Business cards can do much more than convey contact information; they can be used as "mini-billboards" to market your business as well. However, few people give more than a moment's attention to planning their business cards.

Result? The following common mistakes:

Printing Business Cards on Flimsy Paper with Perforated Edges

According to surveys and interviews, people strongly dislike receiving cards with rough edges (homemade cards created using lesser quality business card stock.) They're perceived as cheap and unprofessional. Using them is almost always a false economy, since this negative perception actually hurts business.

Printing Plain Vanilla, Black-Ink-on-White-Card-Stock Business Cards

Since the vast majority of cards are printed in black ink on white card stock, adding color is a very simple way to make your card stand out. You don't have to spend a lot of money; you'd be amazed at how little four-color process printing costs these days!

Overcrowding your Business Card

According to printers, this is the single biggest design mistake they see. Novice marketers try to cram every conceivable snippet of contact information onto their business card. Result? People can't read it (or don't try.) Pare it down to truly essential information, and/or use the back side of the card as well.

Hiding What You Do or Who You Do It For

The content of your business card is actually more important than the color, card stock, or font choice. One of the reasons is that cards get passed around. It's possible that someone who doesn't already know what you do may get hold of your business card. If your name doesn't convey what you do, be sure to include a tag line that does.

To ensure that your project runs smoothly, please consult with your printer. There are many tips and tricks we can help you with to help save you time and money. These five tips are just a few things that may help you along the way.

AVOID MISSING GRAPHICS AND FONTS.

You will need to include the original graphics and a list of all fonts used when you provide the file to us. If we are missing an original graphic file, the printed graphic may print at a lower resolution or possibly not at all. Several programs have tools or features that will help ensure that you don’t forget the graphics and fonts. Please feel free to contact us with any questions

CHOOSE THE PROPER RESOLUTION.

If you are going to scan photographs and images, you’ll want to make sure you use the proper resolution. Just because your scanner has the ability to scan 1200 x 1200 dpi, that is definitely not the appropriate resolution to use. The higher the resolution of an image or graphic, the larger the file size. It will require more time and memory to print. Our recommendations for scanning are to scan images and photos at 165 lpi and to scan black and white line art within the ranges of 700-900 lpi.

KNOW YOUR COLORS.

Color can make your project more dynamic. There are two way to print in color: spot color or process color. Spot color is a specific ink color. Process color is used to create colors by combining cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is commonly known as CMYK. If you have graphics or images that use RGB (red, green, blue) color, you must first convert them to CMYK so that they will print properly. RGB values are used for establishing color on a monitor and may not print correctly. NEVER rely on your monitor’s display for color selection. The colors will vary and may be substantially different from what is printed.

PRINT A PROOF

You should always send a color-separated, full size, hard copy proof with your file. We will use your hard copy to compare to the output from your file to assure that you’ll get exactly what you expect.

JUST ASK US!

We have many different options that you can use to send us your file. You can e-mail us your files, you can visit our FTP site, drop a disk in the mail, and of course, you can always stop in and visit one of our knowledgeable Customer Service Representatives. Although our preference is to receive files in a PDF format, we can accept files from either a Mac or a Windows platform, and we are not limited to a few programs. Please contact us if you have any questions. We can also accept a large variety of media; whether you have saved your file to a floppy, ZIP 100, ZIP 250, SuperDisk, or CD, it is not a problem.

MISTAKE #1 - Selecting a printer solely based on price.

First impressions are everything. If you want to make a positive impression, you should work with a printer because of the overall quality of the product you receive, not because they are the lowest priced. All too often, when you select your printer solely on price, you are giving up quality and service. Avoid buying on price alone. In other areas of your life you have invested in overall value (i.e. you don’t drive the cheapest car made) because you know that overall quality is more important than price alone.

MISTAKE #2 – Have several printers quote on the same job.

While having several quotes on each job may seem like a good strategy, it can hurt you in the long run. That is because you never get a chance to develop a working relationship with your printer. We provide added value to our loyal customers by partnering with them on all aspects of their projects. Price is definitely important. However, it should never be more important than outstanding quality, excellent service, and a good working relationship with your printer.

MISTAKE #3 – Not partnering with your printer.

Before you start your next project, please feel free to contact us at any time. With a quick consultation, we can find ways to meet your budget, and also find ways to meet those pressing deadlines. From Postal regulations to ink color and paper selections, there are many factors that can affect the success of your project. If your printer is just an order-taker and not a source of information, you may be missing out.

MISTAKE #4 – Thinking all printers are the same.

Every printer is different. Each has different equipment and different areas of expertise. Your printer should be able to produce traditional printing jobs, high speed and color copies and utilize new digital technologies in house. They should offer a variety of ways to creatively and professionally bind and finish your documents. They should have design professionals that can help you create the image you envisioned. Laipply’s Quickprint and Graphics offers all of these services in-house. This multi-service approach can provide you with faster turnaround, higher quality, and less irritation.

MISTAKE #5 – Not understanding our “language”

It is true, we have our own language. Questions about line screens, stock, plates, gripper, bleeds and a list of others may have your head spinning trying to keep up. Lack of a proper understanding of printing terms can cost you money if communication between you and your printer is lost.
THE RULE: Don’t select a printer that uses excessive “jargon”. Common everyday words deliver your message more clearly. There are times when there is no substitute for technical terms; but your printer should be sure to explain them to your satisfaction. This can only be done if your printer is clearly communicating with you about your project and your objectives.

Here is a collection of “Don’ts” that may help keep your project on time and on budget.  Avoid these mistakes and you’ll create better documents every time.

1. DON’T attempt to do page layout in a word processor.
   Be sure to select the proper program for the job. Use a page layout program such as Adobe Pagemaker or InDesign, Quark Xpress, or Microsoft Publisher to create documents with color and graphics.\

2. DON’T use too many fonts in a document.
   Too many different fonts in a document can distract from the design and overall message and may cause problems when printing.

3. DON’T use the wrong file format for images.
   A TIFF format is usually used for images and an EPS format is used for graphics. Avoid using PICT, GIF, JPEG, and BMP graphics when printing to an imagesetter.

4. DON’T resize a photo within a page layout program.
   Resize all halftone and color scans in Photoshop or another image-editing program. Resizing a photo in a page layout program may lead to resolution loss and can also lead to a prolonged imaging time. Export scans or graphics at the size they are to be printed.

5. DON’T rely on your monitor’s display for color selection.
   A color chosen based on your monitor’s display may be substantially different from the color on a printer vs. a digital color copier, and any variation from the three may be completely different from spot or process colors that are achieved on conventional printing presses.

6. DON’T forget gripper space on the document.
   A press or copier needs a small area to “grip” the paper as it is imaged. Please contact us at info@laipplyqprint.com if you have any questions regarding our gripper requirements.

7. DON’T forget to include all necessary files to produce the job.
   We may, at times, request that all images and graphic files used in your document be included. These files must be saved in a file format that the printer can read and output.

8. DON’T use small font sizes.
   We do not recommend using a type size smaller than 6 point. It will be difficult to read and sometimes appears to be “broken up” due to the small serif size.

9. DON’T use RGB (Red, Blue, Green) colors in a document.
   RGB colors are primarily for establishing the color on a monitor. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) create process colors that are used in printing. RGB color files must be converted to CMYK because the colors will otherwise print incorrectly.

10. DON’T forget the hard copy.
    Please be sure to always provide hard-copy originals or proofs.  The proofs will be used to assure your document is printed the way you expect it to be.

 

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