the DPI number in export settings, you didn’t magically add detail. You just changed a label. The printer still has the same pixels to work with.
For crisp proxies, especially for rules text and mana symbols, aim for:
- 300 DPI at final size (minimum)
- Higher is fine if your workflow supports it, but 300 is the normal baseline for print.
And yes, print-ready MTG proxies live or die on text sharpness. If the type line looks fuzzy on your screen at 100% zoom, it won’t get better on paper.
Bleed and safe margins: the numbers you can copy
Bleed is extra art that extends past the cut line. Safe margin (safe zone) is the “keep important stuff inside here” area.
Why this exists: cards are cut in stacks. Cutting is accurate, but it’s not psychic. A tiny shift happens, and if your background ends exactly at the edge, you can get a weird white sliver or a lopsided border.
A very common, easy-to-remember setup is:
- Bleed: 1/8 inch (0.125″) on each side
- Safe margin: another 1/8 inch inside the trim on each side
At 300 DPI, 1/8 inch is roughly 38 pixels (you’ll also see it rounded a little depending on the template).
If you’re designing at 2.5 × 3.5 in (trim size), then:
- Trim size: 2.5 × 3.5 in
- With 1/8″ bleed on all sides: 2.75 × 3.75 in
- Pixel size at 300 DPI (with bleed): 825 × 1125 px
- Safe zone (trim minus 1/8″ each side): 2.25 × 3.25 in
- Safe zone pixels at 300 DPI: 675 × 975 px
Two important notes that save headaches:
- Borders are risky. If your design has a hard border frame, minor cut drift becomes obvious. Full-bleed designs hide this way better.
- Keep text and mana symbols comfortably inside the safe zone. Treat the outer edge as “background only.”
Color settings: RGB vs CMYK (and why your blacks look weird)
Printing uses ink, and ink behaves differently than a screen. That’s where the classic “my card is darker than expected” problem comes from.
Here’s the sane approach:
- If your print service accepts RGB, stay in a standard RGB space (usually sRGB) and let their workflow convert as needed.
- If your printer specifically requests CMYK, convert once, and preferably using the printer’s recommended profile.
What you don’t want to do is bounce between RGB and CMYK multiple times. That’s where colors get dull or muddy fast.
Also, watch your blacks:
- A black background that looks clean on-screen can turn into “burnt toast” in print if the shadows crush.
- If your proxies are mostly dark art, do a small test run before you print 400 of them. It’s boring, but it’s cheaper than regret.
Export settings: PDF vs PNG vs JPG (what to use and when)
There isn’t one perfect format. There’s just “best for the situation.”
PNG
- Great for single-card exports with crisp edges and text.
- Big files, but clean.
JPG
- Smaller files, but compression can chew up text and fine lines.
- If you use JPG, use the highest quality you can and avoid re-saving the same file repeatedly.
- Best when you’re exporting from layout tools (InDesign, Illustrator, Affinity) or delivering print-ready sheets.
- Can preserve vector text and shapes (which keeps type sharp).
- Also where settings like PDF/X presets matter.
If you’re exporting a PDF for professional printing, the modern “usually safe” baseline is:
- PDF/X-4 when supported
- Embed fonts (or convert text to outlines if your workflow requires it)
- Don’t downsample images below 300 PPI if quality matters
- Include bleed in the PDF export settings if your document has it
Some printers still ask for PDF/X-1a. That’s not automatically wrong, it’s just more restrictive (and often forces flattening and CMYK-only behavior). If a printer asks for it, follow their request.
The most common export mistakes (and how to catch them fast)
Most bad proxy prints come from a few repeat offenders:
Mistake 1: Designing at the trim line with no bleed
That’s how you get white edges or off-center borders.
Mistake 2: Text too close to the edge
Even if the art survives a slightly off cut, your rules text won’t.
Mistake 3: “72 DPI” sources
Screenshots, tiny scans, or low-res downloads printed at card size will look soft. Every time.
Mistake 4: Scaling during export or print
Settings like “fit to page” are the enemy. You want 100% size, with a file built to the right dimensions in the first place.
Mistake 5: Over-compressing
“Small file size” is not a badge of honor if your card text turns into soup.
Mistake 6: Flattening gone wrong
Transparency and effects can rasterize unpredictably if you flatten at low resolution or export with aggressive compression.
Mistake 7: Font substitution
If fonts aren’t embedded (or outlined), a print workflow can swap them. Suddenly your proxy looks “close enough,” but also cursed.
A quick preflight you can do in under a minute:
- Check pixel dimensions (does it match your intended size at 300 DPI?)
- Zoom to 100% and read the rules text (if it’s soft here, it’s soft forever)
- Confirm bleed exists (art extends past cut)
- Confirm safe zone spacing (nothing important near the edge)
- Export one card and test print it at actual size
And if you’d rather avoid the whole “am i exporting this correctly?” spiral, Proxy Foundry’s ordering workflow and guides can help you sanity-check your plan. This post is a good starting point for the broader picture: Where to Buy MTG Proxy Cards Online in the USA.
Conclusion
Getting print-ready MTG proxies isn’t complicated, but it is picky. If you nail the basics, your proxies look clean and shuffle like they belong in a real deck.
Keep it simple:
- Build to the right size
- Use 300 DPI at final size
- Add bleed, respect safe margins
- Export without crushing quality
- Test one before you print a stack
Do that, and you’ll stop having that moment where you open a shipment and immediately say, “well… that’s not what i meant.”