Printed Business Cards

Business card sites and business printing services love to tell you what you should do with your business card layout and design but often forget to mention what you should try and avoid at all cost. Business cards should stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. The wrong reasons will have your hard earned money tossed onto the trash heap.

Make sure your business card is standard size which is 3.5 by 2 inches. Oversized cards may set you apart from your colleagues but they don’t fit in all the usual places. Rolodex systems, business card holders, wallets and notebook folder inserts are all designed for standard sized cards. A business card that doesn’t fit neatly into an established pile or prevents the lid of the rolodex machine from shutting properly will quickly become a nuisance and discarded.

When it comes to business card that fold in half, the purpose needs to be very specific. They may look good and offer a unique way of remembering you but they also are tricky for clients and colleagues to store. The thickness may be the simple hindrance to someone keeping the card. If using fold over cards, make sure one side is a tear off coupon so that after use, the regular business card fits into the rolodex.

Never cheap out on the business card at networking events. When every Tom, Dick and Harry is handing business cards out to service providers, colleagues and potential clients, a cheap card will stick out for the wrong reasons. When someone has nice business cards as well as cheap ones to go through and decide who to keep and who to contact, you can be sure the flimsy home printed card won’t make to the end of the conference or networking event.

Too many colors could indicate too much trouble for a client and your card will hit the waste paper basket before you can remember the color rule. When it comes to business cards, never go over three colors on a card if you can avoid it. A little color shows you aren’t cheap enough to only do black and white but too much color can show you don’t know when to stop. Well colored quality cards on top quality card in the standard size are the best way to keep your details out of the trash.

Filed under: Business Card Help, Design Tips, Marketing, Printing on September 28th, 2009