Business cards - worth it?

If you have a business, yes.
 
yes if you want to get paid for your pics.

what are your dreams with photography
 
I've just set my website up, and I'll be getting some cards. I've been told about a company called Zero21 (I think thats their name hehe) that charge £45 for 5000 cards. You design your own.
 
I use www.printing.com

They may not be the cheapest but the quality is good and they seem reliable so far. Oh and the girl that looks after my account is hot! :D
 
5000 is a lot of cards. Best to estimate how many will be given out per day. 5000 is 6.8 cards given out every day for 2 years.
1/ Will the details on the cards still be the same in 2 years time?
and
2/ Will you give out 6.8 cards every day?
 
As dod says, if you have a business then yes you should have some. However I would not buy thousands of cheap ones, all that does is say "I'm cheap". Pay a good price for perhaps 100 high quality cards, if you want to be remembered by someone you give a card to, impress them.
 
Got my businss cards done at photobox. Very good quality and very clear.
I originally went with vista print but i thought there standard of print wasnt very good :thumbsdown:. Aftersales was good though as i got a full refund due to the print on the cards being very very dark.
 
I hand a lot of cards out tbh, when I'm working in nightclubs. To promoters and DJs of course, but also to other people - I've picked up model and family portrait work this way.
I'm on contract so mobile number will be the same in a few years, and my web address wont change.
 
gman said:
I use www.printing.com

They may not be the cheapest but the quality is good and they seem reliable so far. Oh and the girl that looks after my account is hot! :D
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I use Printing.com, they are a bit of a rip-off to be honest, there's loads of places that are much cheaper. My friend works for a printing company and can get 5,000 cards for like £60 (full colour, gloss on both sides).

I paid over £100 for gloss on 1 side, full colour on both for 500 cards.

Good quality though :D
 
see http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=51863

Step away from the computer.... And go outside ;) Find your local printer and you will get a similar price to the online alternatives but with better quality. And, may I suggest, a confidence in their ability to do what you ask of them. For if they don't, you can easily go back to them to sort it out.

It is also a fantastic opportunity to tout for business. I wonder how many times a year your local printer gets asked, by their customers, to recommend a local photographer :clap:
 
Cards are always handy as you never know when someone will ask you to take some pictures. I have on several occasions been attending events and been asked to take some photographs as carrying a professional looking camera people tend to assume I can take some decent pics. A business card on this occasion was very useful as it gives people a point of contact.

Vista print ones aren't bad if you buy the "free" ones with their logo printed in small on the back. I've gone off their designs somewhat and given it's easy enough and cheap enough to get a small run printed I'm planning on doing that.

Just think you've only got to do a few jobs and they have paid for themselves.
 
2blue4u said:
see http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=51863

Step away from the computer.... And go outside ;) Find your local printer and you will get a similar price to the online alternatives but with better quality. And, may I suggest, a confidence in their ability to do what you ask of them. For if they don't, you can easily go back to them to sort it out.

It is also a fantastic opportunity to tout for business. I wonder how many times a year your local printer gets asked, by their customers, to recommend a local photographer :clap:
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Good point Blue :thumbs:
 
I'm with you blue, many people buy from out of town but then expect locals to patronise them. Its a different matter if you cant obtain something close by.

Another example...I was in the lake district at easter and there wasnt one hard back book on the area printed in this country, instead they came from china.
 
I get lots of cards from various businesses. Some from shows, some from reps, some attached to flyers through the post.

The ones I like are the clean and classy design, not the glossy double sided colourful ones.

I like single sided ones as the empty space is sometimes useful for writing notes - and flicking through various ones I've kept have a variety of notes, some complimentary, some less so (eg arrogant dimwit)

I'm all for supporting local businesses as well.
 
As already said, you do need cards if you are in business.

admirable said:
1/ Will the details on the cards still be the same in 2 years time?
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The contact details on my cards will never change: website address and 08700 number.
 
howell80 said:
Got my businss cards done at photobox. Very good quality and very clear.
I originally went with vista print but i thought there standard of print wasnt very good :thumbsdown:. Aftersales was good though as i got a full refund due to the print on the cards being very very dark.
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Spot on !!! Don't use Vista, made that mistake already. Photobox cards are vastly superior in quality.
 
vista are spot on... i bought a few designs for different people from them, and i bought some myself this year..

you can even remove their logo for a very small fee and sometimes for free.. i think i got 100 cars for like 3.44 including delivery
 
I do a lot of design for print and these guys do brilliant cards:

http://www.rcs.plc.uk/

I tried Vistaprint and they don't come anywhere close. They also take quite a while to arrive if you are in the UK.

RCS print in full colour on 400gm card and I can recommend paying a little extra and going for the matt laminate option. You won't regret it.
 
I too work in design and print. I agree with RCS doing pretty good cards, but www.aubergine-print.co.uk matt laminate the cards for a similar price to RCS's standard cards. They are definitely worth looking at although I'm not sure if they only deal with trade.

Should you need any assistance with the design or setup of the card then I'd be happy to help out.
 
andrewc said:
Vistaprint free cards have a small advert on the back from Vistaprint advertising the fact that you're a tight sod.
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Yes they do, but if you're on a budget or have little money they are worth it. Not everyone has loads of money. However for a few £'s more the small advert can be removed, and I believe that still works out cheaper then some of the other places.
 
Snakedance said:
Yes they do, but if you're on a budget or have little money they are worth it. Not everyone has loads of money. However for a few £'s more the small advert can be removed, and I believe that still works out cheaper then some of the other places.
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i use vista print , they have some great deals , i use some of the free stuff. i have spent £1000`s on my camera gear. i don`t want to throw loads of money at business cards until i know i can make some money back .
as long as my details are clear on the card i`m not to bothered what is on the back .

santana007
 
i usually print own on photographic paper. hard to tell difference between bought & ones i do. advantage i can change design in few minutes. downside i keep forgetting to print more. I make card but not really for work but does look professional if out & about, i just give them card and get asked less questions.
 
I used Vistaprint and they came out very nicely. Took me a while to find somewhere that would do foil designs for cheap. Designed my own cards and boughts about 200 which should keep me going for a while.
 
santana007 said:
i have spent £1000`s on my camera gear. i don`t want to throw loads of money at business cards until i know i can make some money back .
as long as my details are clear on the card i`m not to bothered what is on the back .

santana007
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If I'd spent £1000s on camera gear, then I certainly wouldn't give out business cards whose quality could be the difference between making or breaking a sale.

Maybe I'm more critical working in the print industry, but if a photographer handed me a card like those from Vistaprint (and unless they've changed drastically since I last saw them) then I'd be thinking twice. Business cards need not cost the earth. You can make a relatively small investment at a local printer and get a decent quality for around £30.
 
StuD said:
If I'd spent £1000s on camera gear, then I certainly wouldn't give out business cards whose quality could be the difference between making or breaking a sale.

Maybe I'm more critical working in the print industry, but if a photographer handed me a card like those from Vistaprint (and unless they've changed drastically since I last saw them) then I'd be thinking twice. Business cards need not cost the earth. You can make a relatively small investment at a local printer and get a decent quality for around £30.
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i know what you are saying , but the ones i have had from them i am more than happy with . we are about to design our own . but for a start they are v.good .and get you started .

santana007 :thumbs:
 
try http://www.goodprint.co.uk/

They made me some business cards up and the quality was excellent. Far better than my previous vistaprint ones.
 
First impressions count. My business cards are the plastic type that look like credit cards. I have been using them for 15yrs now and customers still compliment us on them. I find that customers are less likely to throw away the plastic ones and always tell them that they are great for scraping ice off the car windscreen in the winter! It sowes the seed and they usually pop it straight into their wallet or purse.
Always try and look at it like this: 'What would you think if someone gave you a card that doesn't look,feel professional?'
Personally I would think 'If he/she can't be bothered about getting that right then who's to say the rest of the package will be any different.
Just my opinion and experience of being in business for 15yrs.
 
well i will try some of the other sites for business cards

don`t know if i have missed anything is this thread , what software does anyone use for printing there own

cheers

santana007 :thumbs:
 
santana007 said:
well i will try some of the other sites for business cards

don`t know if i have missed anything is this thread , what software does anyone use for printing there own

cheers

santana007 :thumbs:
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I use Illustrator, You can design one card then set it to mirror that card across the page then mirror that line up the page. Once set up you just edit the bottom left card and they all change. Works for me anyway. If you do it like that you can print a few hundred at a time and if things change just edit it.
 
I paid for 200 cards about a month ago. Did the design myself, sent it in and had nothing but a headache ever since. Only just, TODAY, they've arrived. The actual cards are not that bad. I've seen some Vista Prints and these are better but I wouldn't use them again just for the fact they took so long to arrive and that was after hassling the company several times. Company was e-printing.co.uk by the way. Only used them by recommendation but now I'm passing on a recommendation to avoid.

As for them being worth it, mine cost just over 20 quid for 200. I can never remember my phone number so its handy to have just to give out your number without looking like a burk by pulling out your phone to check your own number. I could just learn my number but a card is much better :)
 
yes.
we give em out all the time. web addy on them is REALY IMPORTANT.
youd be suprised how many contacts refer other people to us.
always give a card( or three) to anyone you do biz with.
if you shoot anywhere , leave em some cards.
being as lorry driver myself, i stick my gaffers(swmbo) cards up on works noticeboards too.
works for us.
 
i used goodprint for all my letterhead, leaflets and cards...fast turnaround and cheap. they let you design your own using their templates (which is what i did because im lazy!- big choice though) or send your own in.
 
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