How to Print Business Cards

So you’ve got your new business up and running, the customers are starting to call, but you really need some basic marketing tools, such as business cards, that you can give away to customers.  You’re busy running a business, so you just want to print business cards and get it over with fast.  Here are a few tips to make the process as painless as possible:

•       Go to the professionals - Yes, you could save some money by printing your cards yourself, but you will probably not save any time.  Plus, until you’ve mastered some design basics, your cards will probably have an amateur look and feel to them.

•       Have your logo on file - If you have a corporate identity or logo that you use, have it on a CD or at least be able to e-mail the logo.  Keep it in a place that you can access quickly.  You should also always have the file in a couple of different formats: JPEG, BMP, and TIFF formats are very popular and easy to use.

•       Have your information ready - If you have several employees, and you want them to have their own cards, have all of their names, phone numbers, and email addresses ready.  Nothing is more frustrating than printing cards where you spelled the last name of one of your employees incorrectly or have the wrong phone extension on the card.

•       Know what your customers expect - Most of the time a simple business card design is fine.  But some businesses, especially those in creative fields, should consider something a little more radical.  If you are a creative firm, your customers probably expect a creative card.  But professionals such as attorneys, doctors, accountants, and the like should consider a simple, clean look.

Following these tips will keep you out of most problems and maintain your headaches to a minimum.  When you are ready to print business cards, understand that the local print shops often require a minimum quantity. 

These minimums usually range anywhere from 250-1000 business cards at a time.  So, this makes it all the more important that you have your information together and to make sure that you get it right the first time.