Business card costs

[tony84]

Im looking to get some business cards, not a massive amount just whatever the minimums are, when im looking at what appears to be like for like the prices vary massively.

Am I missing something or is that just the way it is?

 

[ryedale]

Printing costs or design costs?

We use Solopress for any cards we order for us or clients - service works very well

http://www.solopress.com/products/business-cards

 

[ethical PR]

Tony its like most consumables prices will vary according to quality of card, price of paper, quality of design etc.

Personally I like Moo Cards - as they help you stand out from the crowd and are printed on good quality card.

Equally you can go for something cheap and cheerful - do use a decent thickness of card, flimsy card looks awful and use the card to highlight how you can help people.

A well designed card on decent card with memorable information will help you stand out.

 

[tony84]

So if the card is say 400gsm, there is still different quality even though the thickness is the same?

 

[ethical PR]

Yep - depends on the finish, design, words etc

 

[tony84]

Words? Ive not had anyone ask about words, its only printing.

Thanks for the replies though. I was wondering how some compnies do it for peanuts and others I need to take out a Mortgage to buy them.

 

[john1989]

I was given a business card the other day.

It had good quality card with a plastic finish so it didn't bend as easily or ruin if exposed to any fluids.

I was impressed by the quality.

 

[HazelC]

I used InstantPrint - they've been great for me.

 

[Trader82]

I used vistaprint I think it was under £10 for 100 good quality cards.

Be careful though as the pricing system used can easily bump up the cost the time you get to the checkout!

 

[Davek0974]

Vistaprint here too, and i'm a litho printer in the day job!
We just can't compete on price

 

[Alex_T]

Vistaprint for me!

 

[lumencreative]

Must say I'm suprised to see a Litho printer recommend Vistaprint

Many companies will offer what are seamingly the same product, but look at the details, how are they printed (digital vs litho), are they laminated? Do the company check the design before printing?

Not a sales pitch but for reference, our prices start from £18.61 for 250 business cards printed on a good quality 400gsm card, matt laminated, and printed on a litho press, and we check every piece of artwork supplied to make sure it prints correctly. We gang run print jobs so print about 100 orders at a time to keep costs down.

 

[Peter Durrant]

I've always used Vistaprint, and the quality has been excellent - loads of cards at, frankly, chump change!

 

[Lovelybear]

That price depends on your business cards' design, words and the amount you want.

 

[lumencreative]

Try searching first, but it would really depend on your design and the amount of characters on your business card.

That price depends on your business cards' design, words and the amount you want.

I'm really interested to hear why it depends on the design/words/characters on a business card. For most print companies, it costs are pretty much the same whether they print single sided or double sided because the cost of the ink per business card is peanuts. The cost comes in the card stock, setting up the plates (if Litho), and the time it takes to make the cards which is why many companies charge the same whether its single or double sided.

In my experience, the only thing that tends to cost more is something like Spot UV or Hot Foiling, or Laminated vs non-Laminated.

 

[DavidWH]

Double/Single sided can increase the cost on shorter runs if done digitally, but it's not an issue if they're being ganged up with other orders on a litho press, as lumen does.

Another thing to note is that the weight (gsm) doesn't always indicate the thickness of stock. Common sense says a 400gsm is going to thicker than a 130gsm, but we've had same weight boards from two merchants, and there's a noticeable difference in quality and thickness of the board.

 

[Davek0974]

Must say I'm suprised to see a Litho printer recommend Vistaprint

Wondering when someone would notice that

We are in-plant printers and for what VP charge it just is not worth the effort, unless we needed thousands of cards which we didn't.

 

[lumencreative]

Wondering when someone would notice that

We are in-plant printers and for what VP charge it just is not worth the effort, unless we needed thousands of cards which we didn't.

Give us a try next time...I'm sure we can do a better job than Vistaprint

 

[Terry Wainwright]

I was wondering how some compnies do it for peanuts

Do you want monkeys for business cards?

Watch American Psycho for a masterclass on business card quality.

I get handed hundreds of business cards every year, and although necessity of work often dictates I soon initiate contact by email following receipt, and then end up having contact details stored in some fashion, I only keep long-term the ones that stand out/catch the eye.

 

[tony84]

Do you want monkeys for business cards?

I never said I wanted the cheapest, its not something I know a lot about which is why I asked the question.

I was trying to work out if there was a difference or if its just companies charging a premium for good branding.

 

[Terry Wainwright]

I apologise. It was a flippant remark I suppose, but not meant to agitate.

I see a lot of cheap/sub-standard business cards, mainly issued by large companies believe it or not. When I see a high quality one though, it stands out and gets my attention. That is what I would recommend you aim for given my impression that you are a freelance specialist.

Perhaps the best thing would be to see which providers are most recommended by other members on here, and of those compare pricing structures to in order to get a good balance of quality and price.

I personally use Solopress, which I note was previously mentioned. I find their marketing tactics annoying, but the quality is good and the price is not excessive.

 

[Barnes Thomas]

Hey Mate,

The cost of business card depends on the designs and quality of business cards. If you choose metal business cards then it will cost you more but at the same time they are durable and not get torn easily.