| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Media Issues > Topic: Business Cards |
Topic: Business Cards
| Author | Message |
| JCH | Posted – 5/10/2007 3:03:17 PM | show profile | email poster Can anyone recommend a good online company to get business cards made? Just need something very simple, one color, preferably not too expensive. Thanks in advance. |
| Astera | Posted – 5/10/2007 3:57:08 PM | show profile Overnight Prints has done quality work for both me and my husband. Their turnaround time is fast, they aren't too expensive, and the finished product looks fairly substantial and professional, not flimsy and cheap. Best of all...no ads on the back. (I think VistaPrint, another online printing place, still puts their Web site on the back of the cards, which I didn't want.) ------ www.adventuresofastera.blogspot.com |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 5/10/2007 3:59:40 PM | show profile VistaPrint has made their services better, and you can get them without the ad on the back for a nominal fee. I haven't used them in a while though, but I know they've added more premade designs to their stock. |
| Righter | Posted – 5/10/2007 4:09:07 PM | show profile Along those same lines, what do you usually put on your business cards? As a title do you just put "writer" , "freelance writer," etc? Do you have your own domain for your email and if so is it the name of your company (for those of you that use a company)? I'm wanting to get cards too but i've been using gmail for freelancing and am wondering if it'd look unprofessional on a business card. A couple of the pubs I contribute to frequently have given me an email address, but no business cards (and I don't think I'd feel comfortable asking, though I do have an editorial title for them). Any suggestions? |
| globetrotter78 | Posted – 5/10/2007 4:25:55 PM | show profile Got mine from Vistaprint.com and I'm happy with them. |
| pleiades | Posted – 5/10/2007 5:33:20 PM | show profile Hi, Righter. I've been told "Writer" is better than "Freelance Writer." Also, I think gmail is fine. But I would, however, use your name or a simple version of it (FirstName.LastName OR LastName OR LastNameFirstInitial). As an editor I always cringe when I get e-mail addresses that begin with things like Luv2Rit ... ugh. |
| Linda F | Posted – 5/10/2007 6:21:31 PM | show profile JCH, I once used iPrint (www.iprint.com) for some black-and-white cards with raised ink that came out very nice, and they were inexpensive. Righter, I have the usual "Freelance Writer" on my card but also, at the bottom, "My editors think I'm swell." I recently gave my card to two editors I met at a writer's group meeting, and they loved it. I've gotten comments (positive ones, I mean!) from other editors as well. (For these cards, I went to www.streetcards.com...pricey, but fun designs.) Linda -- Linda Formichelli * http://www.lindaformichelli.com Co-author of The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock! The Renegade Writer Blog: http://www.therenegadewriter.com |
| Linda F | Posted – 5/10/2007 6:24:59 PM | show profile Also...I have my own domain for an e-mail address, but I think gmail is just fine. Pleiades, ha! I've seen addresses like that and I agree (though I'm not an editor). But why do you think others have said that Writer is better than Freelance Writer? I never really gave it much thought when I put that on my card as a title. (But based on my use of "My editors think I'm swell," you probably know I won't lose any sleep over the title! :) Linda |
| writesonwater | Posted – 5/10/2007 8:20:42 PM | show profile I like vistaprint. I say Writer I also use a screened (greyed) listing of some of the publications I've written for as a background. I use my phone number and email, but not mailing address. |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 5/11/2007 9:04:52 AM | show profile Just my 2 cents: why not patronize a local small business near you? I went to a local print shop, got a better price than online - and felt good about giving some coin to the little guy. I used my name, "journalist" - phone, cell, and email on a white card. |
| ConfidentDesigner | Posted – 5/11/2007 9:17:17 AM | show profile Do any of these online companies use recycled paper? That's what I like to use for my cards. I think it's important and sends a good message. |
| bart23ny | Posted – 5/11/2007 10:25:24 AM | show profile Yep, I can a great experience with http://www.overnightprints.com. I printed post cards with them. Very satisfied with the results! |
| bones | Posted – 5/11/2007 10:44:15 AM | show profile I bought some blank cards (Avery) at the office supply store and printed them myself on my (good) Inkjet printer. They don't have that embossed look, but otherwise you'd never know that they aren't professional. Plus, I can easily change something and print a new version any time I want. I think I paid about $15 or $20 for a couple of hundred cards... I'd just say "writer." Freelance isn't necessary. And I wholeheartedly agree with the poster who said gmail is fine, but make your address some form of your name, as it would be if you were a staffer somewhere. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 5/11/2007 11:10:13 AM | show profile I just ordered cards again from vista print -- full color, 500 -- used one of their specials so the total order, with shipping came to under $15. What a lot of people don't realize is that you can use their images -- their library has 10k pics in it -- and they don't charge you for it. I start with a blank document, use their online advanced editing tool, and when I do "select image" I browse their library, looking up by topic -- green fern or keyboard or whatever word I want a pic of. I've done postcards and business cards for all my sisters' and friends' businesses using vistaprint. The other thing to know is the local guys that do cards generally order them from elsewhere -- I worked at Kinko's as a graphic designer, and the company we got our cards did them for all the local print shops. |
| pleiades | Posted – 5/11/2007 11:17:17 AM | show profile Hi, Linda F. I can't remember the exact reason but I think it was along the lines that "freelance" is unnecessary. Basically, "freelance" just says how you do your job while "writer" says what your job is. That said, it never, ever bothers me to receive a card with "freelance" on it. And I love your tagline! I think it's a fun, clever touch. |
| skirklan | Posted – 5/11/2007 1:29:13 PM | show profile | email poster Business Cards Vistaprint is good if you want to use a design a thousand other people have; or if you need cards for free. I found a place that's having a special right now where it's $15 for 500 cards with free aqueous coating (4 color) on stiff stock. I've used them and they are fast and good quality and cheap. http://www.citycolors.net Why not use your choice of title and tagline to show off your creativity? Instead of freelance writer, why not wordsmith or something else more descriptive? Good luck. Good luck, ------ Susan Kirkland author of Start and Run a Creative Services Business--2 FREE POD cartoons for a giggle at www.sdkirkland.com |
| writesonwater | Posted – 5/11/2007 2:19:48 PM | show profile | email poster Linda, your tag line is adorable. It's fine to have a card with some personality to it. Come to think of it, my most recent one is very unique -- I found a color picture I liked that seemed to represent my approach to writing. I did something different with it -- I used a pale screen of a listing of some of the more recognized publications I write for and the awards I've earned and the name of my first book -- the screen runs over the picture, but beneath my name, writer, phone number and email, which are in bold black. Both Vistaprint and Overnightprints have workable design programs -- I like Vistaprint's a bit better, it's not as manageable as quark or indesign, but really lets me design what I want. Both Vistaprint and Overnight have access to their images -- but I think vistaprint's searchable library is easier to access and more extensive, although I saw some great images on Overnight. I call myself a writer because it seems to cover books better than freelance writer does, just my preference. I used to design business cards at Kinko's, and I came to the conclusion it's a mistake to use fancy fonts on basic information, also a mistake to make basic stuff either too small or too large. I like a plain font for basics -- arial, futura book -- and a small font, I like 8 but some people prefer larger or smaller than that. |
| paula_vergara | Posted – 5/11/2007 3:14:14 PM | show profile Fair warning on vistaprint.com: it's NOT Mac friendly at all. I use "Freelance Journalist" on my b-card, and used Fedex/Kinkos for printing. They were a bunch of numb-nuts, but eventually, I got the card that I wanted. $35 for 150, 2-color cards, with my own design. I also used an off-white color card. |
| elinertv | Posted – 5/11/2007 3:34:24 PM | show profile | email poster Biz cards say "Writer" I never use "freelance" because it has the word "free" in it. "Writer" has always worked well. It's simple and elegant under my name. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 5/11/2007 4:03:57 PM | show profile Do you have the same reservations about the words "freedom" and "free enterprise"? -- never use "freelance" because it has the word "free" in it. "Writer" has always worked well. It's simple and elegant under my name.== |
| arbrown81 | Posted – 5/11/2007 4:09:58 PM | show profile | email poster Clubflyers.com I haven't used Clubflyers.com for business cards, but they do 1,000 for $30. I have used them for postcards before and have been satisfied. |
| Linda F | Posted – 5/11/2007 10:56:30 PM | show profile Thanks, Pleiades! I can understand that...but I wonder if "freelance writer" seems more professional than just "writer" because anyone who pens bad poetry in their spare time can put "writer" on their card, but "freelance" indicates that you write professionally. (Okay, now I sound like a snob.) Maybe I should put, "Professional, Freelance Writer (Pay Me)." ;-> Glad you like my tagline, writesonwater -- thanks! Linda |
| judi.silva | Posted – 5/12/2007 12:39:45 AM | show profile business cards I get mine from VistaPrint all the time. Great company, great prices. |
| Foreigner | Posted – 5/12/2007 3:19:19 AM | show profile If any of you do a little PR on the side, have you thought of having two separate business cards? |
| writesonwater | Posted – 5/12/2007 12:34:54 PM | show profile I definitely recommend two different business cards for two streams of work -- and making them visibly different to avoid interchanging them. |
