Business Card Design

Hey all,

I downloaded a program called Business Card Designer 7.0 free from Kazaa and designed from there. It's very easy. I bought business card printing paper at Office Depot, which has 300 cards to print on using a home computer. Trust me, this is the easiest way to do it.

hope they dont get wet.

You should be ok though because our type of work doesn't involve the use of water

getting cards printed by a printer is cheap and the quality of the paper and print is FAR better than you can get from the home made ones. You can probably buy top quality professional cards for less than the materials alone. What about your time? And don't forget about misprints and other problems, you cant erase them and start all over.

business card

Well U really shouldnt get any kind of card wet, wether it's from the printers or just printed off computer.

A mistake I did make however was buying that magnetic printable paper at office depot for my computer. I put them on my van as I work during the day and have had no trouble with them blowing off, even going down the highway was no problem. Today 2 of the 3 signs on my van blew off. That sucked because those things cost $3.00 each. I guess I will just go with the real thing at the printers next time.

the home printed cards will smear with slightly damp fingers if printed with ink jet printer. they have better ink now but it is very expensive. you can get much nicer cards printed professionally for a fraction of the cost of the ink alone. If my hands are a little wet from working with water, I can get a card for a potential customer without the embarassment of giving them a piece of flimsy paper with what looks like blueberry koolaid on it from the ink smearing.
never have that problem with real business cards. I tried the home made style and to me there is no comparison.

flimsy paper with what looks like blueberry koolaid on it from the ink smearing.


Been there,done that,will agree with BigPete,I made several with different wording and lettering.Worked on them for weeks getting them just right,glad I spilled a little pepsi on them and GLAD I never passed any out.Couldn't even read some of them b/c the ink smeared and ran together,like Pete said,blueberry koolaid,I'll add with rainbow colors.

well i just did an experiment with my card and ran water over it. No smear at all. But it did however smear the more i rubbed my finger over it but I was still able to read it no problem. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Trust me guys, this card designer program is capable of making quality cards at a fraction of the cost. I can put any kind of picture on it with hundreds of different background designs. The card is rather flimsy though. They do have better quality cards at office depot but I didnt think it was necessary to get them. Did anyone ever see that movie American Psycho? They have a great business card scence. Funny as hell.

Good luck, but i still think you are wrong if you think you are saving money. Hope it works for you.

later
Pete

well the total cost I paid was bout 15.00 for 300 cards and maybe 50 cents in ink. How much is it to get cards the way u do it?

"...maybe 50 cents in ink" hmmmm right.

like I said, good luck buddy. I hope you figure your pressure cleaning costs a little better than that if you plan on being in business long enough to get a call back on one of those cards you made. That is if the 50cent ink lasts long enough.

I'm just trying to save you some embarrassment and money. Many of us have tried them and we have learned our lesson. If you are starting a hobby, then thats ok too. Just don't call it a business. There are enough clowns out there already doing just that.

I can get 500 raised ink cards for about that, and alot more (1000+) for what you truly paid for yours.

"Many of us have tried them and we have learned our lesson."

Who is us and we?

For my computer printer I bought a priting cartridge that cost 35 dollars. My business card printing paper holds 10 cards per 8 x 11 sheet. That accounts for 30 sheets. I can print at least 2500 8 x 11 sheet per cartridge. Sorry I may have over estimated that 50 cents.

cards

Been there done that. I hope they work for ya. I like the ones done by a professional printer better. I like the raised ink ones.
My opinion.... they look cheap and look like ya did them yourself. For around 35.00 - 40.00 you can get them in a box, complete, finished and ready to go.

I agree the average computer / ink jet printer business card has a lot to be desired. (Unless you have a high end printer.)

Check out Kinkos or any other print shop for cards.

Y'all,way do thay charge $25 to $35 for .50cents worth of ink , well it is inside that little box , its almost cheaper to buy a new printer each time you run out of ink!

Mel

melsmobile.com

"I can print at least 2500 8 x 11 sheet per cartridge"

wow!

I don't think the rest of the world knows how to get that out of an ink jet printer. maybe you can enlighten us. Maybe printing very sparse, low resolution (draft) text will get you that many pages but i doubt you get close to 100 pages of full color, high res printing on one cartridge. In fact i am sure of it. But if thats what the kid at office depot read off of the package to you then it must be true.

I wish you the best of luck.

Damn u r a hard one to convince arent u. I had to replace a cartigde after about 2.5 years of use. I go thru a 500 paper pack every 6 months. I based it on that. If you doubt me please just dont say "Oh your wrong". Back it up with some proof would ya. If your going to use best quality printing full of colors, such as on photo paper, then that number will be cut down a lot.

Yes some guys like to go to the printers and get the raised lettering for more money. That's fine. Business Card Designer has it's advantages. U can download some free software for your comp, learn how to apply this application, and design hundreds of different cards for yourself. This may be an alternative to going to the printers and printing one style of card. At least with Business Card Designer 7.0, u can print 10 cards one day, and 10 different cards the next with a totally different style. Thats a major advantage over driving down to the printers everday to have someone else help u design your card. The cost is 15.00 for 300 cards at office depot. Even if I paid 3 dollars for ink instead of 50 cents, that's not much of a difference.

And I ask again, WHO IS US AND WE? Give us and we credit, they deserve it.

Mik788,

Sounds like your method works for you,
that is great! Some people prefer the raised thermograph cards or a more professional looking card for their business, and that is great too!



Different strokes for different folks, I understand why you like to make your own, as well as why I order mine from a local printer.



Neither method is right or wrong.

I (or anyone else i have spoken to about this) cant seem to get 200 pages before needing to replace cartridges. In fact most ink-jet printers average 25-50 cents PER PAGE for color printing. But someone with your superior computer knowledge and skill can do what no one (not even the manufacturers) can do. Good for you.

so far, it seems you are the only guy who is impressed with home made cards. The other posts are not too thrilled by them. Like mark said - Different strokes for different folks.

Why do you think you need to sell ...errr... convince me to use this product. I have used this type of card in the past and have learned from my MISTAKE. I was just trying to help you to not make the same mistake. Yes, they are good for making a different card every day like many fly-by-nighters and flim-flammers like to do, but Legitimate businesses need to have a good image and IN MY OPINION flimsy homemade cards do not convey this image.

My cards cost me 36.00 +tax for 1000 cards or roughly 3.6 cents each. They are raised ink, color, with my custom logo, custom textured HEAVY card stock. If I need 30 or 40 or 400 to pass out in a day i just grab them and go. I spend my time making money and/or having a good time - not printing cards. And if there are misprints I dont have to buy them - You Do.[[bm]

Later,
Pete

PS. I ain't mad at ya' ....... just send me some of that ink.

IMHO, the biz card design program is great for helping to create your card the way you want it, with a nice layout and such, but the best looking cards come from a print shop. I pay under $40 with tax for 1000 raised print on nice card stock.

Maybe you can put your designed file on diskette and give it to the printer.

I don't do any of my own printing because it takes to much time, uses too much ink, and is susceptible to moisture damage. I do however, do my own layout and setup, and bring that to the printer.

Good luck however you chose to do it!


Oh....and don't forget.....KAZAA is loaded with all kinds of spyware, so there is probably tons of malware and the likes on your computer now.

Kazaa is the absolute worst for spyware.

It's all about image. If you want to portray the image that you short cut on your business card costs by printing them yourself, then that's the image you show. The cards are flimsy and look home made.

If you want to appear professional, then get 'em done right.

The great things is - you have the choice.