Business Card printing

[Jim Clough]

There’s a machine called a card slitter which cuts A4 sheets of 10 business cards, usally laser prited, http://www.themagictouch.co.uk sell the slitter and the consumables.
Jim

[Bryan Cabrera]

Seems hardly worth investing in equipment and paying someone to operate the equipment. We use a business card wholesaler as well, think we pay $14.00 for 1000 thermographed cards, 1 color on white stock. The supplier will typeset a basic layout for the same price. We usually double the price.

If a customer wants us to do a layout we just charge for the design work and explain that this is a one time charge and any reprints will be less expensive.

I believe, to do any kind of volume you would would have to invest in an offset press and if you want to do thermography (raised printing) you need additional equipment. Then you need a purchase a slitter, boxes, ink etc.

Bryan

[Frog Man]

I have to agree with Bryan.
Have you tried looking around your area for a cheaper supplier ?
Here in West Aust there is a printer who does 500 single sided full colour gloss laminated cards for A$16.50 about £7.00.
I don’t think anyone in their right mind would consider setting up a business printing business cards here.

[Kevin.Beck]

cheers for the reply guys,

it seems that the market if flooded with folk doing this stuff, so prices have fallen loads.

perhaps i need a rethink, don`t want to invest £K`s to get pennys back.

[Jim Clough]

I think the best way to get into the business card market is to specialize in top of the range cards for businesses who give their cards out sparingly and are willing to pay extra for something that is a bit more eye-catching.
I make mine on matt gold aluminium, sublimated in colour. Foil pinted plastic credit cards look good and I’ve seen foiled leather and even a kind of rigid vinyl done this way. There are the card printers which print full colour onto the plastic credid cards but the colour ribbons are expensive unless you use the single colur thermal ones.

Jim

[Shane Drew]

quote Frog Man:

I have to agree with Bryan.
Have you tried looking around your area for a cheaper supplier ?
Here in West Aust there is a printer who does 500 single sided full colour gloss laminated cards for A$16.50 about £7.00.
I don’t think anyone in their right mind would consider setting up a business printing business cards here.

I use Martin Print on WA for my printing. I send him an email in corel, and I have them in my hand in Queensland in about 4 days

Does not pay for me to do them myself

[Derek Heron]

i use these
http://www.vistaprint.co.uk
cheap as chips you can upload your design etc they have loads of offers all the time

hope this helps

Derek

[David Rowland]

I have to second vista print… if the customer isn’t in a rush and if I recal I had to raster the image to 300dpi and upload to their exact spec (not the normal business card size) then they are “Cheap as chips”, also they are printed in Europe

[Colin Smith]

unless you have lots of work its hardly worth investing in all the equipment and consumables to do your own printing, you would need a small 4 colour press say A3 size (approx £200K new for digital, from around £50K second hand conventional litho ) guillotine and maybe a small folding machine, Mac with quark for design, RIP probably photoshop, ink paper solvents etc, then someone to run all this (skilled printers would look for around £30-£40K pa) The industry itself is cutthroat with everyone trying to undercut each other just for the work (:)
Just go down to Kwik Print or those mentioned above etc if you want my advice

[drogers4]

psprint.com is good, but I really like selling my customers on full color 2 sided from edgmiami.com – only $100 for 5000 cards and includes free UV coating.

I have considered buying equipment for business cards as I have nearly half of my customers ask if I print them, and I have just recently started saying “Yes” and getting them printed elsewhere. If you can setup the artwork correctly (which would cost your customers lots of $$ elsewhere) I think there is still money to be made just subbing out the printing.

Doyle

[asifnmalik]

😀 Hi everone!

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Asif

[D Major]

Hi there, I have run off small runs of ready-cut cards you can buy & just send them through a normal deskjet. They come in A4 sheets, sometimes with a thin backing paper (the best ones) and cut with rounded corners. You print 10 on an A4 sheet then just pop them out. It’s a matter of demand – quite a few customers want 100 to start off, and if you keep a template on file it only takes 10 mins to type in the info. I have charged £25 + Vat for 100.
The sheets come from Viking Direct (not the best) and Avery (OK) and the best from Sigel, a German firm, can’t recall the UK distributor though.
If customer then wants more I sub it out.

Good luck,
Dick[/img]

[Kevin.Beck]

my main problem is , some folk are offering 1000 for £30. which leaves very little profit, if any………..

[John Simpson]

Becky,
I sub out too fullcolour com costs me £45 for 1,000………charge out at £95 + vat
Customers think it’s cheap & all quite happy. They usually want 250 but tell them the cost would be £65 Just explain the setting up charges are where the cost comes from.
Absolutely not worth doing yourself, by the way my cards are 400 gsm, normal good quality are 300 – 350 gsm, vista print 250 gsm.
Again you get what you pay for.

L J