It always feels rewarding when you give somebody your business card. It’s that ‘putting your foot in the door’ moment which you hope will lead to future business. However, you don’t want this brilliant moment to be ruined because your card is forgettable and uninspiring.
The solution to this problem is to upgrade your card. Your cards should catch your customer’s attention and make sure they remember you! To do this we suggest 8 easy ways to make your cards unique:
- Have your cards laminated
- Use a quirky material
- Shine with Spot UV
- Choose rounded corners
- Change the shape: Square, Circle or Mini Cards
- Look premium with gold or silver foil
- Think outside the box with folded cards
- Go extra thick with a triplex card
If you want to go straight to the list, click here
What makes a good business card?
Business cards are extremely important! They are one of the easiest ways to advertise yourself and your business.
But what separates a bad business card from a good one?
A good business card communicates more than just your contact details. Its design and finish also say something about who you are and what your business is like. Your cards should have something different about them that will leave an impression on your customers so they will remember you.
A bad business card is a bland business card. A bland business card is not only going to be easily forgotten but it can also be a bit of a waste of time. Worse than that, a bland card can suggest that you and your business are uninspired and cheap. Obviously, that is not a perception you want to encourage.
Over my career I’ve received loads of business cards and I can attest that good ones leave a lasting impression. I can still remember running my finger across a particularly smart matt laminated, spot UV card. It felt professional and had a great texture so that you wanted to run your finger across it.
The fact that I can remember that specific card to this day (hence me writing about it now) means that it succeeded in winning my attention and continues to remind me of the salesman who gave it to me. That is the effect you want your business cards to have on your prospective clients.
Are unique business cards expensive?
At this point you might be worried. You can see the logic of making your business cards unique and impressive, but you are worried that this will cost much more than a normal card.
Well you would have been right a few years ago. However, modern printing techniques and the latest inventions mean that unique cards are relatively cheap to both produce and buy. There is a treasure trove of affordable options available, all within your means.
Think about it like this. By spending a little more on impressive business cards it is likely you will gather more interest and attention in your business, helping you to earn more money in the long term.
BEST PRACTICE: Consider buying one large batch rather than buying smaller batches at regular intervals. This will bring the unit price down considerably.
Is it difficult to order unique business cards?
In light of my experience in the print industry, I would say it has never been easier to order a unique card. In fact, most of the ideas listed below can simply be chosen as an option when you place your order.
A couple of options such as Spot UV and Foiling require a slightly higher design ability. However, most good printers have an in-house graphic design team who will be able to help you if you can’t do this yourself. Normally an email describing the design you require will suffice.
Equally you are welcome to pop into our shop to discuss design ideas and feasibility.
Can I combine business card upgrades?
You may be tempted to want all sorts of upgrades to your cards. You might want to have foiling and rounded corners and spot UV and a quirky material and triplex thickness, all on one card. Don’t be the kid in a candy store!
Technically, certain options cannot be combined. Added to this, too many options can make your card look too busy or worse, an ugly mess. Instead you should choose one idea and do it well.
Bearing this in mind, you should know that some options can be combined. For example, you could have a laminated card with rounded corners and Spot UV. Just make sure you choose tastefully.
Nevertheless, if you have an incredible idea which you would love to make happen, I wouldn’t want to put you off. What I would advise is that you ring up your printers and ask them what is technically possible and what will look best in their opinion.
They have the experience of producing hundreds of different jobs and know which cards have worked, and which ones really didn’t.
How would you define a standard business card?
Although ‘standard’ is a subjective idea, it is useful to define a standard or ‘normal’ business card. I would define a standard business card as this:
Size: 85 x 55mm
Sides: Double or Single Sided
Stock: 350gsm Uncoated or 400gsm Silk
Common Quantities: 100, 250, 500, 1000
The suggestions below all add a unique flavour when compared to a standard business card.
8 Unique Business Card Ideas
1. Have your cards Laminated
Lamination makes a card more hard-wearing and tough, protecting from scratches and tears. This sturdiness also makes the card thicker which just feels more professional.
I have a problem though. It’s so hard to show lamination in a photo. A photo of a laminated card just looks like a standard card. You’ll just have to believe me; lamination makes a huge difference to the quality and feel of a business card.
Matt Laminate
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Matt Laminate makes a card much more rigid and hard wearing. Equally it adds a professional feel and smooth texture that is not shiny (hence matt).
One of our customers was carrying their business cards in their wallet for an extended period and found that his unlaminated card were deteriorating and scratching. He was extremely happy when he upgraded to a Matt Laminate version because it not only lasted much longer but also looked and felt more professional.
Gloss Laminate
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Gloss Laminate makes a card much more rigid and hard wearing. It also adds a smooth texture that is shiny (glossy) to look at.
Gloss laminate really helps colours in a card to ‘pop’. If you want particularly vibrant colours then this is the option to choose.
Soft Touch Laminate
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Soft Touch Laminate has a soft, velvet like texture which gives a luxurious feel. This in turn makes people want to touch the card and encourages them to engage with it.
Like other lamination finishes, soft touch has the added benefit of making the card more rigid and hard wearing. However, Soft Touch has other benefits because it is naturally more resistant to scuffs and fingerprints than a matt laminate card.
2. Use a quirky material
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Use Kraft
- Extra cost: Low
Kraft has become increasingly popular over the last few years. Personally, I am not a huge fan though. The brown colour of Kraft does not contrast enough with the ink / toner and they blend too much.
To counter this, you need to make your print design thick and punchy.
Nevertheless, Kraft does have a unique colour and texture. If done right a Kraft card can look very stylish. If you can, get a test print done just to make sure it looks right.
Use a High End Material
- Extra cost: Medium
One of our clients need their cards to look high quality, premium and unique. To do this they use an expensive, thick and high quality brand of card with a simple design on the front. Why does this work so well? Because classy things tend to be very simple and very high quality.
There are all sorts of high quality card stocks available so ask for suggestions from your printer. We would recommend ‘Conqueror’ as a good place to start.
Use 100% Recycled Card
- Extra cost: Low
An increasing trend among clients is a desire to see renewable resources used in the print process. We recommend you ask your printer to supply a stock that is 100% renewable. We also recommend your artwork explains the card is recycled as an extra selling point!
3. Shine with Spot UV
- Extra cost: Medium
- Easy to Order? Medium – create a PDF with a CMYK page and a Spot colour page
- Sides: Double or Single Sided
Many people have no idea what Spot UV is. To put it in layman’s terms: Spot UV is a layer of UV coating that is added to the card to add depth and make a specific area (or areas) ‘shine’. The areas where the UV coating is applied also feel, I want to say waxy, but a nice sort of waxy. You can use this technique to make something important jump out of the page.
One way you could us Spot UV is to highlight your logo so that the eye is drawn to this area of the page. Alternatively you can coat the whole of your artwork in Spot UV to give the card a glow (much like the front of a holiday postcard)
Spot UV helps to give the feel and look of a premium product.
4. Choose Rounded Corners
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Rounded corners are not standard for business cards, so they can make your cards stand out. However, this isn’t my favourite upgrade because I like a more traditional shaped business card.
Nevertheless, rounded corners make you stand out from the crowd and make your card different.
5. Change the shape: Square, Circle or Mini Cards
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order: Easy – just choose it
One way to make your cards a bit different is to change their shape. Custom shaped cards are ideally suited to special events such as conferences where people will be collecting lots of cards. You want your card to stand out from others and custom shaped cards do this well. They add an element of creativity, are memorable and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
- The normal size of a square card is 55mm Square
- The normal size of a mini card is 85 x 25mm
- The normal diameter of a circle card is 76mm
The negative side of custom shape cards is that they do not fit easily into a wallet and so can be lost in pockets. Therefore, it is important to choose these cards for the correct occasion.
6. Look premium with gold or silver Foil
- Extra cost: High
- Easy to Order? Medium – Create a PDF with a CMYK page and a Foil page. The foil page with just be the areas you want foiled in black only.
- Sides: Single Sided ONLY
If you want your cards to have the wow factor, then foiling is the way to go. Foiled cards look premium (partly because they are premium to buy) and are extremely memorable. They are normally suited to high-end businesses adding that touch of class and sparkle.
Standard foil colours are gold and silver (although other colours are starting to become available). In general, these cards also need to have either a matt or soft-touch laminate finish.
We would only advise you choose foiled cards if you are handing them out to keen potential clients. If you are going to be more liberal with your distribution, we would suggest you use a more cost-effective card.
7. Think outside the box with Folded Business Cards
- Extra cost: Low
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
If you need to communicate more information than can fit on a standard business card, then we would recommend a folded business card. This allows double the amount of information to be displayed.
Businesses with a unique selling point can dedicate the larger surface area to sell their skills or products.
Folded business cards are 85 x 55mm when folded. Depending on whether they are folded on the long edge or the short edge, their flat size is: 85 x 110mm or 55 x 170mm.
8. Go extra thick with Triplex Business Cards
- Extra cost: High
- Easy to Order? Easy – just choose it
Triplex cards are called this because they are made by gluing three boards together. These are often deemed a luxurious type of business card because they are so thick. Usually a coloured board is used for the core layer. This means the edge has a coloured strip down the middle.
Core colours can include blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, turquoise and yellow.
Alternatively, you can choose a white core which acts to create a very thick business card with a white edge.
The thickness of a triplex business card is usually about 800gsm (approx 1mm). They can be printed single or double sided. They are also limited to the standard size of 85 x 55mm.
Where do I get unique business cards?
We offer everything recommended on this page. Dyer & Son Printers are a family run business – we have been trading for over 100 years! To request a quotation click here.
2 Comments
Noah Johnson · June 8, 2020 at 8:28 am
Hey Chris, great post. Business cards have always been in trend for years. I also love using business cards for networking of my business. Right now, I am using business cards with a digital touch. They are convenient and anyone can use them without any problem.
Business card printing company · September 7, 2020 at 5:46 am
Thank you for sharing these beautiful designs of business cards, this will be helpful for readers who are interested in designing their own cards.
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