How to Make a Business Card with PrintMaster

Business cards are the single most important piece of marketing material that any business can use. They serve as a mini-billboard that tells potential customers "who" to call for "what" service during which business hours (when). It also advertises "where" the business can be found, "why" they should do business there, and "how" the business' services can be accessed. For this reason, it is the very first piece of marketing material that any business should develop. However, in the early stages of business, when money is tight, it can be difficult to find the extra dollars needed to produce business cards. Consequently, many business people turn to printers to develop their cards for them, with little or no real advertising savvy used in its development. You can eliminate this hassle by making your own business card with a desktop publishing program such as PrintMaster. Read on to learn how to make a business card with PrintMaster.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• PrintMaster desktop publishing program
• Computer with access to the Internet
• Printer
• Business card stock (either predone or plain)
• Paper cutter and/or scissors

1. Purchase a PrintMaster desktop publishing program. Whether you choose the silver, gold, or platinum edition is up to you and may be based on the number of graphics and fonts for which you need access.

2. Load the new program on to your computer using the instructions on the product packaging.

3. Open the program and walk through the tutorial for developing a business card. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the simple steps of PrintMaster's desktop publishing program.

4. Decide if you want to use one of the ready made business card layouts provided within the program or if you want to develop your own from scratch. The steps included here assume you will be starting from scratch and will proceed with steps based on that assumption.

5. Select the "Create Brand New Project" option within PrintMaster.

6. Select the business card layout and decide which format of business card you wish to use--a horizontal or vertical layout.

7. Select the appropriate layout based on the business card stock that you have purchased. If you have chosen a certain type or brand of business card stock, look for the brand name as well as the specific product number. If you are using a plain simple 8 1/2" by 11" card stock, then choose any layout that will print 10 business cards per page.

8. Decide on the colors you want to use for your business card. If you are uncertain, do some review on how color helps to establish a business identity for pointers on color choice. There are numerous books on the market and articles on the Internet that can help you determine the right colors to choose for your business based on the identity you are trying to develop.

9. Decide on a logo design or graphic depiction for use on the business card. If you have your own business logo already done, it can be imported into PrintMaster. If not, you can choose from among PrintMaster's many pre-approved graphic designs or you can import a graphic from another desktop publishing program or Internet site that provides graphics for free or that can be purchased for public use.

10. To access a PrintMaster graphic, select the "Add" section at the top the program and scroll down to "Graphic." It will ask if you want to use a graphic from disk (your hard drive or other disk) or from within PrintMaster itself. Assuming you might want to use a PrintMaster graphic, select "Art Gallery." The graphics of PrintMaster will come up in a catalog format. By selecting what format and type of graphic you want to use, you begin to narrow down the various choices. By selecting the graphic category or by giving direct specifications for the type of graphic you want to use within the box provided for that, you further narrow down your choices. Scroll through the graphics you have remaining until you find one that suits your business needs. Click on the graphic and hit the "Select" button. The graphic will be automatically put into your business card layout.

11. You may be able to change the colors of the logo or graphic design chosen by selecting the "Format" section of the program and selecting the "Color" button. A schedule of paint swatch colors will come up to choose from or you can click on "More" and then "Define Custom Colors" to custom design your own special color following PrintMaster's easy instructional guidelines. You can also choose to keep the card black and white by choosing to color the logo or graphic in black.

12. Play around with the position and size of the logo or graphic you have chosen by using the tools provided and outlined within PrintMaster's tutorial program.

13. Add the business name to the card by selecting the "Add" button at the top of the program and scrolling down to "Text Box." Clicking on "Text Box" will automatically bring a text box into your business card layout. Position the text box where you want your business name to appear on the business card. Next, type in the business name. If you want to change the font, highlight the name and go to "Format" at the top of the program and scroll down to the "Font" selection, clicking on it. A box will come up that will give you options to change the font, its size, its color, and how it will appear (like italicized, in bold, or regular). Use the font box to make your various choices until you are happy with the font chosen, its size, its color and its format. You can also opt to add effects to your font within the same text box by clicking on "Effects" and following the guidelines established there. Additionally, you can click on "Test Shape" to give the text an unusual shape by choosing among the various options. The last piece of this step is to determine if you want the business name centered, all the way to the left or all they way to the right of the card. You can choose this by clicking on the proper format at the top of the page. Play around until you get your business name to appear where and how you want it.

14. Add the additional information that you want on your business card by inserting more text boxes, choosing fonts, colors and designs as you did in Step 13 above. Typically, a business card will also include the individual's name, the business address and/or the business phone number. It may also include the business website address; specifics about what the business does; or the business' hours of operation. Limitations on what can be included on a business card are set by you, the designer, so play around until you get the design that you like.

15. Add drawing elements like lines, squares, circles or other shapes by clicking on "Add" and going to "Drawing Elements." A list of the elements available will come up for you to choose from. Even within these drawing elements you have options over width, color, size and more. Simply follow the box guidelines for the element you have chosen. PrintMaster walks you through the process to add the element to your business card.

16. Once you have added all of the information to the business card layout, spell check your card for any spelling or typographical errors. This is done by selecting "Tools" at the top of the program and scrolling down to "Spell Check." Make any necessary changes as suggested by the spell check program or click "ignore" if you do not agree with the recommended change.

17. If you want a last look at the way the card will look, you can zoom in for a close up look by clicking on "View" at the top of the program and scrolling down to "Zoom In." If you are happy with the way the card looks, move on to the next step. If not, back up and walk through the steps again until you get your business card to look exactly the way you want it to.

18. If you are ready to print your card, you can print a sample by clicking on "File" at the top of the program and scrolling down to "Print." The print box will come up and give you options for printing including print quality and the number of cards to be printed. For a sample card, you will want to print in good quality. Change the number of cards to be printed to one and then hit the "Print" button.

19. If you are happy with the business card as printed in sample format, then go back into print mode and set up the proper print format, following the steps outlined within the print section. Print a sheet of cards to make certain that you have the proper business card set-up. If they print properly, you are set to print as many cards as you like. If they do not print within the business card area, then you may have set the program up for the wrong product name. Find the specific brand and product number for the card stock and reset your print setup accordingly.

20. If you have chosen perforated business card stock, carefully perforate the cards and tear them apart. If you have used regular card stock, then cut the cards out using a paper cutter.

Tips & Warnings

• Use PrintMaster's tutorial and excellent help menu to help walk you through each step of the process.
• Take advantage of existing PrintMaster layouts to make your card design easier.
• Experiment with color, size, shape, and fonts to design a card that will be unique to your business.
• Your business card should reflect your business identity and should be professional looking.
• Laminating a color business card makes it pop even more and is a way to encourage potential customers to hold on to the piece.
• Don't attempt to design anything without first going through the tutorial, reading the detailed instructions, or walking through the help menu.
• Don't use any graphic or logo that is copyrighted by another individual or business.
• Make certain that card stock product will work in your printer before attempting to print business cards.

Who Can Help:

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[diginb]

on 9/30/2008 Very detailed. Excellent job. You might want to break this up into parts, for more articles?