Business Cards - Common Options
When designing custom business cards, there are many different options available. The options you select for your business card printing needs will affect the price of the product.
Paper Stock
The stock type is the base of any business card. It will affect the business card price first and foremost. Crane's Crest cards are the most expensive ones we offer, the rest of the stocks being substantially more affordable. We offer stocks like glossy, linen, recycled and more. Also, most stocks come in a variety of paper colors, so be sure to check out each one to find the perfect match. As an example, an ivory linen card adds a touch of elegance to the card's message.
Ink Finish
On top of selecting a paper type for your business cards, you will want to select the ink finish. Most cards are printed in flat ink but a lot of people like to have raised ink on their business cards. This is also called thermography printing or raised print business cards. The ink finish in our case does not affect the card price, however.
Ink Colors
The number of ink colors used greatly changes the price of business cards. The most affordable business cards are printed in one ink colors, commonly, black ink. However, if your company has a custom PMS color that is regularly used on correspondence, we can accomodate that but the cost of mixing a specific ink color does add up. The business cards we offer with your own design can have up to two ink colors, both of which can be custom colors (also known as spot colors). Finally, if you would like to use images on your business cards, full color business cards are quite affordable and very widely used.
Back Printing
Having printing on both the front and back of your business cards is a common trend. It will not only increase the price of your cards but the impact and professional look of them. This feature can be used to list appointment times and dates or to draw a map which will lead customers to you more easily.
Bleeds
In order for a business card to have a solid color background or images that go to the edge of the card, there needs to be a bleed. This is most common on full color business cards or as a wave or border of some type on 1 and 2 ink color cards. You can choose to have a bleed on any or all sides of the card. Depending on the printing process used, bleeds may or may not increase the business card price.