business cards

Often your first impression, a lasting memory, a reminder once you are gone... I'm talking about business cards. A lot of people overlook them and miss the boat. I have found that they are frequently an afterthought. I have to admit - I haven't thought about them too much until recently. Last week I asked some fellow photographers who they used for business cards and several of them recommended a company called VistaPrint.

What a gold mine! They offer a wide variety of FREE business cards that have contemporary designs and great layout. You just pay the shipping (which will be substantial unfortunately); however, I have found that even with the shipping they are a bargain. I opted to create my own design. VistaPrint offers raw dimensions and bleed/crop information so you can create the card in whatever program you are comfortable. They also offer a Photoshop template that has a set of guides on their own layer so you can design your card to their printing and cutting requirements.

If you have never worked with a printing company (and prints through mpix or your local print shop for photos don't count) then you will need to know one very important thing. CMYK - everything you submit MUST be in CMYK. Photo printing is primaraly done in RGB but when you step into the land of production printing you must use CMYK. That being said - programs like Photoshop Express don't support the color profile CMYK (or at least it didn't the last time I had my hands on a copy). If you don't send your card in CMYK you run the risk that your colors won't print accuratly.

Once I designed my card I was a simple process to order my cards. Be warned - because VistaPrint offers free business cards there are a lot of ads during the checout phase - just make shure you say no thanks and move on. I ordered about 1,000 business cards for $18.98 + Shipping. I looked around town and even though I paid almost as much for shipping as I did for the cards - I still got a better deal than anyone else in town had. I ordered a slow shipping but I still got them in under a week! No matter which way you slice it - it was a good deal and I am so happy to have business cards. If you are looking for a good business card but don't want to spend an arm & a leg give VistaPrint a look-see and I think you will like what you find.