Business Card Printing - A Comprehensive Guide

Welcome back for another Lightning Prints blog post! Today, we’re talking business name cards. It is a necessity for every business/ brand to have a business card. Even in today’s digital age, you still find business cards being frequently used. 

You see a wider variety of business cards today than you did 10 years ago. Some companies are even customising employees’ business cards with their own quotes or photos. But today, we’re going to talk about the basics of business card printing and design. Ironically, let’s begin with the different types of finishes you can opt for. 

Finishing

There are a couple of different finishes you can choose from for your business cards. We’ll be covering the 4 most common finishes.

1. Varnish

Firstly, Varnish. This is one of the most common finishes for business cards. A varnish finish is a coating of either matte, silk or gloss that’s applied to the card. This layer also protects the paper and allows for the cards to last longer. A business card with a varnish finish looks shiny and will have a plastic feel to it. 

Source: Nobleus

2. Die-Cut

Next up, Die Cut. If rectangular business cards are too mainstream for you, die cut’s the finish you’re looking for! Choose another shape or shapes of objects that best represent your company. Say you’re running dental clinic, you can opt for a tooth-shaped business card. Your business card will surely stand out from a bunch of rectangular ones!

Source: Pinterest

3. Folded Business Cards

Folded business cards. You need not limit your business cards to only 2 surfaces. Consider getting a folded or semi-folded business card. This will automatically give you more surface area that you can use to include more information about your brand/ business.

Source: Pinterest

4. Embossing and Debossing

Embossed and debossed finish. Embossing is created by pressing on the card using heat. What this process does is it creates a raised pattern resulting in a strong texture. Depending on the design embossed, it can create a 3D effect on your business card.

 

Source: Pinterest

Debossing on the other hand results in the opposite effect. Instead of creating a raised pattern, the pattern is sunk into the card. Just be mindful of your design before embossing or debossing.

 

Source: Pinterest

Sizes

If you’re wondering how big your business card should be, use the standard size as a guideline. Standard business cards measure 3.5 x 2 inches. If you’re thinking of getting a bigger card or a die-cut business card, try not to go for a size that’s too big. We wouldn’t recommend anything that’s wider than 4 inches. 

Source: Pinterest

For folded business cards, the 4 inches should be the dimensions when the card is folded, not opened. The reason for this size is, people tend to keep business cards in their wallets or a card slot. Too big of a business card, who knows where yours will end up.

Material: Paper Grammage

Paper grammage refers to its thickness. It is measured in GSM (grams per square metre). The type of paper that’s commonly used for business cards is art paper and they come in varying thickness. The paper you use for your business card should not be flimsy or easily torn. We’d recommend upwards of 230 GSM. 

If you’re printing folded business cards, it would differ slightly. For these, you should go for papers that are between 170 - 300 GSM. A thinner choice of paper helps to ensure that when folded, your business card wouldn’t be too thick. Currently, we offer 2 types of thickness, 260gsm and 310gsm.

Design

For design, we’re going to focus on 4 elements; business information, fonts, colours & creative graphic imagery. 

1. Business information (Front Side)

No business card is complete without the right information. This should make the front your card, which serves the purpose of telling people who you are, what you do, and how to contact you: