Some thoughts regarding the question, “how much are business cards?”
We are often asked, “how much are business cards?” Well let me ask you a question: how long is a piece of string?
I just googled this phrase hoping for a funny picture to accompany this article, but all I got were silly cartoons. Basically, this is just a sassy way to indicate the length of a piece of string cannot be given a finite measurement, and neither can the price of business cards. Read on to find out why the answer to the question “how much are business cards?” can vary.
Business cards can be an important part of marketing, especially if you do a lot of business face to face. Your business card says a lot about you, and your business. If you are just getting started, or just need a business card and don’t care too much about making it fancy, you can get by with a good design, and a simple yet classy matt laminated card.
Do you want something that really stands out? That’s where we come in.
If you are asking the question, “how much are business cards?” then let me ask you a question. What you want, fam?
SPECIFICATIONS OF BUSINESS CARDS
Quantity: The unit cost (cost per card) will be cheaper the more cards are produced at a time. Do you need 50 cards or 5,000? People just getting started might not know! It’s always possible to consider the minimum and maximum cards you might need, and look at the pricing for quantities in between. For a visual cue, there are 250 cards in a normal sized box of business cards.
Paper stock: Coated, uncoated, textured, toothy, linen, kraft, vellum, coloured, gloss, silk… There are more kinds and brands of paper than you can poke a stick at, and all varying in price. It is a common misconception that ‘matt’ AKA uncoated paper is cheaper than coated, but often coated paper is the more economical option. Also, just because a paper is coated, does not mean it isn’t environmentally friendly. Many paper mills these days source their pulp from sustainably managed forests.
The sheer range of what is available can be overwhelming, so if you have a rough idea of the kind of look you want to go for, we can help guide you to something suitable and economical! Or, you can check out this post discussing how to choose a paper stock.
To be honest, there are a lot of brands of different papers, but a lot of them look the same. Just saying.
Colours: Full colour, specific Pantone colours, or black? For branding that incorporates specific Pantone colours that cannot be matched out of CMYK, you will likely desire these colours to be uniform across all your printed items, and that means you will need to use one stock (in varying weights) for everything. For more info, check out this post on colour matching for print!
However, if you’re after a short run of 100 business cards, this might be a bit costly. Digital printing is the most economical printing method for short runs, but can only print in full colour.
Note: Some colours look identical in Pantone, CMYK, or digital printing! For example, PMS 485, a nice vivid red, is easy to match in any process.
Artwork: are you a graphic designer capable of creating a print-ready file, complete with 3mm bleed and trim marks, in high resolution of at least 300dpi? Great! If you don’t understand anything I just said, that’s okay too. Just give us your text and logo (or we can create one for you), and we’ll do the rest.
Finishing: Letterpress, emboss, foil, spot UV, round corners or diecut shapes; these are all beautiful embellishments that can really set your business card apart. We are always thinking outside the box to find ways to create beautiful results, with economy in mind.
SO, HOW MUCH ARE BUSINESS CARDS THEN?
If you read this far, you know that I have not answered the question, but at least you know why! Of course, the more bells and whistles you add, the higher the price. But that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve some great eye-catching results with simple ink on paper. Get in touch at sales@mjprinting.com.au or 9544 9055 for a quote!