Business card template, the simpler way to create business cards.
Even if you’re not a professional designer or graphic artist, there’s a way to create your own professional-looking business cards, Use a business card template!
However, before proceeding, you should determine the quantity of cards you’ll need. Certain business card templates and suggestions work very well if you don’t need hundreds of cards; however, these same approaches are very expensive if you do.
Programs like Microsoft Word® and Publisher® offer easy-to-use templates that cover a wide variety of themes and industries. Select the one you like or feel best represents your business, insert your personalized information and you’re ready to print.
If your quantity needs are small, you can use your own inkjet or laser printer. Office supply stores offer business card stock that’s available in a few different finishes (gloss, linenweave, smooth, etc.). The 8.5 x 11” sheets will run through most printers and are perforated to separate cleanly into individual cards.
Another alternative is to purchase pre-printed business card stock. Like the templates, you can find designs and color combinations that suit your style and reflect your business. This approach gives you more flexibility, and you can have a professional-looking card with even the most basic inkjet printer.
These give you the ability to simply print your personal information in black (or single color ink) on a full-color printed, perforated sheet for very expensive-looking business cards. These options are only cost-effective if you need a few dozen cards, and since they’re available to everyone, you could end up with the same business card design as your competitor.
If you need hundreds of business cards, you can also use a word processing or page layout program to create your business card design and have your local print shop handle the printing for you. A few words of caution if you opt for this route: First, be certain that you provide the font (or at least the name of the font used) to your printer as well as a print out showing how you expect your cards to look.
There are literally thousands of fonts available, and your printer may not have the exact one (or version) you used. Asking for a proof helps ensure that the end result is what you want. Second, if you’re using full color, most word processing programs and low-end page layout programs can’t be used by your local printer.
In order to create full color, your file must be separated into cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) which is not typically possible with these programs. Before spending too much time on your design, ask your printer which software programs are supported.
A quick search engine check brings up hundreds of sites that provide business card templates for you to simply plug in your information, press submit, and voila… your order is underway. Your local printer may even offer a web-based service that allows you to design your own card using a business card template. This is a fast, cost-effective choice if you need hundreds of cards printed.
Nearly all templates will allow you to select the font you want, and changing fonts is a simple as changing them in any word processing program. Highlight the copy you want to change and select your desired font. (Note: some online templates have fonts that cannot be changed.)
While you may be able to choose from hundreds of typefaces, limit yourself to only using one or two. If your company name is shown in a script or unusual font, choose a plain typeface (like Arial/Helvetica or Times New Roman) for the rest of your information. Otherwise, you’ll sacrifice readability of the important but small information shown on your card like your phone number and email address.
Some business card templates have a pre-set space for your own photo, logo or image and instructions for uploading it from your computer. You’ll want to be certain that your image is 300 DPI (dots per inch). Images with lower resolutions aren’t intended for printed output and will look fuzzy or blurry.
Most images used online are 72 dpi which look fine on your monitor but will not print well. Do not use any images that you’ve downloaded from the Internet unless they’re specified for print and are legally available (i.e. purchased from a royalty-free site). Keep in mind that if you simply grab something off the Internet you could be infringing on a copyright-protected image.
Asking a few questions and doing a little research at the start can save you from the effort and disappointment of creating a business card that cannot be printed, and until it’s printed, it’s not doing you any good.