Printing Business Cards

Printing business cards involves 2 steps. First, the design and then the actual print. The design of business cards can be done by the printer, an external graphic designer or... you. If you decide to design the card yourself then you can save a decent cash. Today printer and graphic designer can charge $80-$100 an hour. Even, if it takes only 30 minutes to design the card, you still pay an hourly rate.

There are many computer programs available to create a digital format of your business card. Some cost a substantial amount of money (Photoshop) others are free (Open Office Word processor). Once, you have your design made to the printer's specifications you need to save it into the required format. Most printing businesses use PDF, others maybe more flexible. Next, is the business card printing process. Here, do not attempt to do it on your DeskJet. If you need to professionally impress then use the actual business card printing service.

Printing Business Cards Guide

There is always a questions:

• How many cards should I order?
• How much should I spend on business card printing?
• Should I print high quality business cards?

If you intend to order a business card print for 100 items then you are probably making a wise decision. For starters, 100 business cards will cost only twice as much as printing the minimum of 25. Secondly, 100 business cards will not easily fill-in all your contacts (unless you are celebrity like Mel Gibson or Leonardo DeCaprio). Thirdly, 100 business cards will not cost so much that you cannot order a new set. The last point is important because you may need to re-brand your business, change the telephone number or the address.

Now, let's take a look at the design... Business cards should not be so small that an elderly customer cannot make any sense of it. At the same time the big business cards are simply impractical. Generally, 87cm by 45cm or 90cm by 52cm are sufficient. The modern trend, same as with glasses is the smaller size (87cm by 45cm). Avoid high quality cards if your business does not require this additional expense.

If you are a graphic designer then the extra cost is probably justified. For tradesmen and most other professionals a simple, clearly readable business card is sufficient. Generally, the price for 3 or more colours in the business card print is substantially higher than for a simple 2 colour option. Also, it does not matter if the business card printing is in a gloss finish or you print business cards in matte. Both conventions are acceptable.

The Price of Printing Business Cards

Most business card printing companies insists on 25 or more items. The more expensive, high quality finish products may allow for smaller quantities. A business card print for 25 items costs around $10 (for the basic quality product). 50 business cards of the same basic standard will sell for $16. 100 business cards are around $22 mark. You will probably pay about $45 to print business cards in the quantity of 500.

Printing Business Cards - Freebies

There are a lot of business card printing companies which offer freebies. Some, will provide a free stationary; others will add 10 or 20 extra business cards. However, more and more companies which print business card offer entire sets absolutely free. Yes, you order your business cards and they make them free for your personal use. Too good to be true? Unfortunately, yes!

Free business cards need postage and handling (you cannot collect them directly from the printer). Thus, most of the cost involved is included in the price of sending. What's more, the reverse side of the free business cards is not blank. The front shows your details but the back shows the details of the sender.

Printing Business Cards - Where and Who?

Most local printers provide business card printing services. You may find that some of these businesses may charge a substantially higher rate than what we described in the previous sections. This can be attributed to the remote locations where delivery and the customer base is more problematic. The lower competition will also boost the price to print business cards.

There are numerous businesses which offer the business card printing service. For low volumes (100 or less) you can knock to your local printer. For higher volumes you should check bigger guys like: We Print It, Discount Print, Big Print and others. Alternatively, you can order the set online.