The first step in learning how to make business cards at home is arguably the most fun—coming up with how you want your card to look! Even if you’re not a creativity maven, you can use these tips to guide the process.
Whether you have a small business or you’re a solo entrepreneur, you likely have some kind of symbol or logo associated with your business dealings. Presenting this image on the card is a great way to create a brand identity.
Ideally, your logo shouldn’t be overly complicated. Something simple and memorable will be more effective than a colorful and intense graphic—and it will be easier for your home printer to render properly.
Your logo is an important part of your card, but what other information should you include? Here is a list of must-haves you’ll want to include, no matter your business or industry:
Once you have all of these necessities, there are a few additional items that might look good if you have the space:
In the United States, the standard business card size is 3.5 inches by 2 inches. This is likely what you’ll want to stick with for your at-home cards, as this will be the easiest size to find templates and paper for.
For a fun and lighthearted business, such as a bakery or pet walking service, choose brighter colors. For something more serious and professional, such as a law firm or accountant, go with dark and neutral colors. You’ll likely be printing on a white or cream business card, so avoid pale colors that would be hard to see.
As for the font, you’ll want something that’s easy to read and not too cramped. Avoid cursive scrawls, block letters or decorative fonts, as these can be hard to decipher at a quick glance. And try to use at least a 7-pt. font so everything is clear.
If you get stuck during this step, your best bet is to just rely on a premade palette or template from one of the design programs we discuss below.
When you need business cards in a hurry, you can print them yourself in just a few minutes using a laser or inkjet printer. Use any word processor on your computer or any free business card website to set up your card, but first take a look at the options that are available to you to get the results you want.
Standard printing paper doesn't work for business cards. You need card stock, which is usually loaded into your printer's manual feed. If you use ordinary card stock, you need a ruler and a sharp utility knife to cut the cards yourself. For better results, buy card stock designed specifically for business cards.
Each sheet is microperforated so you can pull the business cards apart after you print them. You can buy business card stock at most stores that carry office supplies.
If you have a word processor like Microsoft Word, you can design your business cards in a matter of minutes. Rather than trying to format the sheet yourself, use a business card template. In Word, for example, just type "business card" in the template search field and then select a design from the results. Some companies that make card stock, such as Avery, have their own templates, which are already formatted specifically for their products.
Depending on the template, you may be able to enter the information for your card once and have it automatically populate an entire page with the same card. If your template doesn't have that option, design one card and then copy and paste it into the remaining blank cards.
Plenty of free websites allow you to design your own business cards in your web browser and then download the finished design to print on your printer. The benefit of these websites is that they are often faster and easier than using a word processor and have a variety of templates with different backgrounds to choose from. To get started, select a website like Adobe Spark, Canva or BizCardMakr. Find a design template that appeals to you. Then add your text and – in many cases – images such as your business logo.
If you need a few hundred business cards, you may be better off purchasing them in bulk from a local printer or from an online service like Moo.com or vistaprint.com. Many of these companies offer introductory specials so you can get 500 cards for less than the cost of buying your own card stock.
Self-printed business cards do not usually convey the professionalism most small-business owners aspire to. If you have a laser printer, avoid selecting any template that relies on color. If you have an inkjet printer, make sure that it reproduces the color faithfully without any lines or blurred edges. It may be better to take someone's business card and send an email with your contact information, than to hand over a poorly printed card of your own.
If you are printing your own cards, do a test page on a piece of ordinary printing paper first and then compare the layout to the perforations on the card stock. This way, you can make any needed adjustments to the margins before wasting a sheet of card stock.