[BruceBanner]

I'm just wondering if anyone has had a stab at making business cards at home before? I'm not really looking to go hardcore with any design or print in mass numbers, I have an Canon iX6800 printer that can take A3 size, LR and PS subscription, I'm sure I can find a youtube vid to help design and make a card, I guess I then need to find a suitable card (for printing on) and get myself a guillotine (which I was intending on getting anyway for cutting photo prints down for framing)?
The idea is to just be proactive with the camera, take shots in public and have a card on hand to pass onto those people snapped etc.

Does anyone know if you can get card that's suitable for printing like this? Templates in LR to work with etc?

TIA!

Bruce

[BigMackCam]

Bruce, I can't help with the "how to" for this... however, unless you particularly want to print your own, I'd say you'd be better off using one of the many "free business cards" suppliers.

Here in the UK, there are several companies who produce small batches (50 or 100) of decent quality business cards for free and charge only a small postage fee. The compromise is that their contact details are printed on the reverse of the cards, so they're getting a bit of advertising. But for personal and small business use, they're more than adequate

[BruceBanner]

Bruce, I can't help with the "how to" for this... however, unless you particularly want to print your own, I'd say you'd be better off using one of the many "free business cards" suppliers.

Here in the UK, there are several companies who produce small batches (50 or 100) of decent quality business cards for free and charge only a small postage fee. The compromise is that their contact details are printed on the reverse of the cards, so they're getting a bit of advertising. But for personal and small business use, they're more than adequate

Cool! Dunno if we have that out here, can check.

[ramseybuckeye]

You can buy business card stock in standard paper size that is perforated in business card size. There are free templates available to help with this. I have some made by Avery, they are easy to use, and don’t look perforated on the edges when taken apart. You can obviously print a sheet at a time.

[twilhelm]

I’ve had business cards for years for several businesses. Having cards made isn’t expensive and they are obviously professionally done, but I’ve made many of my own also.

There is perforated card stock which works well, or you can do it from sheet and cut your own. I liked using a professional semi-gloss or luster myself.

Microsoft Word for Windows, Libre Office on Linux, and just about every other word processor has a template for business cards, or as stated, you can use Avery which is one of the most user friendly. I used Photoshop or Gimp and created from there, cropped to the proper dimensions, and filled a page.

When you do one you like, it’s very rewarding and a great exercise in editing!

[BrianR]

There are inexpensive suppliers, I've used VistaPrint which exists in the US. They have sales all the time. I think 500 basic one sided cards cost me under $20 with shipping (Canadian price). I have printed my own on cardstock, etc, but this was easily worth the $20. I've had a few screwups with VistaPrint orders, and they always re-print and ship without question. They exist to crank out high-volume value printing and keep me from having to punch things, especially printers.

[Bob 256]

One advantage to having it done is that usually do-it-yourself cards are printed with inkjet (unless you have access to a color laser-jet printer) and are not waterproof. Depending on your intended use, it could be embarrassing if one of your cards gets wet and runs.

That said, you can format a sheet of cards using a program like Photoshop, have the sheet printed on a good stock, and cut it yourself saving some cost (though most printing services can do the printing and cutting for a pretty reasonable price).

[C_Jones]

I have printed on card stock and cut them myself. There are templates in almost any common document software, for example Microsoft Word. You can get the card stock at Wal-Mart. I have a Fiskars cutter with a rotary blade that I used.

I do not use inkjet printers anymore since I got a black/white laserjet printer, so I would be doing black/white cards if I did them now. The internet or getting something printed at a local printer that you create yourself might be your best option for color, instead of messing with an inkjet printer.

[E-man]

I've used the perforated card stock before with good results, although some will leave a soft edge when separated. Look for the ones that specify micro-perforations. It's handy if you want to do short runs of just a few sheets at a time so you can customize the ancillary information as needed. I've also used VistaPrint in the past and have been pleased with the result. The last time I got some printed there, they were still running their '250 cards for free plus shipping and handling' promotional, which ended up costing about $5 or $6, but they haven't done that one in a long time.

[Cee Cee]

I've used Avery perforated Sheets to make business cards for a some time - before that I used a system that used a special paper / card stock which was finished by applying a solution which sealed the card and gave a high gloss finish. Once you get over the satisfaction of doing it yourself it just becomes tedious & a pain in the butt. l always seemed to run out of cards when it was most inconvenient ! The Avery perforated card stock, while it does the job is not heavy enough or water resistant and I always felt a little self conscious handing one to a client. Vista Print here in Australia is advertising business cards which you design yourself online using there tools, they print & send them out for less or not much more (I haven't done the math) than the Avery card stock, and min quantity just 250 cards. I was at a printers the other day on other business and inquired about cards, I just ordered 1K cards for under $100.

[Wheatfield]

I'm just wondering if anyone has had a stab at making business cards at home before? I'm not really looking to go hardcore with any design or print in mass numbers, I have an Canon iX6800 printer that can take A3 size, LR and PS subscription, I'm sure I can find a youtube vid to help design and make a card, I guess I then need to find a suitable card (for printing on) and get myself a guillotine (which I was intending on getting anyway for cutting photo prints down for framing)?
The idea is to just be proactive with the camera, take shots in public and have a card on hand to pass onto those people snapped etc.

Does anyone know if you can get card that's suitable for printing like this? Templates in LR to work with etc?

TIA!

Bruce

For the price of making them, you are far better off to get VistaPrint or some such to do them for you.

[cmohr]

I'm a printer/ production manager, I have also managed art and design departments, and have to say, you will be happier with a proper card, and so will the people getting the card. As a point of contact betwix you and the client, a professional Bcard is just like a first impression, hand over a cheap and nasty bit of lightweight card, that is all ruff on the edges from tearing apart.... I always say, think about what your impression would be is somebody handed you a dodgy looking homemade bcard, and telling you they were a professional.

I must admit, you can design them yourself, also, Vistaprint online has a good self design setup, and you can get a good bcard from them, (not as good as one you could get from me of course :-) , but we are commercial printers and yes, price much higher than buld run bcard sellers ) I am in no way affiliated with Vistaprint, they are technically competition, but they do have the online design you sound like you need.

Also, remember , less is more on a bcard, don't clutter it up with everything you do, and your life story, it's a contact, look at the professional design cards, they are simple, a logo, name contact details, links to fb twit, flikr ect. keep the design clean, don't be tempted to use overly fancy fonts, in the end, they look a bit tacky, and are actually harder to read. Keep text away from the edges, Most of the online bcard templates will actually already have clear space on the boarders so text cant get cut off, its fine to bleed colour and photos off edges, again, its about a clean design. It gives a clear message about what you do, and who you are, and how to contact you.

cmohr

[SpecialK]

VistaPrint...They exist to crank out high-volume value printing and keep me from having to punch things, especially printers.

They have hundreds of customizable templates. I got 3 sets of 500 each - I think it was $48 total. Heavy and stiff card stock. Happy.

[BruceBanner]

My quick mock up with Vistaprint, yeh prolly go down this route.

[Bob 256]

Great looking card - think you'll be happy with your choice of options.