One of the biggest questions on entrepreneurs’ minds is how to set themselves apart from the competition; how to make their mark in a business world littered with competing companies. While answers to this much-asked question may vary between professions, perhaps a blanket answer would be: improve your business’ image. One way to spruce up your image is to invest in professional business card printing services. Your business is represented by your business card, and in an instant a prospective client will take note of the card you hand to them and make a judgment of what kind of a company you have. We’ve researched the top business card printing services that offer top-of-the-line business cards, like 123Print, to make sure that those instantaneous judgment calls are in your favor. We also have articles on business card printing for an in depth look into how to make your business card work for you. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™
Selection
Most of the services we reviewed give the user several different options to print and design business cards. They will either offer free templates, allow you to upload your own business card design or have online tools to help you design business cards from scratch. Our top-ranked online business card printing services were those that had a huge selection of modern, ready-to-print templates, no editing necessary. MOO was one such company with over 140 unique but professional business card templates sure to set you apart from the competition.
Professional business cards are defined by more than just the design (although that does play an important role). The quality of the printing, paper thickness and finish are also important to the overall image. We found the best services, like Vistaprint, printed on 80lb and 100lb card stock that had a linen, recycled, or heavy feel and were finished with a matte, glossy, AQ or UV finish. AQ and glossy finish usually cost a little bit more, but we thought the professional finish gave the cards a feeling of being expensive, even if they weren’t.
Custom business cards with specialty features are also a good conversation starter. If you want a distinctive card, look for a card printing service that offers specialty shapes, foil accents and the ability to upload your own design.
Ease of Use
The best business card printing companies are those that have a user-friendly interface with easy-to-use design tools. Avoid sites that charge extra for standard services. If a site requires you to purchase stock images or pay extra for color printing, we suggest taking your business elsewhere. Online proofs or a PDF proof is standard with most printing services, but some will include a hard copy proof for an extra fee. Also, before settling with a printing service, review which kind of file types they accept. The best will accept everything from BMP, PNG and JPEG files to Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop files.
Help & Support
While most online services are pretty straightforward and easy-to-use, don’t discount the value of good help and support. We were impressed with those companies that not only offered a FAQs page, but also had email contact information, a toll-free phone number and instant, online chat services.
Setting your company apart from the pack can be as easy are redesigning your business cards. You’d be surprised what a custom business card with a sleek and modern design can do for you business. Take a moment to browse through our side-by-side matrix detailing the top 10 business card printing services available to find the perfect match for your company.
| Rank | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 |
|
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor
|
123Print | Vistaprint | MOO | Overnight Prints | Zazzle | PrintRunner | UPrinting | Business Cards | NextDayFlyers | PrintingHQ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Reviewer Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visit SIte |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Overall Rating | ||||||||||
| Ratings | ||||||||||
| Selection | ||||||||||
| Ease of Use | ||||||||||
| Help & Support | ||||||||||
| Selection | ||||||||||
| Customized | ||||||||||
| Double Sided | ||||||||||
| Full-Bleed | ||||||||||
| Full-Color | ||||||||||
| Horizontal | ||||||||||
| Rounded Corners | ||||||||||
| Single Sided | ||||||||||
| Skinny | ||||||||||
| Templates | ||||||||||
| Vertical | ||||||||||
| Volume Discounts | ||||||||||
| Fold Over | ||||||||||
| Shipping Options | ||||||||||
| 1-2 Day | ||||||||||
| Next Day | ||||||||||
| Free | ||||||||||
| Rush | ||||||||||
| Track Orders | ||||||||||
| 3-Day | ||||||||||
| Same Day Service | ||||||||||
| Finish Options | ||||||||||
| 80lb Paper | ||||||||||
| 100lb Paper | ||||||||||
| Card Stock | ||||||||||
| Glossy/UV | ||||||||||
| Linen Paper | ||||||||||
| Magnetic | ||||||||||
| Matte | ||||||||||
| Recycled Paper | ||||||||||
| 14pt Paper | ||||||||||
| AQ Coating | ||||||||||
| Laminated | ||||||||||
| Special Options | ||||||||||
| Assortments | ||||||||||
| Matching Sets | ||||||||||
| Upload Own Design | ||||||||||
| Card Holder Included | ||||||||||
| Foil Accents | ||||||||||
| Specialty Shapes | ||||||||||
| Ease of Use | ||||||||||
| Account Needed | ||||||||||
| Online Design Tools | ||||||||||
| Online/PDF Proof | ||||||||||
| Hard Copy Proof | ||||||||||
| Spell Checker | ||||||||||
| File Formats Accepted | ||||||||||
| Bitmap (.bmp) | ||||||||||
| GIF | ||||||||||
| Adobe Illustrator (.eps) or (.ai) | ||||||||||
| JPEG | ||||||||||
| Adobe Photoshop (.psd) | ||||||||||
| PNG | ||||||||||
| TIFF | ||||||||||
| Adobe InDesign (.indd) | ||||||||||
| Quark (.qxd) | ||||||||||
| Help & Support | ||||||||||
| Design Services | ||||||||||
| FAQs | ||||||||||
| Online Chat | ||||||||||
| Phone | ||||||||||
| Price Quote | ||||||||||
| Automatic Reorder | ||||||||||
| Sample Packs | ||||||||||
| Payment Methods | ||||||||||
| American Express | ||||||||||
| Discover | ||||||||||
| MasterCard | ||||||||||
| Visa | ||||||||||
| PayPal | ||||||||||
| Check | ||||||||||