I agree with Russ......the first thing a client sees & feels is the raised letters on a top notch business high gloss looking card......
its the "gateway" to your business.....a few bucks more goes a long long way....get the best you can imo.

There are $100 printers these days that are amazing with their quality. The issue with biz cards is not so much the print but the card stock. Anyone found a high quality card stock for use in printers? The ones you tear off that have perforated borders, those are too flimsy and the edges are not sharp enough. So, I'm wondering if high quality roll-your-own stock even exists.

Most of the high quality card stock is avalable in 8-1/2 X 11 format and must be cut with a card cutter such as this one that sells for $89 at Cyberguys



Cheers,

Gary

I think this topic cuts to the core of some of our professional practices.

I am playing for a corporate party tomorrow night - my second this week. Last Sunday I played for an exclusive dining club's brunch. All of these are primo gigs, corporate and otherwise, so I have to look as professional as my clients are or more. I have the biz cards of several of my competitors and they are all either homemade or the stereotypical/forgettable locally-made business cards we've all seen thousands of. I love the expression I get when I present my card... that essential first impression is in the pocket.

Having a card that stands out head and shoulders above the rest is well worth extra money, but I don't think I paid more for mine than most would for homemade in the long run. I just did my homework and went to a little extra effort - but I do that anyway when it comes to my services and I want my clients to know that.

BTW: my biz card has become the centerpiece of my entire promo package - all of my handouts, 8x10's, songlists, posters, etc. have the same coordinated look and theme as my card. Each of these things took a little extra effort but the result is priceless.

If you compare image quality of any compute printer output, even the $5,000 printers digital houses use, with a conventional offset press image, the difference in quality is really obvious.

Thermal engraving (raised lettering) is done by putting a material similar to yeast in the ink and actually subjecting it to heat to get the type to raise before it's dry.

Paper comes in various weights and is either coated or uncoated. You need a coated stock if you use half-tones (photography).
It is usually not possible to get a card done with a high quality photo image and thermal engraving. If that is the look you want, you have to go with embossing.

There are many specialty houses around the country who use high quality offset presses
and can deliver 1000 cards in the $60-100
range. They can do it by combo runs of up to 60 different cards at a time. Many have free design service. No matter how good the stock is, design and content are what makes a great card.

For postcards for big clients, including Toyota,Lexmark, etc., I use Modern Postcard, and I believe they do business cards. Specialty houses can deliver for a fraction of the cost of one purchased from a local printer, because they do gang runs.

If you design your own card, you can email the file to the specialty house (they'll tell you how to format the file). Turn around is usually less than 7 days, and rush service is acvailable for a premium.

For ideas, it might be fun to share images of our cards. Sharing ideas and business practices is a really useful benefit of being part of this group.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Russ

Pro is right...the use of coordinatd graphics, type style, stock, colors, etc.
is the best way to maximize effectiveness, whatever you're marketing.


Russ

Is it possible to scan a copy of the card and post, so we can see the card that has raised so much discussion?

Regards,


Jerry

Gary....sadly, the vast majority of fine printing stock isn't available in 8 1/2"x11". It is shipped to printers from mills in much larger sheets.

If you want an 8 1/2" x 11" finished image and the project is a "bleedd" (photos, colors, typography, etc.right to the edge),
the sheet must be larger, overprinted and then trimmed to size. Availability depends on mill runs.

AS you can tell, I'm way into production
(overkill, in this case). One of my current projects is a $250,000.00 production for an Italian staircase company selling their product line to Loew's. The run is over 2,750,000 sheets. Some are laminated. The Lowe's spec for production and content is over 180 pages.

I apologize for the excessive length..this stuff has been my lifelong passion.

The key is to use what works best for you.
If you're working, you have to be doing things right.

Happy Holidays!


Russ

My option was for a classical card.
White opaline card
Just my name,musician,address,phones and email .

Chico

Haven't done it yet, but I plan to make some of those little small CDs,the kind that fit in the inner part of the player, with my info on the outside. Of course they would mostly be for prospective clients.
Right now I print the cards myself. You can get almost any kind of card stock from Office
Depot. I have had a paper cutter for years.
Most good print programs have templates that you can modify.
DonM