Make jewelry cards: holes, punching, batches

Display cards are simple rectangles, so almost all the care goes into hole placement and clean cutting. A batch of nine or more per sheet goes quickly once the first one is right.

Planning the holes

• Hold a pair of earrings against a scrap card and decide how far apart they should hang; that is the spacing s, centre to centre.
• Choose the height y so the earrings hang clear of the bottom edge and any text. Dangly earrings need more space below the holes than studs.
• Match the hole diameter d to your punch and to the post or hook. A 2 mm hole suits most posts; hooks may need less.
• If cards will hang on a hook or peg, add the hanger hole and measure your hook. The tool keeps every hole 3 mm from edges and other holes and refuses layouts that break that rule.

Printing a batch

The standard example: 50 × 70 mm card with 2 mm holes 24 mm apart, 22 mm from the top.

Set the quantity to the number of cards you need. On A4 portrait with a 10 mm margin, nine 50 × 70 mm cards fit per sheet with 5 mm between them, so twenty cards take three sheets (9, 9 and 2). Print at 100% and check the footer ruler as described in the printing guide.

Cutting

1. Cut the long lines first. With a guillotine or a knife and steel rule, cut the full-height lines that separate columns, then the lines that separate rows. The 5 mm gaps mean each edge is cut once.
2. Trim to the outline. Each card has its own solid outline; trim each piece to its lines rather than relying on the gap edges.
3. Keep offcuts for test punches.

Punching

The PDF marks each hole with a small cross at its centre. Line up the punch on the cross:

• A screw punch or a hand-held hole punch of the same diameter gives the cleanest hole and works for a batch.
• An awl or large needle works for 1–2 mm holes; place the card on a cork or foam pad and push through from the printed side.
• If you cut holes by hand, switch on Show hole outlines in the tool so the PDF also prints the circles.

In the cut-and-score SVG the holes are true circles in the CUT group, so a cutting machine cuts them with the outline.

Attaching the jewelry

Push posts through the holes from the front and fit the backs behind the card; hang hooks through the holes with the card tilted slightly. If the holes feel tight, increase the diameter by half a millimetre in the tool rather than forcing posts through. Check that a hanger hole fits your actual hook or peg before printing many cards; the tool does not promise compatibility with any particular display.

Text on cards

Add a brand or name line and an optional second line in the tool. They are printed in black, centred near the bottom of the card, ending 4 mm above the bottom edge and clear of the holes. If the text would run into a hole or past the safe edge, the tool tells you to shorten it instead of shrinking it.