7 Business Card Printing Mistakes & How to ...

You actually never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Your business card should be consistent with the image you want to project. A professionally designed and printed business card could assist in landing new customers instead of the junk in the trashcan.

The following blog contains some of the most common business card printing mistakes – make sure you don't make them!

1. Clutter

The most common mistake is creating business cards with too much text or images. Creating a cluttered impression on your card conveys a similar message about you and your business.

Don't try to jam as much information on your card as possible - it's not meant to be a brochure. Likewise, don't let your content run smash right up against the edges of your card. Preserve margins, it helps to maintain an aesthetic balance of space.

2. Omitting essential information

Proofread carefully before submitting your business card design for printing. Make sure you have not omitted any essential information. Is your business's postal code on the card? Does your phone number also have your area code (and country code if your clients are potentially international)?

Make sure you're certain that everything that needs to be there, is there. During the order process at Optimalprint, we present the most common text fields for you to fill out.

3. Including non-essential or unwanted information

On the flip side, including non-essential information on your business card is even worse. Leave company values and slogans to your marketing department. Also, never put elements on your business card that should remain private, e.g. your private email address.

4. Incongruent design elements

Don’t try to combine incongruent design features. Decide on one style that is consistent with your business and the message to your customer. For example, a minimalist, zen-like design theme for a massage studio would probably not suit glaring, fluorescent font colours to use against the background image of a rock garden. The message is simply - inconsistent.

When planning your business card design elements remember unity signals professionalism.

5. Not clearly defining your services or products

A cardinal error in creating your business cards is when you do not incorporate your profession into the graphical design. As a recipient of your business card I should be able to understand your services or products. For example, a business card that reads "JB Services Inc." but lacks a description of services, picture, or slogan indicating the nature its services or products is a poor design.

Just because your card has a picture of a cartoon bee on it doesn't mean that everyone will understand that you sell beekeeping supplies. If in doubt, run the design by your own review panel - a few people who don't know what you or your business does. If they can't tell clearly from your card, rethink your design.


6. Using font sizing that is too small (or too big)

Using a font size that is too small will effectively render your business card unreadable to many; especially people who are in their middle age or older. While you may beam at having fit an 200-word overview of your business's services on the back of your card, if it requires a scanning electron microscope to read it doesn't do you, or your business, any good. In fact, probably the opposite. If it is not easily read it will probably end up in a standard circle file, otherwise known as the trashcan.

Big typefaces are an equally bad practice. Particularly on the address and contact information do not use large fonts, or worse, all capital letters. If you'd rather not come off as sleazy or cheesy, it's best to avoid jumbo fonts or a business card that seems like it's SHOUTING AT YOU.


7. Don’t print your own cards ☺

With this kind of recommendation you might even think I was working in the printing business… Anyhow, the number one rule has to be: avoid printing your own cards. Office printers can’t print on thick card stock. Flimsy cards give a really bad first impression. Skip the dinner out and put the money you saved into using a professional print shop or do both actually if you print your business cards at Optimalprint!

Your consistent use of a well-designed business card is one of the most easy and affordable ways to market your business.