. . . From design to pre-press and printing
- Categorized in: Marketing Your Business
Do It Yourself Business Card Design
Today, there are thousands of websites offering cheap printing and a "do-it-yourself" online design service, so it is tempting to save some time and money by taking your logo and going online.
This approach is appropriate only if you have some training in visual design. While the online design interfaces are usually easy to use, you may not be able to control the layout, type fonts and other aspects of the card's design as well a professional designer.
A graphic designer has access to great design tools and more importantly, good visual design skills, which is needed to create a card that can effectively communicate.
Doing design yourself takes time away from what you do best, so hiring a designer to do the work may not be expensive, if you consider what your time is worth.
Also, a graphic designer can provide you several designs and sound advice on the best approach for printing, help with selecting appropriate card stock and other design decisions which will make the difference between a mediocre card design and a design that's visually appealing and professional looking.
Review Several Business Card Designs
Before deciding on one business card layout and getting your printing order underway, pass around several trimmed down business card layouts around the office and listen to the comments you get from those who look over the cards.
While some feedback may only be positive in nature, negative criticism may help to uncover things such as too small type, overly complex cards and missing information.
Test-driving potential designs before making a commitment to thousands of cards is time well spent, and making some final "tweaks" before printing is time well spent.
Pre-Press and Printing
Your designer can help you finalize your design and can prepare the "pre-press" files so the business card can be printed.
Pre-press involves making sure all the fonts, graphic elements and overall card design conforms with the printing requirements by the printing company. While there has been a lot of standardizing by printing companies, there are differences from company to company in the type of file they need.
Printing companies typically take files and process them electronically and sometimes an incorrectly formatted file may slip through the proofing system and get printed.
Having a designer involved in the printing process will ensure that there are no surprises after the printing is completed.
Paper Stock
Part of the design process should involve a discussion and review of different paper stocks. While most people will focus on the overall design of a card and the use of color, how the card feels in your hand is very important.
Textured paper stock can give your business card a rich, subtle quality that can't be matched by using smooth or glossy paper stock.
Combining embossing and foil stamping can be very effective as well, giving your card a look and feel that is totally unique.
Glossy card stock may be perfectly appropriate for your card design.
Proofing Before Printing
Before you approve the business card design for printing, be sure to review a final proof. Proofs can be in the form of a .PDF, an inkjet proof from your designer or a color-calibrated proof from the printing company.
Proofs are provided as an opportunity to make sure there are no mis-spellings and that all the design elements will print as they are intended.
Keep in mind that proofing a .PDF on your computer monitor is fine for proofing spelling, but is not the way to critically review colors. If time and budget permits, have the printer provide a "calibrated" color proof. A calibrated proof is an inkjet proof that is nearly identical to what the business card will look like when actually printed on a printing press.
If the proof reveals color use that's not consistent with other marketing materials you are using, or something just doesn't look right, ask questions of your designer or the printer before you approve the proof and have the business cards printed.
Summary
Making a great first impression with your business card is not that hard, provided you ask some questions before getting started, have your business cards professionally designed and if you pay close attention to the small details that make a big difference.
Today, there are thousands of websites offering cheap printing and a "do-it-yourself" online design service, so it is tempting to save some time and money by taking your logo and going online.
This approach is appropriate only if you have some training in visual design. While the online design interfaces are usually easy to use, you may not be able to control the layout, type fonts and other aspects of the card's design as well a professional designer.
A graphic designer has access to great design tools and more importantly, good visual design skills, which is needed to create a card that can effectively communicate.
Doing design yourself takes time away from what you do best, so hiring a designer to do the work may not be expensive, if you consider what your time is worth.
Also, a graphic designer can provide you several designs and sound advice on the best approach for printing, help with selecting appropriate card stock and other design decisions which will make the difference between a mediocre card design and a design that's visually appealing and professional looking.
Review Several Business Card Designs
Before deciding on one business card layout and getting your printing order underway, pass around several trimmed down business card layouts around the office and listen to the comments you get from those who look over the cards.
While some feedback may only be positive in nature, negative criticism may help to uncover things such as too small type, overly complex cards and missing information.
Test-driving potential designs before making a commitment to thousands of cards is time well spent, and making some final "tweaks" before printing is time well spent.
Pre-Press and Printing
Your designer can help you finalize your design and can prepare the "pre-press" files so the business card can be printed.
Pre-press involves making sure all the fonts, graphic elements and overall card design conforms with the printing requirements by the printing company. While there has been a lot of standardizing by printing companies, there are differences from company to company in the type of file they need.
Printing companies typically take files and process them electronically and sometimes an incorrectly formatted file may slip through the proofing system and get printed.
Having a designer involved in the printing process will ensure that there are no surprises after the printing is completed.
Paper Stock
Part of the design process should involve a discussion and review of different paper stocks. While most people will focus on the overall design of a card and the use of color, how the card feels in your hand is very important.
Textured paper stock can give your business card a rich, subtle quality that can't be matched by using smooth or glossy paper stock.
Combining embossing and foil stamping can be very effective as well, giving your card a look and feel that is totally unique.
Glossy card stock may be perfectly appropriate for your card design.
Proofing Before Printing
Before you approve the business card design for printing, be sure to review a final proof. Proofs can be in the form of a .PDF, an inkjet proof from your designer or a color-calibrated proof from the printing company.
Proofs are provided as an opportunity to make sure there are no mis-spellings and that all the design elements will print as they are intended.
Keep in mind that proofing a .PDF on your computer monitor is fine for proofing spelling, but is not the way to critically review colors. If time and budget permits, have the printer provide a "calibrated" color proof. A calibrated proof is an inkjet proof that is nearly identical to what the business card will look like when actually printed on a printing press.
If the proof reveals color use that's not consistent with other marketing materials you are using, or something just doesn't look right, ask questions of your designer or the printer before you approve the proof and have the business cards printed.
Summary
Making a great first impression with your business card is not that hard, provided you ask some questions before getting started, have your business cards professionally designed and if you pay close attention to the small details that make a big difference.
Additional Information
- If you have a question or need a quote: use our Quote Request form or call us at 678.969.0448.
- Download a PDF of our portfolio and brochure: please click here to begin downloading.
- View our Portfolio online: click here now.
Linking to or Reproducing this Article
Permission is hereby granted to anyone who wishes to link to this article using RSS. However, if you wish to reproduce this article within your web site or print publication, we do require that you first request permission first, and that you reproduce the article in its entirety, including a hypertext link to the Design-First web site.
