An effective business card is the first step in marketing yourself and your business, and now online business card printing is making it easier than ever to get unique business cards that are perfectly suitable for your business. Why invest in a great business card? First of all, it conveys the basics of your company in a format that is familiar and easy for customers to keep and use. But your business card can be used as much more than simple identification. It can be a customer appointment card, a survey to gather customer information through direct mail, or a small, self-contained advertisement containing sales and service information on the back.
Don’t forget that a business card has two sides. Online business card printing is well aware of the trend toward two-sided business cards and almost all online business card printers offer the service. The back of a business card can contain additional information about your business and its services and products. But don’t be tempted to cover the entire card with information. White space is still important. Business cards should be a part of your company’s identity package or “brand,” but shouldn’t be expected to shoulder the entire burden.
Maximise the message on your card
Standard business cards measure 2 x 3.5 inches, but online business card printing services offer other sizes as well. Color business cards (stock or ink) are readily available, and most online printers will go out of their way to help customers by including custom design tools that you can use right on their site. Don’t be shy with your business card design. If you were named “Architect of the Year,” then say so. If your business has an on-site nursery for harried parents, by all means include that information on the back of the card. Maximize the message your card sends without over-cluttering it with unimportant facts.
Often if you try to make your own business cards and print them at home, you end up with visible perforations, or running ink, both of which shout, “Amateur!” to those you give them to. Online business card printing can be your answer to the need for getting a professional-looking, well-designed business card at an affordable price. Since business cards can be a big part of first impressions, you definitely want to get it done right.
When choosing extra text that adds value to your business card, there are several approaches to choosing what to say. One strategy is to tell the recipient how convenient your business is, whether that means you’ve conveniently located, you take competitors’ coupons, or you don’t need an appointment. Of course, you are entitled to use the direct approach too: use your business card to ask people to visit your business or log onto your website. The best way to do this is to offer a little something extra for their time, such as “Present this card for a 10% discount,” or “Visit our website for printable coupons!”
Avoid over-tired phrases
But when you do this, try to avoid the over-tired phrases that are seen so often on business cards that nobody really notices them anymore. This would include vague phrases like “Stop in and see us,” or “We put customers first,” or “Visit today.”
When it comes to choosing online bus iness card printing, you have an overwhelming number of choices. Some printers offer cards made from recycled stock, and others offer printing with soy-based ink. Some offer fast service, and others offer the latest in online design tools. One printing option that you might consider is thermography business cards for an effect you can’t get using your standard home or business printer.
Have you ever received a letter on formal stationery or wedding invitations with lovely raised print? This effect is perceived by many as being a mark of high quality and elegance. By the same token, glossy raised printing on business cards makes them extra sophisticated. The process that achieves this quality on business cards and other documents is called thermography, and thermography business cards are a top choice of people who want their cards to convey style and good taste. And believe it or not, online business card printing using thermography generally has a faster turnaround time than many other types of print jobs.
Thermography business cards
Thermography business cards are printed using a plastic resin that dries instantly. This means that cards can be printed and shipped on the same business day in many cases. Thermographically printed documents can be done in almost any color of ink, including exciting metallics and glittery tones. Regardless of the color, the raised ink makes a business card really stand out from the masses.
But don’t confuse thermography with the old technology called “thermal printing” that was used on older fax machines with curly paper. Thermography business cards are produced in an entirely different way. It involves traditional print methods, plastic resin ink, and use of a thermography machine. The machine has four sections to it. First, the business cards travel by conveyor belt to a chamber where powdered polymer is applied to the entire sheet. The inks used in thermography don’t have drying agents, so they remain wet while the powder is applied. The next part of the machine is a vacuum that vacuums off the excess powder from the parts that don’t have ink. After this, the cards are “baked” in a radiant oven with a temperature of 900 to 1300 degrees F. The “baking” process takes only a few seconds. The cards then go to a convection cooling section that stops the thermography process.
If you choose thermography online business card printing, there are a number of things you should consider. First of all, wonderful as it is, thermography can’t make up for bad design or poor printing quality. Another thing to remember is that the tinier font sizes of 6 point and under can fill in during the thermography process and become unreadable. Avoid choosing small typefaces and large solid areas on the same card, because different types of resin are needed for each of these effects.
The online business card printing company you choose may have to use special trimming techniques for your thermography business cards. The raised print makes standard guillotine cutters hard to use. Today’s thermographic powders allow for many style variations on business cards. The powders also come in different particle sizes suitable for the application. Your thermography business cards can be made with a finish that’s matte to glossy, and anything else in between.
Special effects business cards
Metallic resins can give a card a metallic sheen that costs less than foil stamping. Thermographic resins work on all types of paper stock, even if it is very dark colored, where silver, copper, or gold resins look particularly chic. Pearlescent resins give printing a soft sheen, and glitter can be added to the resins for a sparkly effect. There are also very viscous powders that are used on fine-lined projects so that the lines don’t bleed and smudge. And your thermography business cards can be printed with laser safe powder resins that keep printing from re-melting if they are placed on a laser photocopy machine.
Some paper stocks should be avoided for thermographic printing because of the high temperatures it will be subjected to. Online business card printing professionals will be able to advise you on choosing suitable stock for your business cards. The paper stock will also influence the height of the raised print.
But whether you choose thermography business cards or traditional printing, online business card printing is a very popular way to get new business cards that look great in a hurry. Your business card should be a real source of pride to you, particularly if you’re the business owner. It’s great to see your name and the name of your business in print, but other people aren’t so easily impressed. That’s why you want to create a card that people will want to keep.
If your business card is “just another ad,” or cluttered with useless information, it’s probably going to end up in the recycling bin. But what can you do to ensure your card attracts and keeps attention, and actually ends up in someone’s Rolodex or card case? First you have to understand why people choose to keep cards in the first place.
Reasons why people keep your business card
Author of The Business Card Book Dr. Lynella Grant says that there are eight reasons why people choose to keep a business card. Keep these in mind as you choose your online business card printing service.
1. If it is a link to a potential client. In other words, they may keep your card because they see you as a potential customer.
2. If you have a resource or service they regularly need and can’t always get
3. If you are a colleague or competitor of theirs
4. Because they personally like you or think you’re attractive
5. To pass on to someone they know who needs your product or service
6. To update your information, such as your new phone number or email address
7. Because they never throw anything away
8. Because there is something particularly likable or useful about the card
You have a lot to think about when you want to get new business cards. Online business card printing is a great option today because of new print technology and fast turnaround times. There are enough online printers competing for your business that you’re likely to find a huge range of business card templates available. Take the time to try out several different business card designs. Have fun with it, even. Oddly, if you try to make a totally outlandish business card, you can often get ideas that you can use when you make a more tame version. The design tools are there, and you might as well take advantage of them. Whether you’re getting thermography business cards, foldable business cards, car magnets, refrigerator magnets, or special UV coating on your cards, you can make your business cards wor k for you as your most compact form of advertising.