I feel the lockdown from the pandemic had inspired a great number of business minds and concepts. I could also say for the least that these creative ideas may have been there all along; perhaps the routine and hurdle of life was a big distraction that mitigated us from thinking within or considering other options or better yet, seeing ourselves solving our riddles.
One of the biggest debunkers of the year 2020, was the realization that several processes were unnecessary, and yes, you could work from home. While I will just leave that there so we don’t veer away from the focus, there is a need to also spot a great ton of businesses that had sprouted and still emerging with their offices ran from the comfort of their homes.
In my country, the breakout of the COVID-19, and the aftermath have had many strokes, from people cutting costs to working from home to finding new skills, to discovering gifts/ideas and monetizing them for survival or better yet, to thrive, since the show must go on.
In this article, I will be sharing with you among many things you could do from the comfort of your home, the simple and easy process to making your business cards... for free!
1. Conceptualization
It is often said that every great invention must have been processed in the mind, this gives no exception that you must have carefully considered how you want your business card to come out. Here are a few things to colour your conceptualization.
- There is a need to consider the content. How much information do you intend to divulge?
- Do you intend to have the information on the two sides of the business card?
- What is the colour of your card?
- What colour of prints are you considering?
- Have you considered your logo and tagline?
2. Card Design
Since we are doing this all by ourselves, we very well must design this card layout as well. Thankfully, there are several platforms out there to our aid, however, a few considerations like Canva, Microsoft Word, and Publisher templates, etc. could do the trick. You could also consider some online printing platforms that have some layout ready to accommodate your best of creativity.
Ensure you pick the right dimensions for the card [usually around 3 x 2] inches, the right colours to match your brand as well, so you don’t confuse your audience upon production.
3. Business Card Paper
I hope you were not for a second, thinking we were going to print on that A4 paper? [gagging]
Ok, so we have come this far and we wouldn’t want to mess it up with the wrong choice of paper. Or the right technique to go about printing.
Here’s my number one recommendation, please ensure to buy a pre-perforated business card paper and not just a business card paper of your choice; we are not going to be ripping the cards apart with a pair of scissors and ruining this great work. Other considerations in this phase are seen below.
- Choose the colour of card intended, usually, they come in white or cream. Do your pick.
- Consider the paper finish, which could be gloss finish or matte finish.
- Consider the thickness of the paper.
- Consider the card finish, its thickness, and your printer, since your printer would be determinant to the output in delivery. Kindly note that not all printers would get the job done as intended.
- If you got a light paper stock business card, you may not be able to do a double print [front and back] to avoid the ink bleeding to the next page.
4. Print Process
Now here we are, the sensitive part of it all.
Consider your design on a business card print layout [usually comes in 10] to have a view of what your design would look like, if it matches, you can bring out your A4 paper for a test, perhaps just for the front page [if you intend doing front and back]. If this goes well if it doesn’t, you may need to review and adjust] you can attempt on the pre-perforated business card.
Kindly note that you don’t have to stress your printer and ink by printing multiple pages, as the ink would wear off as the number of pages increases which would mean a varying output.
Lastly, once printed, allow each print to breathe before any touch or cut.
Oluwafemi Smith
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Jun 29, 2021
The Watchtower Dubai
by Michael Morha
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