There are 2 primary ways to facilitate a business card fold: perforation and scoring.

A perforation is a series of small holes on a sheet of paper so that a section can tear easily over a straight line.  This is a common attribute of event tickets, business reply cards, notebook paper, and hundreds of other items regularly used in our society.

A score, on the other hand, is a crease applied to a sheet made of a heavy stock paper to eliminate cracking and to facilitate a straight and accurate fold.  Pick up any greeting card, and you will see scoring.

Folded business cards are typically printed on a 4” x 3.5” card stock.  The 4” side is folded in half along the scored or perforated line, leaving you with a standard 2” x 3.5” business card when folded.  Scoring or perforation typically works best on silk business cards and glossy business cards.

The main benefit of this type of business card is that it offers additional “marketing space” for your card.  In other words, instead of the standard 2 sides (front and back), you now have 4 sides to work with – double the marketing space.  You could leverage this additional space for any number of creative purposes – for example, including a map to your business, your company mission, or even an appointment card.

The other benefit is that folded business cards are extremely unique, and as such will help your business cards stand out from the masses.  Unique business cards are more likely to be retained by customers and clients, even if just for novelty reasons.

Folded silk business cards also allow for additional enhancements, like spot UV, foil stamping, and embossing, any of which will serve to dramatically embellish your folded business card’s uniqueness and stickiness even more.

So there you have it – a quick and dirty overview of folded business cards.  To sum it up, the folding is usually done on silk business cards or glossy business cards, utilizing either perforation or scoring.

Till next time…

So, what exactly is a silk business card?  Well, the silky coating is accomplished via silk-lamination, and this laminate coating is completely unnoticeable and invisible unless you try to tear the card.  It is this lamination which gives silk business cards their uniqueness. 

For one, it makes the cards more durable.  The laminate coating makes the cards a little more difficult to tear, and helps minimize the possibility of corners and edges getting frayed.  Additionally, the silk lamination is completely writable, meaning you can write on the card with pens, pencils, and markers with ease. 

Another key attribute of silk cards is that they are non-glossy, which eliminates the common problems associated with glossy business cards such as fingerprinting, streaks, smudges, and the cards sticking together.  Non-shiny silk lamination eliminates these types of problems.

Additionally, the non-shiny look is more upscale and elegant.  Many people correctly perceive glossy UV business cards to be a relatively low end business card product.  The non-shiny look seems to be “in” these days, which positively influences people’s perception of quality. 

Finally, the durability and composition of the silk cardstock make it the best choice for business card enhancement features like spot UV, embossing, and foil stamping. 

Spot UV business cards in particular offer a unique look, as the areas treated with the spot UV are slightly raised and shiny compared to the non-shiny silk cardstock.  Thus, the treated areas “jump off the page” and provide a striking visual impact.  It would not be possible to produce spot UV business cards on an inherently glossy cardstock.

Embossing also works better on silk business cards.  Embossing is the process of raising certain design elements by virtue of them getting “pushed through” from the backside.  The net effect is similar to the account number on a standard credit card, where the numbers are raised on the front and recessed on the back.  As you can probably guess, embossing is a delicate process that puts much stress on the cardstock, and thus is a more appropriate enhancement feature for durable business cards like silk.

To sum it all up, silk business cards are laminated, durable, writable, non-glossy, and support enhancement features.  Outside of metal business cards or plastic business cards, silk cards are generally considered the highest-end business cardstock in the market today.  They have an elegant look and feel, and do not have the same inconveniences as glossy business cards.

I celebrate Christmas, and it is truly my favorite time of the year.  But hey, this blog is about business cards, right?  So I thought I would combine the two topics and list 10 things you could do with your custom business cards this holiday season…

1. Include a business card with your holiday business correspondence (for example, put your business card in any Christmas cards you send to your clients).
2. Distribute your card at any and all holiday functions you happen to attend.
3. Use your glossy business cards as gift labels.
4. Print silk business cards with coupon codes in order to facilitate a holiday promotion.
5. Find places within your local mall to distribute your business cards.  You may even be able to partner with a few stores to put a stack of your cards on the checkout counter.  All malls are packed with people this time of year, so think about ways to tap into this mass of humanity.
6. If you are in a business that encourages holiday gift-giving to clients, a nice touch is to give out a small box of candies – about the diameter of a standard business card, just enough to fit a few pieces of chocolate – and use a graphic of your custom business cards as the lid.
7. If you have metal business cards, think about transforming them into Christmas tree ornaments and hand them out to clients as holiday gifts.
8. Going to a family function?  Why not descretley pass out your card to everyone in attendance? 
9. Expand your silk business cards to the size of a holiday greeting card, and mail them to clients. 
10. Use your glossy business cards as kindling to get the ‘ole Yule Log started! (ha, ha…I just had to end with some humor).

So there you have it, an imprompteu list of things to do with your custom business cards this holiday season.  Whether you have glossy business cards, silk business cards, or metal business cards, I hope you found this blog post both enjoyable and useful. 

Happy Holidays!

We are very excited about the new shopping cart functionality because it further supports our core mission to provide customers with maximum customization options. Previously, customers were forced to inquire about “fringe” business card customization options by requesting a custom quote. Now, once customers click on a custom card “buy now” button, they can clearly see all the available add-on options and their associated price points.

You can now add multiple bells and whistles to any business card product to make it as unique as you wish – including rounded corners, custom cuts (starts at 1.5 x 1.5 and goes up from there in quarter-inch increments), perforation, embossing, and foil stamping (gold, silver, red, blue or green). You can even select professional graphic design services to, for example, recreate artwork in a print-ready format or even design your entire card!

These options can be added to any business card requiring you to upload your own design file. Products include silk business cards, glossy business cards, advanced business cards, luxury business cards, and more.

Our entire company is positioned around uniqueness and customization, so the new shopping cart is a natural fit. Not only can customers now see ALL the optional add-ons and each one’s price point, but any or all of them can be added to any “upload your own design” product. More options, upfront pricing, and pricing visibility – these are the true benefits this new functionality brings directly to our current and potential customers.

We hope our customers like the new functionality. Your feedback is critical, so please send us an email and let us know what you think! Our hope is to continuously refine the shopping cart over time so that it becomes more and more powerful and intuitive, and we can only do this with your help – so, don’t be shy and let us ‘have it’!

Luckily, like most things in life, this decision-making process can be filtered down to just a few key decision points. Actually, 5 key decision points to be exact, 3 dealing with the cards themselves and 2 dealing with the printers. So without further ado, here we go!

Card Factor #1: Type of Card Stock

Custom business cards can be printed on paper or card stock. If you are looking to impress, the choice is obvious. Real card stock is better. Card stock thickness is typically measured by a point system that corresponds to thickness in inches. For example, 15pt cardstock is 0.015 inches thick, 10pt cardstock is 0.010 inches thick, and so on. Usually, the thicker the card, the higher the perceived quality.

Card Factor #2: Type of Coating

The 2 most common types of custom business card coatings are glossy UV (ultra-violet) and silk lamination. A coated business card is relatively unique because most folks still carry around those dull 1-sided paper cards. Plus, coated cards add a flare of elegance and durability. All else being equal, coated cards are usually perceived to be of higher quality than non-coated cards and hence are preferred.

Card Factor #3: Optional Features

If you are reading this, chances are you want your business card to make an amazing first impression. So adding “bells and whistles” like spot UV, rounded corners, perforation, irregular cuts, or embossing can really make your card uniquely stand out in a sea of monotony. Spot UV is my favorite and always looks fantastic on your own card design.

Printer Factor #1: Type of Printing Process

In other words, does the printer specialize in black and white or full color printing? What type of color? Single-sided cards or dual-sided cards? And…well, you get the point.

The thing to remember here is to narrow your search down to full color, CMYK printers only. You don’t want black and white, and printers that do not specialize in the industry-standard CMYK 4-color printing process tend to produce unpredictable results.

Printer Factor #2: Turnaround Time

The standard timeframe is 4-5 business days, although this could fluctuate slightly depending on the specific product and customization features. A stated turnaround of substantially more or less than 4-5 days should be a red flag for you.

Wrap Up

Deciding on your custom business card specs and printing company is easy if you focus on the key variables: card stock / material, coating, optional enhancements, and the printer’s process and turnaround time. Good luck!

So without further ado, here are the top 10 idiotic things to do with your business card during your 4th of July holiday excursions.

1. Light a business card on fire like a poor-man’s sparkler. Your friends will be so impressed (avoid doing this with gasoline on your hands).
2. If you have a pool, attempt to use your business card as a raft (not recommended for humans).
3. Need help getting the charcoal grill going? Silk business cards make great kindling.
4. Keep the kids busy by having an Easter Egg hunt, using your business cards instead of eggs (feel free to dye your business cards if you REALLY want to get into the Easter spirit). Bunny costume = optional.
5. Wear your business card like a name tag so your friends and family won’t forget who you are.
6. Use your plastic business card like a Frisbee. Fun for the whole family!
7. Build a house of cards (no bigger than 3 bedroom / 2 bath)
8. No need to spend money on a spatula. Strap one of your metal business cards to the end of a stick, and flip those burgers with ease (not recommended for veggie burgers).
9. Get 52 business cards and use them like playing cards. Since they are all identical, everybody’s a winner!
10. Use your business card as toilet paper (not recommended for diarrhea…also avoid using coated products like glossy business cards…unless you want a techno-color ass.).

That’s all folks. I hope you enjoyed my lame attempt at humor and that at least a couple of those made you smile. I’ll be back next week with more tips and tidbits to help you optimize the value of your business card and generate an immediate positive first impression.

Happy Independence Day!

Metal business cards and plastic business cards definitely impress, but they are expensive. One of the most cost-effective ways to boost your card’s “wow factor” is to create your artwork, then find a printer that offers spot UV business cards.

What is Spot UV?

Spot UV (Ultra Violet) refers to the placement of a glossy coating on specific areas of the card. Whereas glossy business cards are shiny all over, spot UV business cards are typically printed on non-shiny cardstock like silk. The spot UV gloss is then coated over the silk business card stock on specific parts of the card.

The effect makes the glossy or spot UV areas jump off the card, especially when reflecting light. The effect does not change the underlying color, it simply makes it shine.

Where to Add Spot UV to Your Card

The best place to add spot UV to your business cards is the logo. Most logos are designed to be eye-catching, so embellishing them with spot UV is a natural fit. You could also apply spot UV to the company or contact details, which produces a pseudo raised-letter effect and is extremely cool looking.

You can also be creative – for example, applying spot UV to background areas to show a slogan, or doing a “reverse spot UV” technique where the background is glossed but the logo is not, for example.

How to Add Spot UV to Your Card

Spot UV business cards are typically offered by printing companies specializing in premium business cards. But luckily, this product is not cost-prohibitive like other “high-end” products such as metal business cards or many plastic business cards.

Most printers will require an extra file to serve as a spot UV template, often called a “mask file.” It usually consists of a white background, with black areas in 100% black (K) showing the parts to be glossed. This mask file should precisely match the area on your design that you want UV spotted. Check your printer’s specifications.

Tips for Using Spot UV

Spot UV is most effective when applied to silk business cards. It is not available on metal business cards, plastic business cards, or glossy business cards.

The key is to be selective to retain a classy and elegant look. Don’t go crazy – too much will neutralize the impact and will essentially leave you with a glorified glossy business card!

Also, avoid placing spot UV on small text, as this could bleed into unwanted areas. Finally, avoid using spot UV on your business card with other enhancements such as foil stamping, as this puts stress on the paper and could cause imperfections.