How to Make a Business Card on a Computer

Business card stock for home printing now comes in sturdy, professional weights.

Computer equipment is a necessary investment for the small business owner. One way to make that investment pay off is to use your computer to make your own stationery, including business cards. Creating business cards doesn't require special training or ability. Templates that come with business card stock you print from home and templates you upload from the Internet have instructions to get you started.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Printer
• Blank business cards
• Word processing or desktop publishing program
• Credit card or other payment method

1. Decide what information to put on your business card. The company's name, mailing address, email address, phone number, website URL and business owner's name are common entries. If you communicate through social networking, consider including your Twitter or Facebook ID on the card.

2. Download a business card template to your compute. Name and save the template in a file. Online print shops, stationers, stationery retailers and software makers offer free templates. Some companies let you download templates to your computer from their websites; others require you to design your business card on their sites for a printing and shipping fee. Desktop publishing programs have built-in templates and stationers sell stock with templates for printing cards at home.

3. View the template on your screen. An online or desktop publishing template typically shows a blank front and back side of a card. The template for stationers’ business-card stock is usually an 8-inch by 11.5-inch sheet for printing 10 standard-sized cards.

4. Type your business card information into the template. Create your own design or use a predesigned business-card template to customize with your business information and logo.

5. Print your business cards. Follow the online company's "checkout" procedure to pay for printing and shipping. If printing at home from a stationer’s multiple-card template, set your printer as recommended by the manufacturer.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't try to fit too much information on your business card. If people have multiple ways of contacting you, for example, include the ways used most often.

• Keep the style and size of the type readable and in proportion to your business card.

• If you're not artistic but want an illustration, use the clip art online or on your word processing or desktop publishing programs.

• Calculate how many business cards you need. If you're only passing them out to people you meet, 250 to 500 should be sufficient. If you're doing a mass mailing and want a card with every brochure, have enough for each recipient. Also, if you plan to change the information soon or need to save on printer's ink, order or print the minimum.

• Avoid using images on your business cards without knowing if permission is required.

References

• Microsoft Office: Business Cards