Business Card Question for shows & out going orders, Any geeky Etsians

[Former_Member]

Since I have started to research the craft show scene. I have been trying to come up with a Business card for them. Back a couple of years ago I made a logo in MS Paint which was basically an avatar for other forums and one of the products that I make. I developed a business card on one of the word (2007 windows) business card templates. Actually on the Word template it didn't look to bad for a rookie. Then I took it to, I think it was Staples. and had 500 cards made. The logo portion turned out not so sharp. I took them back to Staples and did a little yipe, but to no avail. They said it was the quality of my logo concerning pixels or DPIs or something of the sort. I made a logo for my wood working projects through paint again. My question is can I take this paint logo and upgrade it to a format which would be good enough for show use and possibly outgoing packages use like photo shop or free online service? In Addition, art there different qualities in card making services? Or is there a way in MS Paint or my computer to upgrade the Paint logo?

[ThisLittleKittenShop]

im no expert, but I don't think you can make a poor image more clear, its easier to make a larger image smaller.

I used pixlr.com it is similar to photoshop but free to use. my suggestion is to just remake the logo and make sure the image size is large. again its easier to shrink an image and keep the details, you cant enlarge a small item and keep the details. and make sure the background is set to transparent. it makes for easier placement later when you design your card and save itas a png file.

I also designed my business card using picmonkey. make sure the image size is 1102 x 642 pixels. that is for standard business card size. and do your finished design as an image.

if this all sounds to confusing for you, it might be your best bet to find someone on etsy to design a card for you, than you can ensure a quality card.
hope this helps!

[JustMeToo]

I just get mine done at Moo.com, or Vistaprint.

[PlaynwithScraps]

I got mine from Vistaprint. My original card for my jewelry shop used my old shop banner for the background. When I needed more cards I didn't know how to add this shop so I decided on a 2 sided card. I used a good pic I had of an ornament for the "logo" for the other side. They turned out really nice.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

I used vistaprint. I have a picture I took with my iphone for the logo and one of their stock layouts. Its straight forward, but I like it.

[andidanie]

Bruce, when you create your image, you need be sure that your original artwork is at a high resolution, at least 300 dpi. For a business card, your image doesn't need to be huge, but you want it crisp. You don't want it blurry or to be able to see the pixels in your image when it's printed. If you're not sure how it will look when it's printed, zoom in on your image in whatever software you're using; it should stay crisp. You'll want to save it as a jpeg when you're done.

There are varying degrees of card services. For the lowest end, you can buy a BC card stock at Staples and print them at home if you have a quality printer.

Then there's Vista Print, which will get you a more polished look.

I've done both of these, but my favorite is Moo.

You can't beat the quality, and there are so many variations to give you and your product a unique look. Customers at my shows sort through my business cards to pick the one they want.

[Former_Member]

Good Day Etsians

Since I couldn't attach a file or doesn't seem like I can to these post I sent a PM to Tonia and she gave me suggestions. I made a Png file with my dell Win7 Paint program. Now I do not know if the Win7 Paint program does the 300 DPI value. I took a look at vistaprint, but all I really wanted was my logo on one of the Win7 Word business card templates so that I could put in my own contact info with the possibility of editing it when necessary. You know just simple, white stock, logo, contact info. I could then take the file to Office Max or Staples, etc and have them print my cards. Or, I could of downloaded the file to one of these online business card sites. I did a little look see with my canon camera to try to take a picture of my logo on my screen, but color sensors don't seem to like one another besides trying to get a good square shot to crop to size. I was wondering if taking a pic of the logo would upgrade the pixels or DPI when I re uploaded it to my computer???? I am messaging someone on fiverr now to see if and how to go through the process of vectorizing or upgrading it to a vector format. Geez being of AARP age and doing this computer stuff you need to make your shop products in about an hour so that you can spend 5 hrs doing unheard of computer stuff and 1 hr packaging and three hours getting the materials and 4 hours figuring out how to make the item and, and, and, and...............................

[Former_Member]

You will need a vector image to get the highest quality. Taking a photo of your screen will not work. There is no way to change the format and add more pixels. I think fiverr is a good way to go to get your logo in a higher quality without spending an arm and a leg on a graphic designer.

[TheCatFarm]

Bruce, have you heard of Gimp? Its free to download and you can create a high quality logo once you figure out how to use it. Admittedly, it gave me headaches at first but looking at tutorials made it much easier. Course, learning to use it and creating your logo might fall under that "4 hours figuring out..." category. LOL

[TigersandDragons]

Gimp is a great program, but it does take awhile to learn.

Otherwise if you find this is taking too much of your time, why not just hire a graphic designer? There are many here on Etsy, one may be able to do what you want at a reasonable price - either recreate your logo, or put it in a format you can work with.

Sometimes a person's time is better spent working on their craft. How much stuff could you make in the same amount of time it's taking you to learn new programs?

You could also find a local graphic designer or person with the skills and do a trade of your goods for their time working on your logo.

[CoquetteBath]

Gimp was a horror story for me. Honestly.

I have some nice biz cards but I did get an Etsian to handle the setup for me, so that when I got Vistaprint to print them, they'd come out beautiful.
Umlautgraphics here...

Stef did an amazing job and she was very reasonable. I get tons of compliments on my cards (I have a 2 sided one, too) it looks like my banner (Stef also did that)...

your time is precious. Hire a pro to do stuff like this so you can spend time doing something that actually makes you money.

JMO.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

Never underestimate the power of the barter. I just had 4 shirts embroidered for my craft booth helpers in exchange for some coasters.

[LizArti]

Vista print and Overnight Prints and others have lots of pre-designed templates. Maybe you could find one you like.

Or, like others have said, hire a pro.

[Former_Member]

Well, I did as Tonia suggested. I took made a 575 x 575 logo in my Win 7 Paint program. I then went to fiverr. I seen a vectorized example. I also resized the logo to 75 x 75. I had (OR TRIED TO HAVE) (SINCE i DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE HE[[ I AM TALKING ABOUT) the gigger??? upgrade my logos. He said the small one was to blurry, but he good work with the large one. He made five files for me, one large AI logo, one small AI logo, one small png 300 dpi logo, one small jpg 300 dpi logo, and can't remember.
That was quite an ordeal for a computer ill(e)terate aarp dude. Just before I had this done I went to vistaprint. I am really looking for a regular white card with no fancy smancy stuff on it, because my logo would not match. Then I can put my logo on it along with my contact info. So, is there any print sites that have a blank smooth card to accommodate these two criteria without clashing. The logo itself is the icon simple as it is.
The vectorized AI File that I received should work properly and very clear in a sites card setup correct? It just shows blank on my computer, but the file has almost 400 KB for a 75 x 75 image?

[UmlautGraphics]

You can hire someone like me.

[Former_Member]

I hired a pro (after i finally gave out all the vista print ones i hated)

I told him what I wanted, he designed it... took 10 minutes of my time.

they are beautiful and match my branding.

i figure for all the hours trying to do it yourself, you've probably spent double what you could pay to have them done for you

[Former_Member]

I checked you out Stephanie. The only thing is I know what I want, but I do not know about a lot of the services and what they do like your shop. A simple logo (now that has been vectorized, pnged, jpged, dpied 300) with my contact info. I made a card before and I made one just recently on a work template. I had Office Max or one of them make the previous card and all was fine except for the logo. The card paper was just regular business card stock, the dull stuff. I was wondering on the up price of the (I don't know what they call it shiny photo business card stock) where my logo might turn out a bit better. I have had people fav my shop and I checked them out because they faved a lot of listings. Some of them I didn't know what they actually did either even after a quick look up research on google.

[WhimsyBits]

yes your vector AI file should be nice and clear. A lot of websites won't accept it (although Vista print does) so the next best option is to PNG file.

vista print is a good website to use because any file you upload they will tell you if the quality isn't good enough and some if they're really bad they won't even let you continue on before you upload a better file.