What causes white edges on printed cards?

White edges usually mean the ink did not reach the very edge of the card, which comes down to bleed and cutting.

• Missing bleed: if artwork ends exactly at the trim line, any slight cutting shift leaves a thin unprinted sliver. Extend the background past the trim edge, typically by 1/8 inch of bleed.
• Cutting drift: stacked cutting can move slightly, exposing the paper edge when there is no bleed to absorb it.
• White paper core: on cards with a white base stock, a shifted cut shows the pale edge more than on colored or edge-painted stock.
• The fix: add full bleed, keep key elements inside the safe zone, and run the background off all four sides.