How to Print Business Cards at Home 

Whether you’ve just started a new business, or are looking at ideas of how to drum up clients for an existing one, you may be thinking about getting business cards printed. But just how do you get business cards printed? 

If you’ve done a bit of research, you’ve probably found that there are several places that can facilitate business card printing, but what if you want to print business cards at home? Is that a possibility? The short answer is: yes (provided you have access to a decent printer).

With access to a good-quality printer and the right card, you can print your own business cards from the comfort of your own home! Doing this allows you to easily try multiple different types of designs until you find the one that you like the most (and that you feel best represents your business). 

So, what are the steps you need to undertake to get the business card prints happening? We’ll fill you in! Want to find out more about how to print business cards at home? Keep reading this blog! 

 

 

Check your printer can do it

 

Before you begin designing and planning all of the beautiful business cards you want to create, check to make sure the printer you have access to is capable of printing onto the right type of card. You’ll be looking at the maximum weight of paper your printer can handle, in order to work this out. Generally, paperweight is measured in GSM (or grams per square meter). 

Have a read of your printer’s manual, or look up the manual for the printer make and model online if you can’t find a physical copy. Some printers may need a coated card, while others don’t deal with glossy finish paper. Be sure to do extensive research to ensure you don’t cause any damage to your printer. Once you have confirmed that your printer can print card, and worked out the maximum paper weight it can handle, you can move on to sourcing the card needed to create DIY business cards! 

 

 

Buying card

 

After figuring out the GSM that your printer can handle, you can then go about sourcing paper that fits the requirements. There are many different types of cardstock to choose from when it comes to finding one to print your own business cards on. You should also consider what colour you would like your cards to be printed onto. Would you like to go for white card? A classy cream look? Or maybe something a little bright, colourful and out there? This decision can be a pretty personal one, as a business card can reflect the vibe you want people to associate with your brand. Once you have decided what type of look you are after, it’s time to find the card. There are many places that stock business cardstock, and a simple search online should turn up an array of options. 

 

 

Creating your design

 

It’s time to create the design for your DIY business cards! There are several ways that you can go about designing your business card at home. While you might be interested in creating the design from scratch, yourself, there are many templates out there for those who are new to design, or are looking at producing their first lot of business cards and would like a little bit of a hand. Adobe Spark has a range of business card templates that can be used, as does Microsoft Publisher. Canva can also be used for creating business cards, and the humble Microsoft Word also has some layouts for making business cards at home. Once you have chosen a program and template you would like it use, it’s time to go about tweaking and editing the design so that it suits the feeling you are after. When you find a final design that you love, it’s time to progress to the printing stage! 

 

Printing a test copy

 

Printing a test copy can be a great way to ensure the physical copy of the cards are looking exactly how you want them to look, before committing to printing dozens or hundreds of them. By printing out a single page, you can hold the cards in your hand and take a good look at them, noting any changes you would like to make before committing to the full print load. 

 

Printing your business cards

 

So, you’ve figured out the type of card your printer can handle, you’ve sourced the card, created a design you love and printed a test copy… now it’s time to officially print your own business cards! Decide on how many you’d like to make. Remember, as you have the templates and access to the printer to make them, you can always start off small and print more as you begin to run low. When they’re printed, pop them in a spot for safekeeping and admire the fact that you just created a bunch of business cards all by yourself. Of course, remember to keep some in your wallet or purse for when potential networking opportunities arise! You want to be able to show them off when needed.

 

Printing business cards at home doesn’t have to be a stressful ordeal… In fact, it can even be pretty fun! As long as you’re careful to check the abilities of your printer, source the right paper, and spend a little time getting the design right, you should be able to create many wonderful cards to hand out!