business cards

Business cards are not designed to appear exactly the same. Whenever possible, you must make sure that your card is distinctive and stands out among your competitors. Do not forget that your cards are meant to make a good and long-lasting relationship with your customers and clients. For this reason, your cards must always be attractive and entertaining to a certain extent. If creatively designed, you can truly attain a good customer base as well as sales leads.Making use of business card printing in Los Angeles to present a great image of your business seems wonderful. It can be, but only when you are careful to do the following:1) Card must be professionally printed. The quality of expert business card printing in Los Angeles is much better than any well meaning do-it-yourself card printing.2) Colors could be used to attract attention to your card. However, excessively vibrant colors or too many different colors will distract from the objective of your card. Colors are the best way in order to link your cards with your brand. Choose two colors that seem to be great with each other and then use them for all your marketing materials. Use them for your logo and/or put them in your card design.3) The way your card feels on hand will make a huge impact on the reputation of your own business. Pick a thicker paper for your card. For most of us, a thick, coated paper stock is the best choice.4) If you’re a specialty business, try out rubber, magnet, or even metal materials for card printing. Professional business card printing in Los Angeles offers other materials for use in card printing. This consists of plastics as well as magnetic cards; if the material communicates your own ideas or ideals, then using a plastic or magnetic card will be all for the better.5) Don’t get too outrageous in order for your business card to be noticeable. Keep in mind that the primary goal of your card is always to attract people. If your card is wild, then you’ll lose customers who are looking for a serious company with which to do business. Subtle changes such as rounded edges or unique textures are sufficient in order to make you memorable.6) Your logo links your business card with your business and therefore must be treated as the star. Do not choose a business card printing format that clashes with your logo. Additionally, make your logo very simple. Make a tastefully little logo that stands out mainly because of its great design.A classic design is actually the strategy to use with business card printing. Make your cards elegant and make them connect with your company brand and you can’t get it wrong. Business card printing, though it is pitted against technology, benefits greatly from it. Cards designs may be enhanced in order to satisfy your tastes and your intended styles by using the newest technologies. It can, especially be made over through custom printing.

Business cards are a crucial accessory for any business, and you and your employees should be giving them out whenever possible. Unfortunately, most are thrown away the same day they are received. What a waste! Make sure your cards are well-designed so they stay in pockets and out of the trash can.Before you get started designing, it’s important to take a few minutes to think about what business cards are for and what information should be included on them.What are business cards?They are small cards printed with information about a company or an individual. The primary functions of business cards are as quick introductions, memory aids and as a convenient way to share information.Business cards are often the first impression you give someone about your business. Anyone who picks up your business card is a potential customer or business partner and is a great way for them to get a feel for what you do.They are also handy reminders. How often have you struggled to remember someone’s name or job title? Having a physical reminder can prompt the memory of a meeting. Obviously, you never want your business to be forgotten by a potential client!Of course, you want people to be able to act on these memories. By printing names and contact information on your cards, you allow people to get in touch with you quickly and easily.What needs to be on my business cards?First and foremost, your business cards need to have your company’s name on them. Fit as much business information as possible on the card. In addition to the name, place a logo and slogan on the cards. This establishes a brand identity and also gives people an impression of what your business does and a hint at the corporate culture. If you are printing double-sided business cards, consider listing some of your services and products on the back.Make sure contact information is printed clearly on the card. Every card should be printed with an email address, website, phone number and physical address. It should also be printed with your own name and job title. It may seem more efficient to print generic cards for everyone in the company to share, but having an individual name to reference makes people much more likely to use the contact information on the card.What can I do to make my business card stand out?It may be tempting to print lots of information onto the tiny cards, but try to keep the graphics simple and legible. Finding a phone number buried in text is discouraging to potential customers and partners, and it detracts from one of the primary purposes of the cards: convenience.Remove non-essential information if you have to, or rearrange the layout to fit everything on cleanly. Whatever you do, do not reduce the font to make things fit. Any card that needs a magnifying glass to be read will certainly be thrown away.Most business card layouts have the business name and logo on the top (either centred or to the left) of the card and the contact information in the lower right. This is such a common format that simply reorganising the layout can catch someone’s eye. Just remember that while it’s great to play with the layout, keep the design consistent. Limit fonts, sizes and colours to give the cards a unified look.Consider different shapes and cut-outs to make your business cards stand out. If you work in the film industry, why not design it to look like a movie ticket? Be creative! Clever gimmicks like that will definitely make people stop and think about your business. And it may seem like a silly reason to hold on to a business card, but people are actually less likely to throw away a card they think is funny or visually interesting.What now?Now that you’ve got your cards designed, you need to get them printed. Even if you have access to a laser printer, you’re better off having them printed professionally. Professional printing looks polished and reflects a better image of your business. The business card is the first impression you give, and you don’t want to come off as the kind of company that cuts corners.

Regardless of what industry you’re in, business cards are one of the most cost-effective and popular tools for sharing your business information with clients and prospects. With all of the user-friendly graphic design software available in today’s marketplace, it’s easy to create attractive and professional-looking cards in your own office using a desktop printer. But once you’ve printed out your custom cards, how do you cut them down to the appropriate size? In this article, we take a closer look at personal business card slitters, which accurately and efficiently cut letter-sized paper into standard 2″ x 3-1/2″ cards with minimal effort.The BasicsPersonal business card cutters are available with either manual or electric operation, with either standard or full bleed cutting capabilities. Standard card slitters are used to cut cards that have a blank border around the outer edge of the design, which are designed using a 12-up template (12 cards per sheet). Full bleed cutters are designed to cut cards that have images or text that run to the edge of the card, created using a 10-up template (10 cards per sheet). The resulting cards are borderless, which makes the full bleed cutters an ideal choice for graphics- or photography-based designs. While full bleed cutters can cut standard cards (created using a 10-up template), standard cutters are not able to cut cards with full bleed designs.Whether using a manual or electric model, personal card cutters generally perform a two-step process in order to trim the business cards down to size. On the first pass through the machine, the pre-printed, letter-sized sheet is inserted vertically and trimmed down to two 3-1/2″ x 11″ strips. The strips are then fed horizontally through the machine to be cut into 2″ x 3-1/2″ cards. The entire two-step process only takes around 10 seconds (depending upon the machine), which means that you can accurately cut up to 72 business cards per minute.UsesPersonal card cutters are designed for trimming business cards, but they can also be used to cut a variety of other useful items. If you have a photo-quality printer, you can print sheets of photographs onto photo paper and cut them into individual, wallet-size prints using your business card cutter. You can also create ID badges for trade shows, events, or for use around the office using either a 10-up or 12-up template and trimmed with your card cutter. Teachers can design their own custom flash cards or other teaching materials with ease using their favorite word processing or graphic design program, and cut them to size using a business card slitter. You can even make your own full-color magnets using printable, magnetic stock and your personal card cutter. If you are using a standard cutter, you will need to leave a blank border around any item that you place into the 12-up template in order for them to be cut properly.In ReviewBusiness cards are a valuable tool for sharing your name and company information with clients and prospects, but not every organization has the budget to order custom cards from a professional print shop. For small runs of professional-looking cards on a budget, you can use your favorite graphic design or word processing program along with your color printer and a personal business card cutter to create your own. In addition to making business cards, you can also use the same process to create ID cards, full-color promotional magnets, flash cards and other teaching aids, wallet-size photographs, and many other useful items. Personal card cutters are a great choice for home offices, small offices, and classrooms, with their ease of use, versatility, and affordable price point.

Henry was new in the town of Summerville, and he had just bought an old house which he knew would need a lot of work. He was strolling around town one Saturday morning when he stopped in at the local diner. It seemed as though half the town were there.”Have a seat,” said the manager. “Someone will be with you shortly.”Henry sat at the counter and looked around. Something caught his eye from across the room. It was a large corkboard with seemingly hundreds of items pinned to it. “What in the world is that?” he asked, to no one in particular.”That’s our Yellow Pages and internet all in one,” said the man who sat two seats down the counter. “I’m Larry,” he added, offering his hand.Henry stood and walked across the room. He was amazed by what he saw: hundreds of business cards, pinned in straight rows from one end of the board to the other. There must have been thirty rows from the bottom of the board to the top. He studied the cards. Every profession was represented there – from lawyers to plumbers, from dentists to babysitters. Every conceivable business activity which could go on in a small town such as Summerville had a place somewhere on that board. In many cases there were multiple cards pinned to the same spot.Larry sidled up beside Henry. “See, the way it works is – let’s say you want a carpenter to fix your porch. There’s ‘Bill’s Carpentry Services, Inc.’ – and so you pull the pin out and pull one of his business cards off the pin, and then you put the pin back in place, leaving six more for someone else to consider.”Henry nodded. “Well, it looks like I’ll be needing a number of these business cards – one carpenter, one plumber,” – he started taking down cards – “one carpet installer, one window manufacturer, one brick mason, several appliances dealers, one hardware dealer, several furniture dealers, a couple of curtain and drape designers…”Several minutes later Henry was finished, and Larry counted twenty cards. “Looks like you’re going to keep half the town in business.”"I think I’m going to keep the business card printers in business, too,” said Henry. “They’re going to have to replenish the board after I’m done.”"Well, we’ve got a couple of those, too,” said Larry, pointing to where business card printing services were advertised. One was Jones Printing and the other was Herbert’s Printing Services.Henry looked at the business cards from each of the two small businesses which provided printing services. “I’ve got a little consulting business I plan to start up. I’ll need some business cards for myself. I think I’ll go with Jones Printing,” he said after a moment. “His card looks more professional, and since card printing is his specialty, it makes sense to use his product. If his business card made a favorable impression on me, maybe my card will make a favorable impression on my potential customers. What do you think?”Larry smiled, “Well, given that my last name is Jones, I would have to agree. How many cards would you like?”Henry laughed at that. “So, you are the proprietor of Jones Printing?”"I’m proud to say that I am Larry Jones himself,” said Larry. “Just let me have your information, and I’ll have your business cards ready for you tomorrow.”Henry and Larry went back to the counter, where Henry jotted down the various address, phone, email and media information that he wanted included on his business card. When he was finished, he handed it to Larry. “By the way, how does that other guy – Herbert – make a living in business card printing? Your business card is so much better by comparison that I can’t imagine anyone wanting to use his service.”Larry smiled. “Well, actually, if you want to know the truth – there is no Herbert and there’s no Herbert Printing Services. I just printed that card to show people that there’s all the difference in the world between a good-looking business card and one that’s merely so-so. I’m constantly having to replenish the Jones Printing card, but that very same Herbert’s Printing Services card has been up there for years. If he really were a business – well, he’d be out of business.”"So, you’re not just a good printer,” said Henry. “It looks like you’re a good marketer as well. Maybe you can strategize with me about my consulting business.”Larry smiled. “Well, it might cost you a steak and a few cold ones, but I’ll do what I can.”

Take a while to think about what your business card says about you. After yourself, this will be the first impression of your company to many people you meet. If it’s badly produced and amateurish then people will assume the same about your business, but it’s easy to make your business card work better for you.Here are The Design Mechanics top 10 tips for creating the perfect business card:1. Say what you do!Let’s start with the obvious. So many business cards simply don’t state what a company does. If you have a non-descriptive company name such as “A & J Associates” then make sure your company card actually tells people what you do.People retain business cards for a long time and will forget your name and company name soon after meeting you. Therefore your card needs to remind them you are the people who print company logos on USB sticks.2. Don’t lose sight of what your card is forRemember that the main reason for a business card is for people to get your contact details. As such make sure that your phone number, email address and website are all clearly legible. Make sure that phone numbers especially are in easy to read fonts. Many creative typefaces have poor numerals meaning numbers such as 1 and 7 can be mixed up.If you have a long website address, then make it more legible by using different weights to break up the words, eg: www.mywebsiteaddressislongerthanyourwebsiteaddress.comAlso consider a QR code, where people can scan your card with a mobile phone and it gives them all your contact details in a digital format.3. Don’t use a non-business email addressBusiness email addresses are cheap to set up. Make sure the first thing you do is buy a domain name and hosting facility so that you can operate from a commercial email address from day one – nothing says you have only just set up or that you might not be here tomorrow than displaying a Hotmail, Gmail, BT Internet etc email address on your business card.4. Don’t print your cards yourselfNo matter how tight your budget, don’t be tempted to home-produce your company cards. Even if you have a colour-printer that can print on card, once they are in a card holder with your competitors’ cards you will regret trying to save money on them.Home-produced cards just don’t wear well. The ink isn’t fixed (so it will fade, or even worse run!) and the card will become tatty very quickly. The cost of commercial printing has really come down over the past few years, and with digital printing you can get anywhere from a couple of hundred to several thousand cards printed at really affordable cost, usually in a couple of days.5. Get new cards if your details changeThe last thing you want to do is apologise when you hand your company card over. If your details change, don’t scribble them out and write your new number on just because you have a box of them left. Put them in the recycle bin and get some more. Do you want people to think you are doing so badly in business that you can’t afford to buy new cards? If your details are likely to change, just buy a couple of hundred at a time.6. Resist “free” card offersWe’ve all seen the adverts for free business cards from Internet-based printers. These offers seem too good to be true, and often they are.Although the business cards are free (plus postage), they are not be printed on premium card stock and also have an advert on the back from the printing company who provided them – why would you promote someone else’s company at no benefit to yourself, and why scream out that you are just starting up or not successful enough to be able to afford to buy business cards for your company?Some companies also offer pre-templated designs for you to choose from. These can seem like a good idea until you turn up at a networking event and meet the 5 other people who chose the same design as you…!7. Keep your business card “on-brand”Your business card should carry the same visual look and feel as the rest of your marketing material. Make sure that if you lay out all your corporate material together it looks like it all belongs to the same company.If you already have a “brand” in place, make sure that your designer is aware of what your other literature looks like and what your consistent marketing messages are. When someone visits your website after viewing your business card they should see the same logo, colours and visual elements. This is called “visual synergy”, and the repetition will help clients remember your brand.8. Make your card much more than a business cardThink about making your business card into a flyer for your company. Consider a fold-out card to show a portfolio or list client testimonials, or use a stand-up (tent) business card that can be some kind of quick-reference guide.If you take appointments, make sure you use your business card as an appointment card, or use the back of your card to give instant written quotes or provide receipts.9. Include a photo if people are buying “you”If you are a consultant or in a business where people will be buying “you” rather than a product, then put your photo on your business card. Don’t just take a photo on your phone; find a local photographer who will do a head-shot at a reasonable set price.Think about how you want to present yourself, do you need to be in a shirt and tie with a plain studio backdrop, or do you want to portray a more casual appearance by having your portrait taken in a park for example?10. Never accept a business card from someone without giving them yours in return!Finally, never let anyone give you their business card without taking one of yours. A good way to give someone one of your business cards is to ask for one of theirs and make sure your hand extends at the same time with yours.It would be a very rude person who wouldn’t accept your card whilst expecting you to take theirs!

Business cards are not dead, they simply reincarnated into a new form-the virtual card. The changes are merely physical. Instead of a paper card, people are now exchanged digitized cards. Nonetheless, the purpose and functions remain the same. As with traditional cards, people use virtual business cards to share business information and network with people.Traditional cards are in print form, and the paper that bears your company information comes in wallet size. One hands out the cards in person, such as during a party. However, times have changed. More and more companies are bringing their businesses online. Along with these are the changes ways people reach out to customers or potential business associates. To network with people, business professionals are embracing online business profiles such as LinkedIn as well as social sites like Facebook. Use of smartphones and other portable wireless electronic devices has become widespread. All of these have ushered in a new era for the business card.Traditional vs. Virtual CardFor most people, exchanging cards is a social ritual that has become part and parcel of the networking process. For some, it is also a personal statement, a way of making an impression on new contacts. For some, it is a status symbol: if you don’t have a card, you don’t have a real job. With the coming of digital address book, however, the swapping of information has gone from handshake to hard drive.For a new material to be adopted on a large scale, it has to supersede the benefits of the product it attempts to replace. The rapid shift from physical to digital exchange shows that people recognize the advantages of the online business card over their physical counterpart. There are so many advantages associated with virtual business cards enticing many people to go digital.Benefits of Digital CardsWith the growing concern for loss of forests, online cards make it possible to network with people in a sustainable, more ecologically responsible way. There are no paper produced, no ink used to print the cards. There’s also no carbon footprint associate with shipment of paper stock or the business card themselves.Ecological reasons notwithstanding, keeping physical cards can be cumbersome. If you have 500 business contacts, would you carry 500 business cards in your wallet? Looking for a card among your stack of cards is not the most convenient either. With a virtual card, searching for a person’s business profile is a simple point-and-click affair. They take up less physical space in your wallet or office and won’t cause any clutter. While they lack the tactile impact of a physical card, updating business information is quick and easy.All in all, they are cheaper over their paper counterparts. There are no first prints or reprints to worry about. You don’t need to go a print a shop and wait for days to have your cards delivered. With online business card, you only pay once for use of software. Since everything can be done online, creation and production can be done without leaving your office.

Well presented, quality laminated business cards help you as an owner of a business to create that vital favourable first impression. A poor quality card can reflect badly on your business image so choose a print supplier with a good service on offer and you should be fine.How do we attempt to correct the ‘quality’ problem by using laminated cards?The price of laminated business cards differ hugely amongst online print suppliers. The majority of print suppliers offer a design-your-own service whereby the onus is placed on the purchaser to spot and select a relevant design, complete all the other card details and possibly upload a logo before proceeding to the checkout, even before contact has been made. This suits particular business types such as the mobile hairdressing profession, cabbies, electricians etc. where a ‘quality image’ is often not so important to garner work. A plain, neatly presented business card using a quality design is often all that is required in many cases.A small to medium enterprise however, as well as any blue chip company, will have a desire to create an instantly recognisable quality brand, that can be produced to cover all company marketing materials. In these instances, brand and colour consistency across the full range of business stationery is vital to preserve the company image.Laminated business cards can be produced as the first step to switching from the plain single colour or two colour business card, to something that smacks of a quality design.How is a laminated business card produced?Essentially, it’s produced using 2 sheets of laminate enclosing a plain card front and back. Laminated cards differ from the plastic pouch often used with the typical office laminating machine, which uses a much thicker laminate. Quality card lamination is measured in microns, and is invisible to the eye, the main way to test if the card is laminated is by attempting to rip one in half, or just try rubbing the ink.Matt lamination, and gloss lamination are the main process offered by suppliers, depending on your design requirement. Some people choose to laminate one side only, and leave the other side of the card plain, but the normal process is to have both sides laminated. Whatever you may hear, it’s actually a fallacy that laminated cards are a problem to write on, just grab a biro and try it! Being able to write on the card has advantages for certain users, such as adding names on membership cards etc.Laminated cards feel much nicer than the plain non laminated version. Another huge bonus is the laminate process helps to enhance colour and your design, due to its reflectivity.Are all suppliers laminated business cards similar, or do they differ in any way?Unfortunately, they can be quite different. If you see prices for laminated cards that seem too good to be true, then it’s possible the supplier may have used a thin card, often not much thicker than paper, and then laminated with a cheaper, thick laminate which feels completely different. At the very least, choose a supplier who’s using 350gsm card, but ideally 400gsm card which will generally give quality results. Where a good quality card has been used, a very thin laminate process will compliment it perfectly.What’s the main purpose of laminating business cards?The first reason is one of a production hurdle that has to be overcome.For instance, a plain business card, without the laminate may just have the contact details and little else, which uses minimal ink in the process. This will cause no problems for the supplier charged with the job of getting the business card produced. To throw a spanner into the works, let’s consider the designer wants the whole of the business card reverse produced in a solid process colour.One thing to point out at this time is the fact laminated business cards are never produced singly in the lithographic process, but produced in ‘groups’ to keep production costs to a minimum for the supplier. As the business cards are produced and leave the press, they drop into a single stack. As business cards are added to the stack more weight is forced down onto the cards in the bottom section of the stack and if the ink hasn’t dried completely, which will be the case in our scenario due to the reverse being a solid process colour, then it’s possible ink will transfer from one business card to another. This is called ink offset or ink transfer which is bad news for the supplier who will need to start the whole process again.Although your supplier has other ways to get ink to dry, solid colours are still a problem, particularly on plain, non laminated cards. Did you know? Blue colour inks take longer to dry than other colours. One way to prevent this type of issue is to laminate both sides of the business card before it reaches the stack and before the ink has a chance to touch any other business card in the stack.My favourite reason for laminating colour business cards is that they look and feel so much better than the equivalent non-laminated version, with a vibrancy to the colours not seen on plain cards.Any other info you can share about Laminated Business Cards?Yes, make sure you ask your supplier for printed samples of laminated business cards along with the plain non laminated variety so you can see the results in comparison, before having your own cards produced. Your supplier should do this as a matter of course, however not all suppliers are the same so be sure to make contact.By the way, laminated cards are produced by a quality four colour process. It’s usually too expensive to laminate spot colour business cards as these cannot be produced alongside four colour cards, and indeed would need a press to be specifically inked-up to print them. However, the benefit of the four colour process (CMYK) is that the sky’s the limit when choosing how many colours to use in your design, so be as creative as you wish with your main design! Also, be sure to not mix in spot colours with four colour process inks as the spot colour details will go missing due to the process being different than the four colour process.If you own a company that needs laminated business cards produced for more than one member of staff, I’d recommend trying to group together as many names as possible when ordering as this will help to keep costs to a minimum as it’s easier for your supplier to get a batch produced. Contact your supplier for prices and you’ll soon get a feel for how to save money.I hope you get to discover how having your card supplier produce laminated cards for your company can boost your company image. It’s a process well worth exploring and the results speak for themselves.

You business card is sometimes the only tool you have to remind potential employers, customers, or business partners who you are, what you are about, and how to contact you. No matter what type of business you are in, having a proper card that delivers your message clearly is very important. Many people forget that even tough we are living in a digital age, a business card is still the easiest way for you to give someone all of the information they may need to contact you for future business. These tiny cards are very important but still people continue to make a few common mistakes in designing and printing their cards. To help you avoid flaws that may cause you to loose business, take a look at these common business card mistakes.While it is important to be creative with your card so that it will stand out from your competitors, the most important function your business card must provide is clear and concise contact information. When you begin to design your card you should be sure that you choose a font that is professional and legible. It will not matter how creative your card is if the person who picks it up can not read it or find the information they are looking for. Also, the font size is important. You want people to be able to easily read your card without having to find their reading glasses. While script fonts might look fancy they can be difficult to read. Signatures are for contracts, not business cards!Having a card that stands out is important so using a business card template is not the best way to achieve this. Generic cards can make you appear unprofessional. Many people may question how serious you are about business if you can not even find the money in your budget for a custom business card. While the generic cards may be more cost effective you should remember that business requires and investment and sometimes spending a little extra upfront can make all the difference.Another design element that is often misused on a custom business card is color. You want colors that will catch a perspective client’s eye but you do not want to send the wrong impression of your business. Choosing one eye catching color will attract plenty of attention. It is important that you avoid over-saturated color combinations or clashing colors. Investors are looking for people who are serious about their business. Your cards’ colors do not have to be boring but they should be tasteful and truly represent your product.Make sure you proofread your card design more than once before sending them to the printer. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a custom printed card that has been corrected by hand after the printing. You don’t want incorrect information on your business cards to make it hard for potential customers or investors to contact you.Finally, do not print your business cards at home. No matter how well your printer’s manual says its print quality is, no consumer printer will be able to produce a card that looks like it was done at a professional print shop. Home made business cards give the impression that you are new to the game.