I'm looking to print some business cards. I'd like to print them on that glossy
type paper. I[m sure you've all seen glossy business cards. I have business card
paper from Avery, but it's just plain, heavy stock, pre-perforated. I can't seem
to find any in searching that is the glossy type paper pre-perforated for
business cards. Anyone know if such a thing exists? Also, I'd like to find
something little heavier duty than plain paper for a couple of print jobs. This
would, in fact be about the same weight as that business card paper but WITHOUT
being perforated. Does anything like THAT exisit? Thanks much.
Perforated business cards tend to look lousy (fuzzy on the edges), and
people can always tell that 'you did it at home'. You want to find the
ones that are 'clean edge', they tend to be die-cut, and look very
good. I /have/ seen glossy Avery business cards (labeled as
Photographic Business Cards), but I haven't seen them in awhile.
There's a problem, in that any glossy surface that's coated for inkjet
prints is going to be rather easy to damage - I tried printing cards
on microporous and polymer swellable papers, and they both picked up
'grease spots' from my leather wallet, while the laser printed cards I
have did not.
Several options: First, plan on cutting out your business cards rather
than getting perforated ones. It just looks /so/ much better, unless
you can find the clean-cut stock. If you need help setting things up
for printing and cutting, I can help you with that. As far as
printing, try to consider laser printing. If you don't have a laser
printer, Staples still has 39 cent color copies, and you can bring
your own paper in to print on, or they might have their own paper you
can use. There are several brands of photographic glossy laser paper
(make /sure/ it says laser) out there, but they tend to be rather
thin. A good solution if you can't find a suitably heavyweight paper
is to get a ream of 110 lb card stock, and some spray glue, and
laminate the laser paper to it after you print. Or you can use an
Avery full sheet label, which actually adds more weight to the paper
than you'd think, but full sheet labels tend to be expensive.
If you'd prefer to go the inkjet route, another way to do this is to
get a heavyweight photo paper - Office Depot and Staples
'premium/professional' grade papers both lack logos on the back,
unlike most brand name photo papers. You may be able to find glossy
perforated ones online, but I have never seen glossy 'clean cut'
cards. There are enough specialty retailers out there that you may be
able to find it. Print, let dry, then spray with Krylon glossy
clearcoat. Put a decently heavy coat on (it will soak into the paper
somewhat, so you want to add a little more than if you were
clearcoating your mailbox). This way the paper won't absorb any grease
or moisture in the environment.
For your second question, business cards are generally printed on 65
lb card stock, with better ones being on 110 lb Index or 80 lb Bond
paper (The 80 is slightly heavier than the 110 due to having different
measurement guidelines. It's also quite difficult to find at most
office stores). So that would be the paper you'd want to look for if
you want 'business card paper'. Most card stock is not nicely coated
for inkjet paper, though I noticed Office Depot now carries Xerox
brand paper, which I've heard is better quality than the one they used
to have. I've also seen Georgia-Pacific Photo Inkjet Card Stock in
Wal-Mart every so often.
