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CORY RENOLDS: Hi friends! I am often asked, "What is the best paper to print business cards on?" In short, there is not one paper better than another but simply your personal preference. The equivalent would be like asking what the best ice cream flavor is. It is whatever you want it to be and i am here to help you figure out what the best business cards are for you.

First, you want to nail down the main categories - paper thickness, paper feel, and paper features. In this tab, i will discuss business card thickness.

PAPER THICKNESS:

• SUPER THIN BUSINESS CARDS (to be subtle): We offer super thin linen business cards that are as thin as the old school cards that were once the standard business cards thickness back in the '70s. These thin business cards have a 100# textured linen material that is great if you wish to be subtle and fly under the radar in meetings. At times, a client does not wish to enter a meeting having their business card scream, "I'm rich and powerful", because you may be perceived differently. A 100# thin business card keeps them wondering of your dominance. It is just 30# thicker than professional letterheads and has a 15% thickness of a credit card. The next step up in thickness is the 14pt cheap business cards. Great for those that do not wish to have their business image judged and simply wish to use a color business card as a form of contact information transfer and nothing fancy.

• MEDIUM THICKNESS (to just get by): The standard business card thickness in today's world is most definitely the Premium 16pt business cards. They possess a 50% thickness of a credit card, have a smooth surface and offer an excellent ink absorption capability. The pricing of 16pt business cards is on the cheap side. They are 2nd in line for our cheap business cards category after the 14pt card stock. These are wonderful for customers looking for something standard quality but not in the impressive category (unless you add foil or spot uv to it) but in terms of thickness - it is an average business card thickness used by the entire industry to print premium business cards. A more impressive card that is slightly thicker is the 17pt silk laminated business cards. A top 5 favorite for many of our clients that offers slightly above average thickness with a very cool surface finish.

• ULTRA THICK BUSINESS CARDS (to impress): The other extreme is the ultra-thick 32pt business cards which have a 100% thickness of a credit card. These are excellent if you are looking for a wow effect. These heavy super thick business cards are purposely made to help you stand out. They come in an uncoated surface finish which keeps them elegant and without much flash (until you add the option gold foil stamping to it). They also have a painted edge finish if you're feeling wild! This thickness is perfect if you are wanting to get a big wow effect for an impressive business card in terms of weight, not features. Perfect for hotels, boutiques, fancy department stores or creative types such as designers.

• THE PERFECT BUSINESS CARD THICKNESS (for all above average occasions) : In all my years of business card printing - if i was forced to move onto a deserted island and i could only bring one business card material with me, i would without hesitation choose the 19pt soft touch business cards which are our suede business cards. They offer above-average thickness and a super impressive touch that you will rarely ever feel in other business cards. The soft touch business card printing offers an optional raised gold foil stamping feature or a raised spot uv gloss effect - both very cool business card options for the soft touch suede business cards. Types of clients that choose our soft touch business cards with suede laminate are, plastic surgeons, real estate agents, graphic designers, fancy steakhouses, interior designers, and anyone looking to be elegant but without much flash to cheapen your look or feel. It is truly the perfect business card that everyone loves. In a group test of 153 staff members, 97% chose the soft touch business cards of all our business card paper stocks. Yeah, they are super cool!

And there you have it, folks! Business card thickness 101. Pick the soft touch suede 19pt business cards - thank me later but have a great day first!

Best Wishes,

Cory Renolds

ANGELA MOSKAL: Hey guys! I am so delighted to help you with picking the best paper finish. As a designer myself, i often go back and forth on paper features such as gold foil, spot uv or rounded corners. My go-to always is the raised spot uv on the soft touch suede 19pt business cards. It is simply perfect for anyone looking to impress.

PAPER FEATURES:

• GOLD FOIL STAMPED BUSINESS CARDS (the ultimate wow card): I absolutely LOVE the look of our gold foil stamped business cards - offered on our 17pt silk laminated business cards, 19pt soft touch business cards and our 32pt business cards. Nothing impresses more than gold. May it be on jewelry, watches, business cards or any luxurious trimmings. Like all things in life, the time and place has to call for it. Gold has inspired civilizations for thousands of years, stemming back to Ancient Greece and Egypt. For business cards, the industry you are in has to call for it. It has to represent you and must be done tastefully. An all-black or all-white business cards with minimal gold foil in areas such as your name or web address whispers elegance. If you are looking to dominate an image, gold foil stamped business cards will get compliments 10 out of 10 times. You cannot ever go wrong with it but your company theme and your personality must support it. Flat foil stamping is available for our 17pt silk laminated business cards and our 32pt business cards. We also have a raised gold foil business cards on our 19pt soft touch business cards which is my personal favorite. The perfect feature that applies to all industries is the raised spot uv gloss which i discuss next. Our foil stamping also comes in many other colors such as red foil, blue foil, copper foil, or silver foil.

• SPOT UV GLOSS BUSINESS CARDS (the perfect all-around feature for all industries): There is the flat spot uv gloss and the raised spot gloss effect that we offer. The raised spot gloss is a feature that allows you to add gloss only to desired areas in a heightened feel, such as a logo outline while leaving the rest of the card a natural matte finish. The flat spot uv gloss is the same effect but without the added height to the gloss. The names self describe them. Many clients do not want much flash on their card and the absolute best business card feature to always go with is the spot uv gloss. It adds a major wow effect without going overboard. It makes your logos pop much nicer. The flat spot uv is very neat but the raised spot gloss business cards are in a class of their own. You will always get the best compliments on raised gloss no matter your industry. Raised spot gloss is available on our soft touch business cards, also known as suede business cards.

• ROUNDED CORNER BUSINESS CARDS: Rounded business cards have been around forever and are very popular among clients that want to show a more playful side without getting into complex features such as gold, silver, spot uv or metallic inks. You can say it is the easiest and simplest feature to a business card. The rounded edge business cards are available for most of our paper finishes such as our 14pt, 16pt, 17pt, and 19pt card stocks.

• THE PERFECT BUSINESS CARD FEATURE (for all above average occasions): If I was going with just one feature it would no doubt be the raised spot uv on the soft touch business cards that have the 19pt thickness. I have yet to hear a client say they do not like them. Many call them the best business cards they have ever printed or felt. Pairing both soft touch suede and raised gloss makes it subtle but ultra-unique to the fingertips. You have to try it to appreciate it. Even clients who had no interested in anything impressive end up sticking with it on all their reprints. It does not disappoint!

I hope i have helped share some of my insight and experience on my personal favorite, our staff's favorites and our client favorites which universally seems to be our soft touch suede with option raised spot uv gloss.

Dream big,

Angela Moskal

MICHAEL PARKER: My dear friends! A pleasure to share my lifes work with you. I have designed for clients such as NASA, Lego Toys, Whole Foods, Arm & Hammer and Warner Brothers Studios to share a few of my projects.

GRAPHIC DESIGN TIPS AND ADVICE:

• BEST COLORS TO USE: Colors undoubtedly play a big role in human psychology. Red says urgency, blue says safe and calm, black purs luxury, shades of green speak peacefully, orange and yellows are friendly and optimistic while gray says balance and neutrality. The colors to choose depend on the emotion to wish to evoke. Restaurant owners should always stick to black, reds, and yellows as those are warm colors that tie into food. A banker or real estate agent tends to do well with blues or greens. If you are in a creative or fun line of work, you can incorporate any color that you personally desire. There is no right or wrong, purely preference but if you are looking to add color to business cards that you wish to be safe with, it is best to follow the color emotion rules that are proven in psychology that i share above. Muted colors show a calmer tone to your business. Neon colors show excitement. If you are in any professional business the colors you choose also fall into the personality of your business. What i like to do when designing the perfect business cards is i create 2-3 very different versions and i ask the opinion of 10 people. I ask them how they feel or percieve the business based on the look. I like to stay nuetral to my work and not fall in love with it so asking others for their option in the end will be the ultimate guide to knowing if you have chosen the perfect colors.

• HOW BIG TEXT SIZE SHOULD BE: TThere is no right or wrong text size but there is certainly the rule of never going below the 11pt size. Big text can always be seen as fun or creative but very small text can be frustrating and be seen as poor design work. Small text is certainly creative and modern. Small text is subtle but too small of text is a failed attempt at a modern look. The perfect font size for people of all ages, young or mature is around 12pt. If you wish to get creative you can always pair a large font at around 22pt but you should always stick to no more than 2 font suizes in one design. If you have 7 lines of text and all 7 have different sizes your business cards can look very cluttered.

• WHAT CRUCIAL INFO SHOULD BE PRESENT: All contact method of your choice shall be added on there. If you do not wish to have clients call you at random hours of the day, its best to leave operation hours or an email only. Some of our clients leave just a web address as they want to drive traffic to their site and not to a phone rep. One thing for certain is you should always add your logo, the rest is purly up to you and how you wish to operate your business contacts.

• WHEN TO ADD PHOTOS: Real estate agents and sales agents tend to always add photos of themselves to their color business cards as the service provided is branded to them personally. Photographers also add a landscape photo to their business card printing. Rarely ever does a photograph belong on a professional business card but if you choose to add a photograph it is always best to add it to only one side.

• OVERALL PERFECTION: The perfect business card feedback i receive from clients is always one with neatly organized text that is minimal in colors (2 colors max). The best business cards tend to be simple, minimalistic but with add on features such as spot uv gloss or enhanced paper such as silk laminated business cards or soft touch business cards with suede laminate. A simple business card design can become many times more impressive just by boosting the paper thickness and feel.

In all my years of designing business cards, i have found one thing that works best - when in doubt, keep it simple and go with a nicer paper.

To be creative is to be truly alive,

Michael Parker