Business Cards: Finding a Professional Printer

Posted on August 26th, 2010 in Small Business | No Comments »

A few weeks ago, we gave a few tips on how to design your business cards. Having a well made business card is one of the best investments for the money you can ever make.  That card costing pennies to make, could lead to that big sales deal worth thousands of dollars.  You may be tempted to make your own business cards using whatever software came with your printer, but stay away from that junk.  It’s too easy to tell the difference between a professionally made card and one made on software designed for your grandmother to use and printed out on a printer thats cheaper than the ink used to print it.  Professional printers can be found locally and online, and designers can be found right here at OrangeSlyce!  We’ll go over a few options when it comes to printers.

Finding a local printer
One of the benefits of using a local printer is you can pick them up the day they’re ready.  If you’re on an urgent deadline like a networking event or convention, a local printer can often get your cards finished much faster than an online shop.  You can also feel the paper they are going to use before they print.  Many times they will also have a portfolio on file of either previous print jobs, or samples.  Look through them carefully.  You’re going to be trusting the shop with your company’s brand and identity.  Check to see if they have satisfaction guarantees and shop around for pricing.  You might find Kinko’s will charge less but will have lower quality.  A smaller print shop might charge more but the quality is exceptional.  Check online ratings sites like Rate it all! or Yelp for reviews.

Online printers and deals
If you’re not on a time budget, there are deals to be found online.  Here are just a few I found when searching online.

123print.com – Comes with an easy way to upload your design as well as an online app for creating your own.  They all offer thousands of designs to choose from if you aren’t interested in making your own.  Packages start as cheap as $3.95 for 30 cards and you can get 5000 cards for just under $100.  Be sure to check out their price chart.

Overnight Prints – By offering prints overnight, this aptly named company can be a solution to someone who needs cards quick, but can’t get to a local printer.  Prices start at $1.98 for 25 cards with regular ground shipping, with priority shipping available.  Use the promo code 20BCARDS to get 20% off.

Vistaprint – For those on a budget, Vistaprint offers cards at the right price – free!  Though you still pay for shipping, have a limited selection of designs, and they slap the Vistaprint logo on the back, it’s a great option for those on a budget.  They also have premium cards which allow you to upload your design.  When you’re done ordering your business cards, check out the other products they offer like stamps, pens, checks, car door magnets, post cards, brochures, flyers and many more.

Designing Your Business Card

Posted on July 27th, 2010 in Small Business | 3 Comments »

Nothing says you mean business like Helvetica on a three and a half by two inch, 100 lb. card stock.  Unless of course your business card was drawn with junk home printer software, MS Paint or crayon.  You’ll no doubt be able to find a local printer to professionally create your design, but they need your help before sending them final copy.  Using the right application to make your card and saving it in the right size and format will save you the embarrassment of having a lousy print job.

Vectors Are Your Friend

You’re going to want to get access to decent vector image editing software.  You can go all out and get Adobe Illustrator, or use a free solution like Aviary’s Raven.  The key is that it’s a vector editor and not a raster editor.  Wikipedia has a great article on vector graphics.  Check out the difference between raster and vector images below.

Raster vs Vector

See the difference?  You’re going to want to send files that, when resized, keep their shape and don’t pixelate.

Let It Bleed

You’re going to want to make your design a little bigger than an actual business card.  This extra space is called bleed.  Most printers require this so that when they cut the card to size, there are no distracting white borders.  As an example, here are the guidelines that optimalprint.com uses:

Bleed Layout

For those not metrically inclined, you’re going to want about 1/8 of an inch around all sides for a 3.5 x 2 inch card.

Saving Your Design

Check with your printer to see which file formats they prefer.  Nearly all professionals will accept PDF files.  PDF files are great because they will save the vector graphics of your design in case any resizing needs to be done.  If your printer won’t accept PDF, reconsider using them – they are likely not seasoned professionals and might botch the job.

Once you’ve got your final design in place, send it off to the printer.  You’ll soon be basking in custom, professionally made, business card glory.