How to Design and Print Your Own Business Cards

If you have the right computer software it's not difficult to design your own free business cards - it's really quite simple. No matter what program you use, the basic steps to carry out business card printing are essentially the same. The first thing you have to do is create a workspace. This involves setting the size of the card - most people set it to what the final size of the card is going to be - 85mm x 55mm, but you can set it to another size for the design process (A4) and then change it later, if you prefer.

With your blank page, use a box drawing tool to create the outline of the card and give the box a border stroke. Now you have to set up guides for the margins. A 5mm margin is your best bet, as anything that bleeds over the edge later on will be covered. Zoom in on the card so you can see better, and adjust the ruler at the top left corner of the card. This positions the card in the right place. Drag a guide to the 5mm position and the 80mm position, and do the same thing on the vertical, except put the latter at the 50mm position.

The area you have shaded is where you're going to work on the card and where you have to insert the different elements of your business card design. If you have a company logo all ready to go, import it now, but make sure you have the logo in the right format for printing. With free business cards that you make yourself, it's important that the printing comes out properly. Now you can add your personal details.

Bleeds have to be added at this point to avoid problems with business card printing on a larger scale. If you plan to replicate your business card design hundreds of times, bleeding has the potential to occur on the edges of the cards. Bleeds allow you to stretch artwork or graphics on the card by 3mm so that cutting after the printing process doesn't result in unsightly problems. Sometimes inaccuracies in the cutting of the cards results in bleeding, which has an unprofessional look, so it's best to avoid it if at all possible.

When it comes time to print the free business cards, you have several choices. You can purchase business card printing and have a printing company take your design and print it, or you can print the cards yourself at home. The latter option may prove rather expensive due to paper costs and the amount of time it takes to do all the printing, but it works if you only need to print a small amount of cards. If you require a large batch, however, buying business card printing services for your business card design is probably the most cost effective way to get your free business cards ready for dispersal.

Business card design is pretty straightforward even if you don't possess a lot of artistic ability. Anyone can do it, as long as you have a computer and some basic knowledge of business cards and how they are put together. Of course, you can use a business card template if you really need help. Business card templates make the entire process very easy because all you have to do is use the template as a basic starting point and then fill it in with your company's information and logo. This is a good option for those who don't have a clue where to begin with business card design, and would like to put something together that is aesthetically pleasing and conveys the right information.