I'm in the process of creating an awesome web-app (see sig), and would like to use business cards to distributes invites amongst people interested, in real life. This would mean I would have to print a unique code on each business card. I asked for a quote at one of the more cheaper print companies and they said they could do it for an added fee of about €60, which isn't so bad. Since they make business cards full colour both sides for €54 for 1000 (or €35 for 50), and I won't be able to use them anymore anyway after the web-app goes public, I would like to pursue alternatives before I shell out €100+ for business cards of which most I'd have to throw out anyway. I tried printing on a card with my laser printer here at home, but each time it got stuck somewhere in the middle, before even reaching the drum. So that's a no-go. I don't want to paste labels on them because that would look unprofessional and would cancel the effect of having cards professionally printed. Do you guys have any idea how to solve this the cheap way? I'd only need about a 100 or so, so anything requiring manual labour is OK too. Or if you know of a printer who could do it more cheaply than the above quote. I've thought of typing it up on an old-fashioned type-writer but that would probably clash with the design of the card in general. Also, if anyone know of a good cheap printer that ships to Belgium I'm interested! PS: Some guys (Astrum, Dfhaii, Ajack, ...) might drop by and say how much Seenly sucks. Pay no attention, they're merely jealous of my incredible ePenis.
Yes some people have told me that as well, but I would like for them to be professionaly printed, to make a good impression and all that
All you need is a colour printer and some decent card stock, being handy with a photo editing package wouldnt go amis either I suppose.
I agree with cabe, I'm sure you could design them in photoshop, then print say 36 or something per A4 card, then slice them yourself. Wouldn't be too far from what a professional would do.
Have them done professionally, there nothing I hate more than getting some crappy old business card covered in clipart done on a £25 epson printer, chances are I'll scribble some crap on the back then chuck it when I find it six months later, a good looking card will go into my BC folder
Laser them off (preferably on a colour laser if it's got colours in the design) on thin card from the manual print tray on your laser, then have them laminated, and cut them on a guillotine. The machines for doing laminations yourself (should) be pretty cheap by now, that's of course if you insist on doing them yourself. I've done cards before and in all honesty so long as you use good card and are handy with a laminating device it's pretty simple. ::edit:: I'm also now quite interested in what Seenly is
Just make sure you go with a good weight paper, and get them to send you a sample. with a full colour spectrum on it. Make sure that the colours don't smudge and that there isn't any bleeding around sharp edges.
People, people... I said I didn't want to use labels because it would nullify the effect of having them professionaly printed. I've done my research before posting this thread. Do you really think I didn't consider printing them myself? It was, in fact, the first solution I dismissed, for the reasons stated by FuzzyOne. Also, when I expressively dismiss the solution in the second reply to this thread, why do you keep going on about it? Although I appreciate the effort, it is not suited for my needs. I will probably have to do it that way if there's no other solution. VistaPrint is not cheaper than the price stated above. They *are* cheap when you want b/w on one side, but I need (would like) full colour on both sides, and in that they're more expensive. Good try though . Will, thanks for the advice . So, still no ideas on how to get a unique token on pre-printed business cards?
What i know about print shops around here is that the cheeky bastards make photocopies instead of printing your cards. Maybe this in combination with the numbers printed on transparant sheets? So in fact you only have to print your cards once (on 80gr. paper) then you make five (seeing an a4 has apx. 20 cards on it) copies, each with a different overlay with different numbers on them. Using 120gr paper is good enough for bussiness cards. I don't know, seems a lot of effort for a hundred cards. Other idea: have them printed without the number, and afterwards you print the number on there. And yet another: Get one of these stamps where you can change the number manually. Crazy expensive, though
Just cough up and pay the quoted price, imo. Should be a tax write-off since it's a business expense, and trying to save a few pounds now is just wasting your time unless you expect the web app to just burn cash. Also, I'd avoid VistaPrint. I've had bad experiences with them in the past. They infected one of my domains with spam, for a start, and I thought their cards weren't very high quality anyways (not to mention they managed to make a typo when printing them).
You can get pre-punched card stock specifically for printing business cards. As long as you use a colour laser printer, the quality should be sufficient.
Doesn't that usually have messy edges? That's one of those small but annoying things that can really stop a good design from looking professional.
No, they have clean edges. You just fold along the score lines and the cards pop out. They look fine - I've used them in the past while waiting for the printer to produce proper cards. The inkjet ones are single-sided, but I wouldn't see any problems with using them double-sided in a laser printer.
