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From Visiting Cards to Trading Cards to 17-Pt. Cards: A Glimpse at the History of Business Cards

When you look at 17pt business cards with gold foil stamps, rounded corners or transparent material, you will really marvel at how far business cards have come. Here, we will take a glimpse at the history of business cards before they turned into what they are now.

The history of business cards can be traced back to 15th century China, when visiting cards were used. In the 17th century, King Louis XIV made visiting cards de rigueur for the aristocracy. For the 18th and 19th century, visiting cards or social cards were used by the upper and middle classes. It was also during this period that businessmen in London used trading cards to promote their enterprise.

Business cards during these early times were very small and simply, typically printed with the name and title of the caller so that a good first impression can be left on the receiver. It was during the 18th century that cards started being representations for entrepreneurs. During the 20th century, trading cards were replaced with business cards, which pretty much looked as they do now. Today, you will typically receive impressive-looking 17-pt. business cards from business owners, no matter what the nature of their company is.

When having such business cards made, why does it pay to invest in thick material like silk business cards? Because you definitely want to make a good first impression. With the history of business cards that has transpired over the years, they are fortunately still very much a part of modern times. If you want customers to know that your business actually exists, it pays to make an excellent first impression by having good quality business cards printed out.

The Key to Having an Effective Business Card Made

A lot of entrepreneurs know that they need to order business cards, but not all are aware of the importance of having an effective one. How will you know if a business card is effective or not? From the minute that you hand over your card to a prospective client, he or she should appear suitably impressed with the quality. There are even individuals who will jot down notes at the back of the card to remember who you are, exactly. This is definitely a good thing as far as first impressions go. If you will hand over a card which is flimsy and does not have good quality, clients will not remember your brand as easily.

What it Takes to Have an Effective Business Card Made

Now, in order for you to have an effective business card made, what are the things that you need to keep in mind? Take a look:
• You should know the purpose of the business card.
First, what’s the purpose of having the business cards made in the first place? That piece of card should contain information about the name of your business, the nature of your work, what product or services you offer, and how to get in touch with you. If the nature of your business is not obvious once they read your company name, make sure to insert a line or two about what it is that you do.

• Make sure that the information is accurate.
Nothing’s tackier than a business card with ballpoint pen corrections on it, so make sure that the information printed on the card is accurate. If you know that you will be changing your contact information soon, only have a small batch of cards made to tide you over until new ones come out of the press.

• Order business cards from reputable printing companies.
Companies like BlockbusterPrint.com specialize in designing and printing business cards. There are different paper types, thickness, coating and material to choose from – and all cards are made using HD color printing.

• Pay attention to the details and overall design of your card business card.
Finally, pay close attention to the details and the overall design of the card. Your card should represent the image that you’d like to portray as a brand. By taking these things into consideration when you print business cards, you can rest assured that they can be an effective marketing tool for your brand.

Premium Business Cards: Printed Promotional Materials that Make an Impact

In business, first impressions definitely last. Handing over a black-and-white, flimsy business card to a client will not have the same impact as premium business cards printed in full color and thick, high-quality material. Remember that as an entrepreneur, you would like your clients to think that they are getting the best value for their money when dealing with you. A good quality business card will help you achieve just that.

What Makes for a Premium Business Card

So what makes for a good, high-quality premium business card? Take a look at the following list:
• The material used
With companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, the standard size of a business card is 3.5” x 2”. You can take your pick from different materials including thin, 14-pt. paper which is the cheapest and more traditional. If you would like to invest in premium business cards, it is better for you to use thicker paper like 17-pt. cards with 50% or 60% the thickness of credit cards. There are also different finishes used in the paper including textured or spot gloss.

• The quality of printing
You don’t actually have to worry about the quality of printing when dealing with BlockbusterPrint.com because they use HD color printing. It’s guaranteed to be the highest quality offset method in the industry.

• The overall design
While you’re still in the process of having the card designed, make sure that it will leave a lasting impact to your customers. If you’re in the construction industry, design the card in such a way that it incorporates a clear photo or a hard hat – along with a line or two of what your business represents.

• Other cool features
Finally, the good thing about choosing silk business cards is that you can go crazy with all the cool features that you can order. There are plastic or rounded corner business cards that you can have made. Silk cards can be foil stamped with silver, gold or other metallic colors to make a huge impact. Textured cards can vary from pearl metallic, ones with a nature feel or linen. As you can see, the choices of cool features in premium business cards are practically endless, so have one made for your business now.

Why It Pays to Have Custom Printed Booklets Made for Businesses

No matter which industry it is your business is in, it’s important to use custom printed booklets as a marketing tool. It can be part of your overall print marketing campaign which, despite the presence of online marketing, is still the cheapest and most effective way to advertise your brand. So what is it about booklets that make them such a must-have for business owners? Here are some of the reasons:

– Unlike brochures or flyers, booklets give you more space to send out your message to your target client.
– If you’re printing an informative booklet, you can go on detail about your company history, for example, because you will not run out of space – unlike in brochures or flyers.
– If you are introducing a new product or service, you can go into detail and craft the content of the booklet in such a way that everything a customer needs to know will all be there.

Now, how can you have custom printed booklets made? With companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, all you have to do is specify the size of the booklet that you want to print and dish out more details about the content – then they will print out and bind the booklets for you. Basically, you can take your pick from four different sizes and the pages can be anywhere from 8 to 52. BlockbusterPrint.com does full color HD printing, with saddle-stitched binding and thick 100# gloss or cover paper. The company uses only the highest quality, state-of-the-art offset printing so you can easily impress your customers with the booklets once they are finished.

All in all, booklet printing make for the perfect marketing material for businesses.

Steps to Follow when Printing Booklets for Your Business

Are you planning to print booklets for your business? Unlike brochures and flyers, booklets give you maximum space to print out whatever you want which is related to your business. Let’s say that you are introducing a new product which customers would have no idea how to use. You can have a 30-page booklet made, with sizes of either 8.5” x 5.5” or 8.5” x 11”. Similar to printing out books and magazines, the process of having booklets made can be quite complex.

To help you out, here is a quick guide on the steps that you can follow to print booklets:
1. Determine the purpose of your booklet.
Is the goal of the booklet to inform? To sell? To introduce a new product or service? Based from the purpose, you can craft the content in such a way that you will accomplish what you have sought to do in the first place.

2. Decide on the number of pages, content, size, design, cover and all the other details regarding your booklet.
When having a booklet made, pay attention to even the smallest details. Decide on the number of pages, craft the content carefully, monitor the design and what to put in the cover. If you are printing a sales booklet, the cover should be enticing enough to make a person want to read and learn more.

3. Look for a printing company which specializes in printing out booklets.
Companies like BlockbusterPrint.com can be entrusted to print out those booklets for your business. They offer full color HD printing in four sizes; you can take your pick from 8 to 52 pages for the booklet; the paper is thick 100# gloss or cover paper; and it has saddle-stitched binding (stapled).

4. Make a distribution plan.
After you custom print booklets online, what comes next? How will you distribute the printed materials to your target audience? If it’s a user guide, you can simply include one copy in all the new products that you will box. If it’s information about your company, you can either mail out the booklets, distribute them during tradeshows, or simply given away when clients enter your workplace.

Top 3 Benefits of Using Door Hangers for Advertising

If you think that only hotels require printing companies to do door hanger printing jobs, think again. Even if you are not in the hospitality industry, you can use door hangers as a unique way to advertise your brand, no matter what the nature of your business is.

As the name implies, door hangers are printed promotional materials which have a unique shape that can be hung on door knobs. You can use the space of the door hanger to make your message pop out. Still not convinced? Here are the top three benefits of using door hangers for advertising:
1. Door hangers are eye-catching, so they will easily be remembered.
When you put a door hanger outside the door, it can easily be seen. Since they are prominently displayed, the door hanger becomes an eye-catching printed advertising material. The end result is that they can readily be noticed, and your brand will be remembered.

2. Door hangers can be used to deliver your marketing message in a unique way.
Unlike postcards which target certain individuals, door hangers have the entire family inside the house as an audience. When you go for door hanger printing, remember that they work like posters – only with a smaller audience – something to take note of when targeting a certain group in the market.

3. printing door hangers online is affordable and has a quick turnaround time.
Finally, door hangers are easy to produce and cheap to have printed out. Companies like BlockbusterPrint.com create door hangers in three different sizes: 3.5” x 8.5”; 3.5” x 11”; and 4.25” x 11”. The door hangers are printed with the highest quality possible, they can be designed with detachable business cards, and the paper can be made with elegant high-gloss, semi-gloss or matte coating.

With all these benefits, there’s no reason for you to say no to the prospect of using door hangers to advertise your business.

Print Door Hangers & Use them as a Door-to-Door Sales Technique

Are you in the real estate industry? Or maybe you just opened a pizza joint and you’d like everyone in the neighborhood to know that you offer free delivery? A door-to-door sales technique that you can use is to print door hangers. Yes, the same door hangers used by hotel guests to indicate that they don’t want to be disturbed. There’s more to door hangers than being a hotel room notification – and they actually make for an excellent printed marketing material.

So what is it that makes door hangers a printed marketing material for door-to-door sales? First, putting these door hangers on the doorknobs of prospective customers or offices is less intrusive, yet very effective. People on the street will usually accept the flyers that you give them, but throw them on the trash once they decide that they are not interested with what you have to offer. Door hangers are more noticeable and homeowners are less likely to throw them away.

Second, you can make your door hangers even more unique by incorporating features like a pocket where you can insert your business card. Printing companies like BlockbusterPrint.com can print door hangers with such cool features for you. They come in different sizes, paper types, the same high quality print and different coatings.

Third, door hangers make for the perfect door-to-door marketing tool because the receiver would not mind accepting them at all. Homeowners will merely shrug off the fact that a marketing material like a door hanger was hung on their doors, especially if they could use your services or products in the future. When you custom printed doorhangers, you can use them as your primary door-to-door sales technique without having to make a huge dent on your budget.

Main Characteristics of a Good Tradeshow Banner

Tradeshows are an excellent avenue to promote your business. Those who go to trade shows are already interested with what you have to offer as a company, so you will have plenty of prospects for added business. While you are at the tradeshow, however, you need to make sure that your booth stands out. How can you accomplish such feat? By making sure that your tradeshow banner is designed to be a standout!

Fortunately, there are many companies which specialize in printing out tradeshow banners. To give you an idea about what a good tradeshow banner constitutes, take a look at this list of characteristics:
• A good banner is printed with colors that pop out of the material.
Your goal is to make your banner stand out from the rest of the booths at the tradeshow, so make sure that it is printed in such a way that the colors pop out. If it’s a loose vinyl banner, for example, make sure that it is printed with 100% full color HD printing. The original design of the banner should also be paid close attention to, because it will affect the final look of the banner.

• A good banner has an ideal size and high resolution.
With companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, there are different sizes of banners that you can choose from. If you need an indoor banner, the popular sizes in feet are 4 x 2; 6 x 3; 8 x 3; 8 x 4; and 10 x 3. These are made from vinyl material with an elegant matte finish and full color HD printing. When choosing a company to print your banners, make sure that they know which size would suit the size of your booth; and the higher the resolution for printing, the better.

• A good banner has a solid, expensive-looking overall design.
Finally, your standup banner should have a solid, expensive-looking design – without actually being expensive. Remember that your goal is to catch the attention of the people attending the tradeshows. By making sure that the banner that you will use have these characteristics, you can stand out from the pack.

Having the Right Banner & Tradeshow Stand Ensures the Success of Your Booth

Banners and tradeshow stands go together like bread and peanut butter. If you are an entrepreneur who is attending a tradeshow, you need to have a banner created along with a stand. Unless you are using a high-tech, electronic banner with a retractable body, your vinyl banner will only stand up if a stand is also made for it. The good news is that when you get in touch with printing companies like BlockbusterPrint.com to have these made, you can take your pick from vinyl banners with stands, or retractable banners which stand on their own.

If you are planning to join a tradeshow and you already paid for a booth, how can you ensure the success of your participation? Here are a few quick tips:
• Make sure that the design of the booth fits the image that you would like to project as a company.
When having a banner and a tradeshow stand designed, make sure that its overall look fits the image that you would like to project as a brand. If your target market is young girls, for example, your tradeshow booth should be contemporary and colorful. If you have a more mature clientele, go for sophisticated, clean lines and colors. Of course, you should always incorporate your company logo which is the perfect representation of your image as a brand.

• Make the people come to your booth by distributing practical giveaway items which can serve as marketing material as well.
Envelopes, buttons, folders, magnets, post cards, notepads, booklets – make sure to have some of these items made. Practical items with your logo in it will attract customers to your booth, and ensure that your brand will have maximum exposure.

• Stay organized and make follow-ups after the trade show event is done.
More importantly, keep the items like the banner and tradeshow banner organized inside the booth. It would not do to let prospective customers see your booth with so much clutter. After the event, make follow-up phone calls to measure if your goal in joining the trade show in the first place – which is to increase revenue – is being met, or if you need to push your ad campaigns some more.

Why do Custom Printed Notepads Make for a Great Advertising Material?

A lot of people have the misconception that print advertising is obsolete. Despite the presence of online advertising, there’s still a place in the heart of customers for print advertising, especially if you will distribute something useful like custom printed notepads. Why do these make for a great advertising material? Take a look at the following reasons:
• A 50-sheet notepad is something that can be used for a very long time.
Through companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, you can take your pick from 25 or 50-sheet notepads. Let’s say that you had a batch of 50-sheet notepads made. With your logo, letterhead and contact information printed on the notepad, the user will repetitively be exposed to the image of your logo. Your business name will be imprinted in their brains, so much so that the next time a need for your product or service comes up, they can’t help but blurt out the name of your brand.

• They’re practical and customers will not hesitate to accept them.
Flyers usually get tossed in the trash because customers have no use of them, but custom printed notepads are practical and useful. When distributing them during trade shows or product launches, people are bound to accept these items which they have a great use for.

• They’re very easy and cheap to print out.
Finally, notepads are very easy to make and are quite cheap to print out. With BlockbusterPrint.com, you can take your pick form 25 or 50-sheet notepads. They’re made with full color HD printing; the paper is textured linen or smooth white; has a chipboard glued backing; and there are many sizes to choose from.

With these many benefits, print notepads definitely make for a great advertising material.