Being a parent is a full time job, so there’s no reason a set of business cards can’t make your home life easier too. Mummy cards are the newest craze to hit the world of business cards and are the perfect way to make sure that as a parent, your information is available at all times when you’re away from your child.

What are they?

Mummy cards are designed to be handed out at playgroups, schools, playdates and passed to the babysitter. Some parents even choose to give a stack to their child to keep in case they wander off or become lost. Many parents choose to detail their child’s allergies or medical information on the cards, along with their own contact details and local doctor’s number in case of emergencies.

Why get them?

Using mummy cards will eliminate the need to continuously write out your contact information on scraps of paper each time you leave your child at a friend’s house or after school group, and are a sure-fire way to make sure that all your information is clearly and accurately printed. You can be sure that you’re not leaving any vital information out, and give yourself a quick and easy option to hand out details without any fuss.

What do I need to put on my card?

One of the most popular titles to use for mummy cards is a parent’s name, be it the mother or the father of the child, with a small subtitle underneath, for example; ‘Mum to Jack and Abby’. This makes it easy for people to remember your full name, and also gives information on which child belongs to you.

It is always important to add your own contact number, and the contact number of another family member in case you cannot be reached. If you want to add allergy information, this is also handy to have, especially if you have a local specialist or doctor who can be contacted in an emergency. Does your child need an inhaler or take tablets? You can try jotting a line or two giving directions to anyone taking care of your child on how and when this should be administered, if needed.

Finding the best design

One of the best things about business cards for parents is that you can have as much fun as you like with the colours and fonts. Bear in mind that the card should be easy to read, so make sure that all your text is in a colour which can be read against the background, and that you’ve chosen something readable as well as fun. Take a look at our business card designs blog post to get some ideas on the perfect style and colours for your cards.

Keeping your mummy card plain and simple has its benefits, but you can also choose to upload a picture of your child as the main or background image for easy identification, especially if several parents in your circle also use these cards. Adding an image of the whole family is also a great way to personalise a card like this, and is especially good for those with more than one child!

If you’d like some inspiration on some of the things you can do, just take a look at our business card page for something you like the look of, and see how you can turn a business card into something a little bit more personal.

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A business card is much more than just a piece of card with your details on it; it is a representation of you, your business and can make all the difference between securing your next client and making that next sale.

Which type of card do you need?

Before you decide anything, you need to make sure you pick the right type of card. Do you want a straight-forward shape with a plain back, rounded corners and an appointment table on the back, or maybe even a magnetic card? Depending on your industry, you can get much more out of your card by making sure you have the best type available.

If you’re a designer or artist, you can use the shape of your card to help emphasise your graphics. Try taking a look at our rounded corner business cards- you’ll be able to choose which corners you have rounded, which will help to demonstrate to potential customers that you have an interest in shape, design and form.

For those in the maintenance, housekeeping, or take-away restaurant industry, magnetic business cards will really make a difference to how your card is used. You’ll be able to attach them to anything you’ve serviced, like boilers or radiators, or stick them to refrigerators, filing cabinets and toolboxes. Yours is an industry in which people will be looking for your details in a hurry, so why not make sure that they are always kept in the most obvious place?

QR code business cards are an interesting and innovative way to bring information to your customers, and will really optimise the amount of information you can provide on the front of a business card. You will be able to use our QR code generator to create your own code which will direct customers to your website, or provide them with discount codes, text or message them, and even stores your contact details to their phone. If you have an internet company, an online portfolio, or simply want to expand upon what your card can do, then this is an excellent choice.

What about the back?

Although many people choose to leave the back of their business card blank, this empty side is a missed opportunity to drive business. Would your business benefit from an appointment table on the back or maybe a company logo? Whatever you decide will ultimately affect how customers respond to your card.

If you’re a vet, dentist, doctor, beautician or anyone who relies on appointments and bookings to get business, adding an appointment table to the back of your card is a handy extra, and also means that your customers are encouraged to hang on to your details for longer. Appointment tables mean that you can secure those all-important repeat visits, and be sure that your card stays inside a diary or stuck to the fridge as a constant reminder- a more useful card that really does more.

Another great way to encourage customers to keep hold of your card is adding a calendar back to it. Having a calendar printed on the reverse of your card is great for encouraging customers to keep it where they can see it.

Continue the theme of your front design by adding a block colour or your own company logo to the back. This will really help to finish your design off (especially for those in a design-conscious industry) and the addition of your own logo is a personal, professional touch which will serve to remind people who you are. There is a certain degree of authenticity which can only be achieved by adding a company logo, so don’t leave the back blank!

You can reward your customers for coming back by turning your business card into a loyalty card. If you add a loyalty card back to your business card design you can ensure that your customers are encouraged to come back to you each time, and once all the stamp spaces are filled you can give them a discount, freebies or whatever you like!

Which design is best?
If you don’t have a design which you can upload for your card, then we have a whole selection of business card templates all tailored to individual industries so your card can be a true reflection of your company. We have cards to suit each different kind of company, so before you select, consider what the images say to potential customers, and whether the colours and the fonts are representative of the kind of image you wish to portray.

If you’re a window cleaner, plumber or car wash, perhaps a design which features a lot of water-coloured blues is best for you? If you have a cupcake bakery, are a beautician or nail salon, perhaps a heavily pink design with a feminine font is more appropriate? Remember, it may not be the design you like best which is better suited to your company- what is your first impression when you see the template? Get inside the mind-set of your customers before you decide.

Paper types and laminations

Now you’ve chosen your card type, design template, entered all your details and chosen your back, you’ll need to add the finishing touches. We offer a range of different paper types and laminations for business cards which can really affect how the card looks, and more importantly, how the design appears.

Standard luxury paper and recycled papers are great for all design types, and the smooth, thick nature of the cards will give a really professional finish. If you want to make sure your card lasts longer, why not choose a lamination? Gloss lamination will give your card a shiny, silky finish, and matt lamination will make the card appear velvety with a low surface shine.

For companies who’d like a bit more of a luxurious or stylised touch, we also offer gold shimmer, cream tinted or textured card. As these are coloured, and the textured card is uncoated, designs will appear very differently on them. We always recommend light coloured and predominantly white designs for the cream tinted card and gold shimmer card, and block colour designs for the textured card. The type of card you choose for your business card will really help achieve a slick, finished design, so give this some consideration before making your final choice!

The science of choosing the best business card designs, papers and features is a lot more complex than meets the eye, but the choices you make can really help you make the impression you want for your company, so choose wisely!

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With the increasing popularity of online business networking sites such as LinkedIn, the importance of the humble business card has been brought into question with some people claiming that the business card is dead.

After all, LinkedIn and other similar sites hold more information than your standard business card and offer a great way to connect with new people outside without having to attend a networking event or show but here at Goodprint, we believe that the business card is far from dead and is vital in the world of business.

Business cards are still high in demand from printing companies across the world but how do you make sure yours can still compete in the days where digital communication has all but taken over? We’ve put together a short list of ways you can ensure yours can still stay on the top of the pile when everything is becoming digital?

• Design is still #1

You still need your business card to be memorable. This is particularly important if you’re preparing for a networking event where dozens of business cards will undoubtedly be exchanged so you need to make sure your card really stands out.

• Remember your social connections

As more and more people start using social networking sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, you’ll find that these will be the first places people will research you and your company. Show you have nothing to hide by including your Twitter handle (e.g @goodprint), Facebook Page and even your LinkedIn URL on your card.

• Try a QR code

Many people have started to using mobile apps such as CardMunch to store business card information to their phones. Keep up with the trend by creating a QR code of your contact details and add it to your business card design. We even have templates available to help you generate your code.

If you incorporate all of these things into your latest business card design, your card is more likely to stand out at your latest networking events.

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In the next of our Design Tips series, we run through all those technical parts that scare some people off creating their own business card designs.

Not everyone wants to use a template for their business card design. Creating your own design from scratch will give you a more unique and personal set of cards that are more suited to your brand. However, if you’re not a designer, all the technical points can appear a little daunting.

To make things a little easier here are some of the most important things you need to remember before you send your deign to print.

• Design in CMYK
The majority of printers already print in CMYK. The RGB colour spectrum is smaller than CMYK so if you supply artwork in RGB it’s likely that some of your colours will appear duller when printed whereas with CMYK your finished product will more likely resemble what you see on screen.

• High res images
For the highest quality result make sure that any images you use are at least 300dpi. If you use anything smaller you run the risk of your images appearing either pixelated or fuzzy.

• Remember space for bleed
The standard bleed area is 3mm around the edge of your design. Keep the bulk of your design within this line and extend your background past it right to the edge. This will minimise the chances of a white edge appearing on your finished piece.

• Avoid using borders
With any printer, there is always a margin for error when cutting your business cards. Borders may look great on screen but when they are cut there is always the risk that you will be left with lopsided edges. The millimeters difference where the blade falls while cutting can really make a difference.

• Save as a EPS/High res JPEG
Even though we accept a range of file types to make ordering your business cards as easy as possible, EPS’s are the recommended format for most printers. When you save your artwork as a low res JPEG or PNG your artwork can occasionally come out a little fuzzy or pixelated, this work is minimised if you save your artwork as a EPS and the design will be of a higher quality.

If you have any more questions about your artwork you can use our Email Support section or you can leave us a comment below.

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This next edition to our Design Tips series is all about colour, the best colours to use and how you should use them.

Your choice of colour in any design says a lot about you, this is particularly relevant to business cards as they can create a subconscious opinion on you and your company almost immediately after cards are exchanged. If you’re not sure where to start, we have put together this short list of tips to give you a hand.

• Remember your brand
What colours do you use for your branding? You can really make an emphasis on your branding by having one colour as key for the background of your business card or even having a nice white card with your logo as a statement.

• Contrasting colours
Contrasting colours make great combinations and really jazz up your cards. Try matching colours from the opposite side of the colour wheel or visiting sites such as kuler.adobe.com for examples.

• Colour meanings
You’d be surprised what colours can really say about you so you should bear this in mind when choosing one for your business card. White may seem like the easy option and that’ s exactly what it is, a safe option rather than black which comes across as powerful and serious so it can really make an impact. Be daring.

• Type
It might sound like common sense but always choose colours that are easy to read. For example, you wouldn’t use pink type on a red background.

If you have any more great tips for colour use in business card design, leave us a comment below.

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