DIY versus Professional Business Card Print Service: Which One’s Better?

One look and you can easily see the difference between a do-it-yourself job and the product of a professional business card print service provider. If you need a set of business cards for your start-up business or to represent yourself in your company, then you must know how to choose between a DIY and a professional card print service.

 The Cons of Going DIY

 Perhaps the only advantage of taking the DIY route when it comes to business card printing is the cost. There are many templates that you can download online which will allow you to design and print your own set of business cards. Armed with just a computer, printer, and paper, you can pretty much print your own set of business cards.

The downside is that when you hand over a DIY business card to a prospective client or worse, a company executive, the fact that it is a do-it-yourself card will painfully stand out. You can easily spot the difference between commercial or professional color business cards and one that’s made at home. No matter how well-designed the card is or how thick the paper you used, it’s still easy to differentiate a professionally-made card from a DIY one. The impression this leaves to the one you’re doing business with is that you are an amateur as well, something that will not work in your favor at all.

 The Pros of Hiring a Professional Business Card Printing Company

On the other hand, there are numerous benefits to having premium business cards made. There are many business card printing companies like BlockbusterPrint.com where you can have a minimum of 100 business cards made. You might think that it’s a lot more expensive than DIY print jobs but considering the benefits, every cent is well worth it.

At professional business card print service companies like BlockbusterPrint, there is a 24-hour printing option. You can take your pick from rectangular or rounded corner business cards, and choose whether it’s a matte, silky, or glossy finish that you want. The paper ranges from thin to 100% the thickness of a credit card. What’s really impressive is the quality of print using the offset printing method. As compared to digital, offset printing is up to eight times better in quality and really looks professional.

When it comes to business cards, there is no question that professional printing is better than DIY. If you want to leave a lasting impression to your clients and anyone you are doing business with, it is the only way to go.

 

 

Business Card Print Service Providers: Know Your Options

When looking for a business card print service provider, it is good to know exactly what your options are. There are many digital business card print service companies out there where you can get the most number of card copies for the cheapest price. If volume is what you’re after, then this is well and good. But what if you are after quality and getting the best value for your money? This is where doing a bit of research comes in handy. When you know what to look for, you will find a company that will create high-quality business cards for you, without charging too high a price for it.

What to Look for in a Premium Business Cards Provider

Out of all the business card printing companies operating today, how can you choose which one to order color business cards from? Here are a few factors to consider:

  • Offset versus digital printing

The company that will offer you the lowest price for the most number of business cards usually have a digital printing process. Another type of printing is called offset. At BlockbusterPrint.com, Heidelberg printing presses are used to create high-quality prints for all their printed products, including business cards. This has up to eight times better quality than digital printing so if you want to get the best-looking print, the extra cost will be so worth it.

  • The quality of paper stock used

Depending on the type of finish that you want, there are different premium stock paper available at BlockbusterPrint. There are thin linen textured cards, laminated cards with 70% to 100% the thickness of a credit card, and even gold or silver foil business cards. If you want to leave a lasting impression to your clients, you definitely should consider having premium paper used for your order.

Once you find a good offset printing company, don’t forget to also consider what you are going to put on the card itself. Make sure that the information is accurate and up-to-date. See to it that the every aspect of the design – from the font to the colors used – is something that will reflect the image that you would like to portray as a company. If possible, put your social media information on the card, although you still need to make sure that it’s not crowded with too much information. When you put all the aspects of the design together, your business card should be reflection of what you are all about as a brand.

 

 

 

 

Color Business Cards: Top Tips to Remember When Ordering

Solo entrepreneurs, employees, start-up business owners, freelancers – these individuals have a need for color business cards. It’s the simplest, most straightforward, and effective way of representing yourself as a professional, no matter what the nature of your business is.

Thankfully, there are many business cards online companies that offer professional printing services. Whether you need 100 linen business cards or 500 thick plastic cards, these online printing companies will give you exactly what you need. You just need to know where to look.

Things to Remember when Looking for a Business Cards Online Company

Let’s say that you need to order just the minimum number of premium business cards because you recently changed your business address. It’s been a while since you had to print business cards, so how can you look for the best company to do a good job of it for you? Here are our top tips:

  • Know the type of card that you need in the first place.

At online printing companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, you can take your pick from a wide array of business cards including:

  • Textured linen cards
  • 14-pt. Pearl metallic cards
  • 17-pt. Foil stamped cards
  • 18-pt. Brown kraft cards
  • 19-pt. Suede cards
  • 22-pt. Luster cards
  • 22-pt. Plastic cards
  • 32-pt. Black edge with 3-layers cards
  • Spot gloss cards
  • Rounded corner cards

Which among these cards do you think will suit the design and colors of your business card? What type of finish and effect will make your card stand out?

  • What is the company’s turnaround time?

Next, determine the turnaround time. Can the company deliver 100 cards in 24 hours? At  BlockbusterPrint.com, 24-hour printing is available so unless you need a premium card with a special lamination, you can get the minimum order the next day.

  • What are the rates and the minimum number of cards that you can order?

Except for a few kinds of business cards and those with special effects, you can order a minimum of 100 cards at BlockbusterPrint. Price-wise, the rates are pretty reasonable, especially considering the quality of the cards that you will get.

  • What about print quality?

There are two kinds of business cards printing available: digital and offset. BlockbusterPrint uses the latter, which has four to six times the quality of digital. They use state-of-the-art Heidelberg offset printing presses to ensure utmost quality in their prints.

By knowing what to look for in a printing company, you can order business cards that will best represent your brand.

 

Why Color Business Cards should be Part of Your Corporate Giveaways

If you have an upcoming promotional event, you must include color business cards as part of your corporate giveaway. According to HubSpot, event marketing typically consumes up to 20% of a marketing budget so if this is something that you haven’t tried out in your business, you are missing out.

Before learning more about why it’s important to print business cards, let us first take a look at how corporate giveaways can help promote your brand. Where exactly are corporate giveaways, well, given away to prospective customers? These events are trade shows, conferences, seminars, team building, forums, product launches, employee appreciation, and similar occasions. During such events, a large number of like-minded individuals gather together, giving business owners an opportunity to trade their wares.

Here are some quick tips on how you can put together corporate giveaways during such events:

  • During trade shows, you can increase booth traffic through corporate giveaways. It helps boost the image of your brand while also increasing name recall. For this, it is important to look for items that stand out, so take your time in choosing which items to use as corporate giveaways.
  • For other events, you can buy inexpensive promo products like pens, caps, mouse pads, tote bags, mobile phone holders, water bottles and similar items. Make sure that these have your company colors and logo to boost brand recognition.
  • In employee-centered events, you can give away corporate apparel. Casual clothing like t-shirts, jackets, and baseball caps are great items to have. You can also order specialized employee appreciation gifts as kudos for when an individual gets a job done while exceeding expectations.

For all of these, make sure to include one or two premium business cards. Aside from the name recall brought about by the items included in your corporate giveaway, you can also make sure that they will keep your card for future reference. This is especially true when you order high-quality cards from business cards online companies like BlockbusterPrint.com.

To sum it all up, corporate giveaways with business cards included in the package is a great way to boost sales, improve brand recognition, and the overall value of customers when dealing with your business.

Postcard Printing & Print Marketing And The Mistakes To Avoid

In the real estate industry, why is postcard printing more effective than mailers? The people who will receive your advertising letter are most probably busy – so they won’t even open the letter once they see who it is from. Postcards, on the other hand, are open for everyone to read. There is no need to exert that extra effort in opening a letter, making the information readily readable and available.

As compared to business cards or flyers, real estate postcards give you a more creative space to send your message across. Depending on how you will write the copy and lay out the images, postcard printing in real estate will help generate more traffic to your site. It will also give you more sales leads, introduce your name to prospective customers, and promote the services that you are offering in the real estate industry.

These are just some of the reasons why it pays to take advantage of the print postcards online services. Offered by companies like BlockbusterPrint.com, they can print postcards which are specifically designed for real estate customers. Quality-wise, they will not disappoint because they use high-quality offset printing and premium paper material.

Avoid these Mistakes in Real Estate Postcard Printing

 Next, how can you make sure that you do have an effective copy when you print postcards? It pays to know which mistakes to avoid so that you can maximize the benefits of postcards advertising in the real estate business:

  • Do not distribute postcards to non-real estate customers.

As a real estate professional, you must already know the value of reaching out to your target market. The same principle applies to postcard marketing. If you will send out postcards to renters who are probably thinking of buying a house, that is an example of targeted marketing. If you will send out the same set of postcards to students who can’t even afford to buy their own clothes yet, then you are sending out the wrong message to the incorrect market. For this, it helps if you will put together a mailing list of the people in your target area, or have a real estate broker do it for you.

  • Do not make the mistake of sending out postcards just once.

Repetitiveness is key if you want postcards mailing to be effective – so be consistent in sending out creative real estate postcards to your target market.

  • Do not scrimp on printing costs.

Fortunately, there are many companies like BlockbusterPrint that will give you the best value for your money when you are ordering real estate postcards. Instead of saving money on digital printing which has far less inferior quality than offset printing, spend your capital wisely and invest in better-looking prints.

  • Do not leave out a call to action.

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes made by those in the real estate profession is not having a call to action on their postcards. This should include a catchy tagline as well as your contact information.

By avoiding these mistakes, you can create a real estate postcard that will drive traffic to your website and boost your leads in the business.

 

Business Cards Online? Is It Still Worth Ordering It?

If you think that in today’s business environment, there is no need for you to order business cards online anymore, think again. Almost all industries have become highly competitive, making it even more crucial for you to make use of a still-effective form of advertising: business cards printing.

To start right off, here are the reasons why it is still worth it to take advantage of a business card print service provider:

  • When a client, supplier, customer, or anybody you’re doing business with asks for your contact number, you still need to pull out a classic business card.

Just imagine how awkward it is for you to scribble down your name and telephone number on a piece of paper if a person asks for your contact information. Not only is it difficult, but it also lessens your authority as a business owner in the eyes of the person you’re talking to. Not having a business card makes you look unofficial. If you cannot even put together the effort into having a set of silk business cards made, for example, how can you expect a client to place his or her trust into your brand? Why would customers take advantage of the product or service you’re offering if you do not even have an official business card?

  • Print is still an effective form of advertising.

Aside from business cards, there are other printed material that you can use as part of your print advertising campaign. You can have a set of plastic business cards printed out along with brochures, flyers, notepads, envelopes, letterheads, and banners.  Despite the prevalence of online advertising, print is still an effective form of promoting your brand. It’s inexpensive, too!

  • Having physical cards will make people remember your business name for a long time.

Finally, just like physical books which may never be replaced by e-books, there is a certain sentiment associated with having physical business cards. People can use it as a bookmark or keep it along with other business cards that they have. Even if they have bookmarked your website on a browser, having a physical card is one way to make people remember your business name and brand for a long time.

These are the reasons why you should take advantage of the business card printing services provided by companies like BlockbusterPrint.com. The premium business cards that they print are sure to leave a lasting impression to your clients and network of contacts, so have a set made for yourself right now.

Postcard Printing in Real Estate: The Things You Need to Know

If you are in the real estate business, you will definitely benefit from postcard printing. This is an effective and inexpensive form of advertising that will let people know about the service you are offering as a real estate professional.

How to Print Postcards for Real Estate Advertising

There are two popular sizes for postcard printing:  5” x 7” and 4” x 6”. With such a limited amount of space, you need to pay close attention to detail. You also need to maximize the space that you have, but without the information appearing too crowded. How can you strike that delicate balance when you print postcards online? Here are a few tips on how to make your real estate postcards stand out:

  • Think about orientation.

With the two popular sizes when you print postcards, it’s natural to assume that the orientation of the card should be landscape. This actually makes sense because such an orientation allows you to maximize the space. But if you want to stand out, you might want to be a bit off the grid and use portrait orientation instead.

  • Be creative in laying out the images.

If you have a portrait orientation, you might want to make the images laid out in such a way that it looks like a movie poster. This will create an eye-catching postcard design that will leave customers wanting to know more about your real estate business.

  • Make sure that the overall design of the postcard suits the image you’d like to create for your real estate business.

If you’re targeting buyers and sellers of real estate in your area, think about their average income. What are their buying habits and their typical lifestyle? By doing a bit of research, you can come up with an overall design that does not just suit the market, but also fits the image that you want to have for your real estate business.

  • Don’t forget to include a call to action.

Of course, do not forget to include a call to action. The copy of your real estate postcard should be short but catchy, and there must be a call to action in the end. Would you like people to call you? Visit your website? Send you a private message in one of your social networking accounts? By placing a call to action, you can achieve your goal in printing out postcards in the first place: for customers to get in touch with you for their real estate needs.

 

 

 

 

Eco-Friendly Business Card Print Service Provider: Does It Exist?

When looking for a business card print service provider or when buying a product, do you consider the process that goes behind the scenes? Let’s say that you are ordering a stack of color business cards for a start-up business that you are soon launching. How can you make sure that the material used in printing out the cards is not harmful to the environment? When it comes to business card printing, is there really an eco-friendly option? Read on to find out.

How Eco-Friendly are the Business Cards from BlockbusterPrint.com?

The typical process of making color business cards is to use different paper, cardboard, or plastic material then using offset printing to make the letters and design stand out. Paper and cardboard is obviously made from trees, so if you want to print business cards in an eco-friendly manner, how can you do so? By looking for a print service provider with environmentally conscious printing policies. BlockbusterPrint.com does exactly that.

First, their line of printed products – ranging from business cards to flyers, brochures to door hangers, greeting cards to letterheads – are made using 10% recycled stock. Second, the quality of offset printing is never sacrificed because no matter which material you choose, you can rest assured that you will be given classy, high-calibre business cards.

Third, as indicated on their website, every single order placed on BlockbusterPrint.com helps the company plant native trees somewhere in the United States. This is done through channels like AmericanForests.org. Another way that the company makes sure that their business process is eco-friendly is that they plant more trees than they are using. They’re also the only company to replenish the planet by sticking to their eco-friendly printing policies.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in using natural resources like trees to promote your brand. But if you want to be a responsible business owner, you also need to do your share in helping save the environment. In fact, you can even use being eco-friendly as a way to reach out to similarly environmentally-conscious customers. Looking for a printing company that has eco-friendly printing policies like BlockbusterPrint.com, is the best way to start doing just that.

 

 

The Most Impressive Color Business Cards from BlockbusterPrint.com

Whether you’re the owner of a start-up, an employee who wants to represent a company, or a freelance worker, it pays to invest in good quality color business cards. Instead of handing over flimsy cardboard cards with poorly printed text to your clients, you can leave a lasting impression by distributing premium business cards. The good news is that there are companies like BlockbusterPrint.com from where you can source high-quality business cards.

Want a preview? Here are some of the most impressive color business cards that you can order from BlockbusterPrint:

  • Foil Stamped Business Cards

BlockbusterPrint.com is one of the few business card print service providers in the industry which makes foil-stamped business cards. If you want a metallic effect on your business cards, a typical business card printing company will simply use metallic ink. At BlockbusterPrint.com, you can take your pick from gold, copper, or silver colors and true foil is used during the printing process. This makes the overall look of the business card more elegant and high-quality.

  • Pearl Metallic Business Cards

Another way to make your business name shimmer is by going for the 14-pt metallic business card option. The base of the card is dry uncoated or smooth paper, and the pearl metallic layer allows the text and design on the card to shimmer in light.

  • Plastic Business Cards

For something a bit different, go for crystal clear plastic business cards. It will give your clients a “transparent” impression of you – which is a good thing – as the name of the business is clearly reflected on the card. These cards have 70% the thickness of a credit card and are printed with see-through ink.

  • Rounded Corner Business Cards

To stand out from typical rectangle cards, opt for rounded corner business cards. The corners have a slightly or highly shaved rounded shape, either ¼” or 1/8”, respectively.

  • Ultra-Thick Business Cards

Lastly, if you want business cards which have the look and feel of a real credit card, go for ultra-thick business cards. Made from 32-pt. paper with three layers, the credit card-thick business card has a black edge which is another feature that makes it stand out.

Take your pick from these premium color business cards from BlockbusterPrint.com and impress the heck out of your clients!

 

Color Business Cards: Tips for Choosing the Right Paper Thickness

When ordering color business cards, remember that the overall look and feel of the card relies on your attention to detail. The standard size of a business card is 3.5” x 2” – which is a very small surface to place all your business information in. As such, you need to maximize the space and make sure that the card itself will leave a lasting impression to your clients.

So what are the things that you need to consider when it comes to business card printing? First, make sure that the font or typeface, logo, design, and colors on the layout of your business card are well-thought out. It should reflect the image that you want to portray for your brand. Considering the size of the card, the design should not be too cluttered – and the colors should suit your design perspective.

Second, choose the material that you want for the business card. There are business card print service which offer a wide variety of paper and plastic materials to choose from. BlockbusterPrint.com, for example, has silk business cards, plastic business cards, linen business cards, textured linen, pearl metallic, brown kraft, suede, and other premium business cards.

Aside from the type of paper, you should also consider the thickness of the material used. At BlockbusterPrint, here are your paper thickness options:

  1. Very thin business cards

Just because the paper is thin does not mean that the quality is sacrificed. Linen business cards, for instance, are considered very thin but when you look at the texture of the card, it feels elegant to the touch. Go for this paper thickness if you want a no-fuss but still elegant set of business cards.

  1. Medium thickness business cards

The most popular business cards are of medium thickness. The size ranges from 50% to 60% the thickness of a credit card. Some of the paper varieties of medium thickness cards are premium, suede, silk, and uncoated.

  1. Ultra-thick business cards

Finally, there are ultra-thick business cards with a size ranging from 63% to 100% the thickness of a credit card. These are plastic, luster, and three-layer cards with a black edge. These cards are perfect for those who would like to make a big impression on their clients.

Whether you’re going for the popular or not-so-popular option when it comes to the thickness of the business card, what’s important is to really pay attention to even the smallest details. This way, you can come up with a design for a business card that’s truly worthy of representing your brand.