How to Make Your Own Business Cards on a Printer

Business cards are an important part of marketing your company.

Learning how to make your own business cards with a home printer is a way to save money on business expenses. Making your own business cards also allows you the versatility to create numerous card designs to better target your cards to specific markets. Making business cards is a relatively simple process that almost anyone can learn.

Things You'll Need

• Word-processing or graphic-design program
• Printer
• Card stock

Instructions

1. Open a blank document in your word processor or graphics program. In Microsoft Word, go to "Letters and Mailings" in the Tools menu and select "Envelopes and Labels." Under the Labels tab, click on "Options." Choose a business card template that corresponds to your size requirements. In a graphics program like Adobe Photoshop, create a document with dimensions that fit your size requirement. To get full use of each page of card stock, make your cards the standard size of 3.5 inches by 2 inches.

2. Design your business cards. If making cards for a creative business, choose an unusual font rather than the standard available fonts. Check out sites like Dafont.com or UrbanFonts.com for a wide variety you can download free. Choose a font that fits your company image. Follow the site's installation instructions, and select the new font from your word processor or graphics program's font menu.

3. Insert text boxes into your document. Select your favorite font and type the name of the business into one text box. Create additional text boxes for each element of your business card. For example, place the contact information in one text box and the business logo into another. By placing each element into a text box, you can move, resize and rearrange pieces without completely reformatting.

4. Move elements until you are satisfied with the overall layout of the card. Run a test print of the individual card on regular paper to see how it looks. Save the document and create duplicates of the card layout. Cut and paste your design until you have a full page of business cards.

5. Load your printer with cardstock and print as many pages of cards as you want. Cut the cards with a paper trimmer.

Tips & Warnings

• Take the extra card stock out of the printer when finished, so you don't waste it on routine printing.

• Office-supply retailers sell card stock specifically for business cards, with perforations that provide clean, uniform edges.

References

• Microsoft: Create Business Cards in Word

Resources

• Dafont.com
• Urban Fonts