best business cards – BlockbusterPrint.com Blog

Master the Technique of Choosing the Right Material when Printing Business Cards

One of the most important things to consider when printing business cards is the type of material used. Let’s say that you are a supplier of raw materials and you are meeting a potential buyer. This buyer wants to get your contact information. When you hand over a thin, barely readable card, what impression do you think that person will have about your business? Since the card is cheap and low-quality, he or she might think that the same things apply to the quality of products that you will deliver. Will this person still want to do business with you? Probably not. On the other hand, when you give a thick business card that’s made from high-quality material with an eye-catching design, the impression it leaves is that you are a high-end product manufacturer as well. It’s all about first impressions. This is precisely why you need to distribute the best business cards to your network of contacts.

Since you have very limited space to convey your marketing message, every detail about your business card will be scrutinized. As such, it is crucial to pay attention to the smallest details – from the font size and font type, to the type of paper used. For the latter, here are two factors to consider when choosing the material for printing business cards:

Card stock

The thicker the business card, the more significant it feels to the hand. You can take your pick from card stock that ranges from 12-pt. which is the thinnest, to 32-pt. which is the thickest – as thick as a credit card. Even if you don’t have the budget for the thickest card stock, you can still have the best business cards by making sure that it has an eye-catching design and overall look.

Finish

This refers to any special coating applied to the paper stock to give it that extra texture. For a more organic look, you can go for 18-pt. brown kraft business card, or a 14-pt. uncoated business card with a pearl metallic effect. If you want something smooth, go for a 19-pt. soft touch suede finish, or a 17-pt. silk laminated. There are also glossy business cards which have a laminated surface. Or, you can opt for a unique material like plastic that comes in white, clear, or frosted variants – if you really want your business name to stand out.

Be it plain paper, coated card stock, or plastic, taking your time in choosing the material for your business card will make its overall look worthy of representing what you are all about as a brand.

Steps to Follow when You Order the Best Business Cards

Would you like to order the best business cards but don’t know where to start? Here are a few easy steps that you can follow:

1. Know what information to include in the business card.

Whether it’s your first time to design a business card or if you simply want to update your existing one, it pays to do your research and learn which information to include. Business cards are a representation of your work as a professional or your company if you’re an employee. For entrepreneurs, it is important to include your company name and logo – as well as your name and position. If you’re an employee, the company logo and your job position should be included.

Also consider including your website URL, telephone or mobile number, office address, and email address. You don’t have to include everything, however. If you are running a purely online business, for example, there is no need for you to include an office address. You can also include cool features like a QR code which, when scanned, will lead customers to your website.

2. Come up with a design.

Next, come up with a design that suits your brand’s image. If you are printing out personal business cards and you’re in real estate, for example, you might want to include your photo or a collage of the properties you recently sold. If you are selling handmade jewelry, make sure that the design of the card is as creative as your line of products. Those in the legal industry may opt for a more formal design. The gist is that you should use a design that complements your brand and industry.

3. Decide on the paper stock, size, and finish.

Next, choose the size of the business card. The standard is 3.5” x 2”, but you can go with square business cards or European size which is a bit larger than the standard US size. In terms of paper stock, the thicker the paper, the better. When it comes to finish, you can choose from linen, suede, cotton, silk, brown kraft, metallic ink, foil stamped, spot UV – the possibilities are endless. You also have the option to go with a non-landscape orientation or rounded edges to make your card stand out.

4. Look for a reliable printing company.

Finally, when you order business cards, make sure to look for a reliable printing company with extensive experience in the field. There are digital and offset printing service providers out there. Digital printing is good for small batches but if you’re ordering in bulk and you want more professional-looking results, offset is the way to go. These make use of huge printing presses and can produce hundreds to thousands of copies almost instantaneously once the design is set. Also check on the turnaround time, costs, minimum order, and quality of customer service offered.

By following these steps, you can order the best business cards to represent your brand with.

Should I Pay Extra for High Quality Business Card?

A 14-pt. smooth matte business card will set you back around ten cents apiece; while high quality business cards with the same thickness as a credit card will cost you around four or five times that. When you compare ordinary with high quality business cards, is the extra investment worth it? To answer this, here are a couple of questions that you can ask yourself:

• Do you prefer high quality business cards because you are offering products or services on the higher end of the price spectrum? If yes, then you definitely need to order the best business cards online. On the other hand, if you are trying to come off as an affordable brand or if you want customers to see your products or services as a lower-priced yet quality version of a direct competitor, you may not necessarily need to spend extra on premium cards. Just because a card is plain or uncoated does not mean that it comes off as cheap. You can always design the card in such a way that it looks standard but still excellently made.

• Do you have the budget for high quality business cards? If yes, then go for it! Nothing beats quality especially when it comes to the impression that you are creating for your brand. From best business cards online companies, you can select from cards that: – are made from thick paper stock, ranging from 14-pt. to 32-pt. – have unique features like rounded edge, painted edge (for super-thick business cards), spot UV gloss, foil stamping, plastic cards, and non-standard sizes.

When ordering high quality business cards, it is better to go with the offset printing option. Digital printers might offer cheaper prices, but the quality cannot match that of offset printing presses. The best business cards online are made with close attention to detail, and only high-end printing equipment can handle complex lamination jobs. Other things to consider when ordering the best business cards online are the turnaround time, costs, paper weight and thickness, finish, and quality of customer service offered.

All in all, it does pay to invest in high-quality business cards especially if you will order them from the best business cards online company. With impressive cards, you can leave an equally lasting impression about your brand.

Let Us Help You Decide on the Material & Finish when Ordering the Best Business Cards

The best business cards may only contain your company name, logo, and contact information – but they are an important representation of what you are all about as a brand. If you will distribute business cards with barely-there print on thin, cardboard material in a plain beige color – do you think that customers will think highly of you? Perhaps not. If you will launch a full-fledged print promotional campaign, you really need to focus on coming up with the best business cards so that your brand can leave a good mark of your brand in the minds of your target audience.

Fortunately, there are many professional printing companies that specialize in business cards. Before contacting one, you need to come up with a business card design. If you don’t already have a logo, have one created for your business. Then, decide which pieces of your contact information must be included on the card. Layout the design, decide on the colors, and make sure that the overall look of the card is a good reflection of your brand.

In terms of material and finish, here are a couple of options that you can choose from:

• Option 1: Paper or plastic?

Paper is the most common material for business cards. You can choose from the standard 14-pt. to something as thick as 32-pt. paper stock. The thicker the card is, the more impressed your customers will be. There are also different laminating effects available for paper business cards, making it a popular option for entrepreneurs and professionals. But if you want to stand out, you can also have plastic business cards made. These are usually made from 20-pt. plastic which has 63% the thickness of a credit card.

• Option 2: Material finish

Next, decide on the finish of the material. For plastic business cards, you can go for see through, frosted plastic, or white plastic. For paper business cards, there are a multitude of options: suede, cotton, brown kraft, silk, premium, pearl, foil stamped, or metallic ink.

The US standard size for business cards is 3.5” x 2”. There is very little space so make sure to maximize it. Pay attention to the smallest details because a typo or a non-sharp image will painfully stand out. By keeping these things in mind, you can have the best-looking business cards printed out for your brand.

Best quality business cards online: which company is the best?

The best quality business cards online today are produced using offset quality methods. What does this mean? Let’s explain…

Offset quality business cards are produced using machinery that spans the length of a school bus and in most cases has a staircase to it so you can imagine the monstrosity comes with great quality.

Offset business cards require technicians to burn your artwork on to metal film plates, similar to how professional photography is developed. This workflow creates an eight-time higher-quality result over what 80% of online printing services use today.

The vast majority of business card printing services online today are printing in a lower quality digital method. You always want offset quality business cards and never digital.

In today’s competitive business card printing world, and lot of competition has forced print services to keep lowering their prices to compete with each other. This becomes an endless and bottomless battle which not only destroys industry but has now leaked in two providers lowering their quality by choosing to print business cards digitally.

As a consumer, you do not have the time to research how quality business card printing is produced so you shop by price. When you shop by price and you only order by price you are basically making a vote to say that price is more important than quality. When businesses see this and have to report to shareholders or their bottom line and take care of thousands of employees they will be forced to listen to that vote and convert their high-quality to a lower quality digital.

You can now get 500 business cards online for about $10. What you forget to see is that those business cards are the lowest quality possible the industry is now producing. For around five dollars or $15 more you can make your company image look like 1 million bucks by choosing the path of offset quality business cards. When there’s thousands of dollars of possible business to gain from clients you never want to look cheap. You may spend six dollars on a cup of coffee but search the Internet endlessly trying to save $10 on something that’s going to represent you in business meetings and make you thousands of dollars. Not very smart decision-making now is that? There’s one thing to be a smart budget conscious consumer and there’s another when you just get what you pay for.

When it comes to searching for the best quality business cards the difference in prices from company to company do not vary drastically so instead of price shopping and sure you’re getting the best quality the industry has to offer. Just like anything in life, you get what you pay for. The same goes for when you’re trying to purchase an automobile. Sure, the most expensive Mercedes-Benz or the cheapest Toyota Camry can both take you from point a to be but we all know the differences in between. The same goes for your business image, you might as well just print at home and take a pair scissors and cut it yourself. You would not do that would you know? Obviously not but where do you draw the line on how much quality would you sacrifice for may be less than $20 difference, max?

Only you can decide what matters to you but your clients are judging you on more than you can ever imagine. The small details is what they observe and though small details tell a client how much you care about what is yours. If you do not care about your own image the client will perceive that as you won’t care for their service that’s provided by you.

Blockbusterprint.com specializes strictly in offset quality business cards and never anything low quality digital. If you want the best of the best business cards online today, head over to blockbuster print and look through a vast inventory of specialty business cards like silk laminated, gold foil stamped business cards, linen business cards, spot UV gloss business cards, premium business cards, 16 point business cards, pearl metallic business cards, brown craft business cards, and plastic business cards. The options are endless and the quality is the best in the world you can purchase today for your very important business in which.

Best of luck to you and all the success is upon you.

How Color Business Cards Vary Between Print Companies

Color business cards are never the same from company to company.

There is offset printing and then there is digital printing. You also have the next obsticle which is paper thickness for your color business cards. Finally, paper finish options (glossy, matte or spot uv).

Today, 8 out of 10 business card printing companies have lowered their quality to a poor digital format in order to save themselves money. Few still care about the customers image to give the best quality.

BlockbusterPrint produces color business cards using the higher quality offset method while keeping prices lower than anyone elses digital format. Paper options at Blockbuster Print are of the best thickness and absorption available in the world today with 16pt, 17pt and 20pt thicknesses.

The subject of machinery comes into play as well. Blockbuster Print uses the worlds most -state-of-the-art Heidelberg machinery. This print press produces the best color business cards the world is capable of producing and BlockbusterPrint possesses 6 of these machines in all 6 of its warehouses.

When it comes to quality, trust your color business card printing to the seasoned pros at BlockbusterPrint.