This article will help you get a rough idea of printing a business card and the costs associated with that.
For extremely basic business cards--white paper, black text--it's
unlikely that the cost of printing is going to exceed the revenue each
card is expected to bring in. Business cards are typically printed on
card stock--eighty-pound paper and up, in contrast to the standard
twenty or twenty-four pound paper used for most documents. At standard
card sizes (in America, about 3.5" x 2"), one 8.5" x 11" sheet of card
stock will yield some ten business cards. Taking into account ink and
paper costs, this will set you back about ten cents for every sheet of
ten cards you print at the local copy store, assuming that you do your
own design and layout.
To cut the cards,
expect to pay more: about $1.50 for machine cutting is a standard rate
at large copy stores, and a sheet of business cards will require about
five cuts horizontally and three cuts vertically in order to separate
and trim all of the cards. That's eight cuts, or an extra $12--which
seems high, until you consider that multiple sheets can be cut at the
same time, and for the same price. So for one sheet of ten cards,
expect to pay about $1.30 per card, while for one hundred sheets of one
thousand cards, expect to pay about $22, or two cents per card--a
considerably lower figure.
You can even improve on that figure in the long run, if you're willing
to invest a little bit of money at the start. A good laser printer can
handle card stock, and the Avery corporation manufactures business card
printing kits that include pre-perforated card stock sheets and
software plugins for standard word processing and desktop publishing
software. This allows you to lay out and design your card yourself,
print it, and finish it without taking your business to the copy store
and paying a markup. And if you're willing to spend the money on a good
laser printer, layout software, and pre-perforated paper for every
twenty sheets of cards, your initial costs are certainly going to be
much higher than twenty-two cents per card--but over time, what you'll
save on machine cutting alone will be worth it.
A white business card with black text can get the job done, certainly,
but it doesn't necessarily communicate a lot about your business, and
it's very unlikely to be memorable. What that means is more advanced
printing options--which in turn means higher costs.
The least costly options, of course, will be the ones that most
business cards tend to use. These include engraved type, embossing, and
simple color in one or two design elements. The cost for these will be
higher per card, depending on how complicated the printing process is
and how much of a markup your copy store of choice puts on each
process. (Using a copy store is more than likely mandatory if you
choose to do more complicated printing--although basic laser printing
is possible using home equipment, very few people can afford to buy an
embossing machine or a color laser printer on whatever budget.) Even
more complicated options will, naturally, require more work on the part
of the printer, and thus more money from you.
Business cards can be an incredibly affordable way of getting your
sales message and name out there so make sure you take advantage of
this marketing tool.
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