Complete Guide: Print Logo Designs on Business Cards
Here are some tips you can follow to prepare a logo design for business card printing!
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Since your logo is a key component of your branding, it will undoubtedly appear in all of your branding-related materials or goods. Starting with the band's merch, print ads, signs, products, and especially on your business card. One of the highlights of your business card will be this logo, which needs to be displayed prominently and in a clear manner.
You must pay attention to the printing technique you employ if you want a high-quality logo to appear on your business card. The final look of your logo will be significantly influenced by the type of paper used, the design file that was used, the size of the logo, the type of ink, and various other factors.
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This matter may seem complicated to you, especially if you are a beginner who has no in-depth knowledge of printing, let alone business card printing. But take it easy. In this discussion, we will provide some tips that you can pay attention to ensure your logo looks good on your business card later.
The efficacy of business cards in the professional world cannot be underestimated. At social events and formal business gatherings, you will find lots of potential clients or business partners, and one way for you to make a good impression is to have well-designed business cards to hand out to them.
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With the help of this business card, it will be easier for your brand to be memorable and be contacted by partners or clients in the future. On the business card itself, one of the main focal points that people usually see immediately is the logo design displayed there. This means that the visible logo design will determine the impression and image that other people get when they see the business card of your brand.
Therefore, you need to ensure that your designed logo looks the best on the card. Here are some tips that we have summarized specifically for you, which can help you to prepare your logo design before printing it on your brand business card:
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1. Use The Right Format for Your Logo Design
Although this has become standard practice, there are still many people who do not save their asset logos in vector form and instead save them in PNG or other formats. The logo design that you use must always be saved in vector form to make the printing process easier and also make the results look more optimal.
The vector format for a design is used as a standard, especially for logo designs, because the format is suitable for printing and makes the design not blurry even when zoomed in several times. It's different if you use PNG, JPEG, or other formats. The image will be saved at pixel resolution, so the image will look pixelated when zoomed in several times, which will make it look less satisfactory when printed later.
Pixels are essentially small squares that are colored and then form an image that shows a design. So, if there is a design made with a resolution of 1080x1080 pixels, it means that the design consists of 1080x1080 small pixel squares that each show different values and colors until finally, when zoomed out, they form a design. It is different from a vector, which is not formed by pixels. Edges designed in vector format will always look clean and high definition, so it will make the design logo look better on your business card.
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2. Check Your Color Mode
One of the common and fatal mistakes that beginners usually make when printing business cards is using the wrong color format for their designs. Your logo design and general design concept for your card must use CMYK color mode, not RGB. If your logo design was not created directly by a professional designer, there is a high possibility that the color format used is RGB, which is more commonly used on various design platforms for beginners.
If you don't know what CMYK and RGB are, these two types are color modes or color formats that make up a design. In graphic design, you can choose the color mode used to shape your design. The difference between the two lies in the basic colors that make up this color mode. As the name implies, a design that has an RGB color format is only made up of 3 colors: red, green, and blue. CMYK is made from cyan, magenta, yellow, and key.
When you look at the printing machine, usually you can see ink bottles that are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, not red, green, and blue, right? Therefore, for business card printing needs or all printing needs in general, it would be better to make your design in CMYK color mode. The RGB design may look fine when viewed on the screen, but when printed, the resulting color will be very different from the original design.
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3. Use The Right Software to Fix Your Format and Adjust The Design
For those of you who have just realized that you are using a logo and color format that is not suitable for business card printing, you can readjust it with the right software. Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop is professional software that is highly recommended for you if you want to make adjustments to your logo design before it is printed on your business card.
Adobe Illustrator will be very suitable for those of you who want to change the format of your logo design from pixel-based to vector and also the color mode you use. At the same time, you can use Adobe Photoshop to change the layout of elements or objects in your logo design, color, and size.
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Even though the price is quite high, these two programs provide complete features and make it easier to make adjustments to your design before printing. Rarely is there software that can help you change the color mode and design format with ease?
Not only that, but Adobe InDesign is also a very suitable software if you are planning a layout and want to see how your logo looks on a business card before printing. You can generate a mockup of your card design and see if the position and layout of your logo are correct or not.
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4. DPI Requirements
It's not only the design format OR the color mode that you have to pay attention to before you print the design, but your logo design must also have a good DPI resolution. DPI, or dots per inch, is a standard measure to measure the resolution of a printed medium.
The higher the DPI, the better. In some software, such as Adobe Illustrator or other design software, you can easily adjust the DPI of your design. 300 DPI is a standard resolution measure commonly used to print documents or business cards. This size is the standard minimum resolution, so you can also make your DPI resolution higher to get better business card results.
Some people also prefer to use a design with a resolution of 350 DPI so that it looks clear and pleasing and their logo design can be displayed well on the card. Proper formatting will play a huge role in determining the DPI resolution of your logo design. If you take your logo design from a logo generator software that can be accessed for free, usually the DPI resolution will be very low and eventually result in an unfavorable display on your design card later.
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5. Proper Scaling
The design of the business card that you have planned must be made the same as the scale of the card that you will use later. This scaling design issue must be considered carefully because if not, the appearance of your printed business card will not match your expectations.
In some software, there is usually an option to readjust the X and Y scaling so that your design fits the planned card size. If the X and Y scaling do not match the size of the card or the later media, your design will be stretched, and eventually, it will not look as planned.
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Your logo design that has appeared profusely in the plan will appear unsightly on the business card if the scaling is not appropriate. Just a little stretch in the logo display will greatly affect the appearance of your logo.
Not only do you have to scale the design card in general, but you also have to maintain the scaling of each element. The logo design that you want to display must be showcased in the right size so that when printed later, each object and element, especially the typeface in it, can be seen even though the card is small.
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6. Add Whitespace and Spacing to The Design
Spacing and whitespace have become basic elements in graphic and logo design. However, in this context, to prepare it for printing on a business card, you should pay attention to the spacing of the logo with other elements on your card.
On your business card, of course, the logo is not the only element that you will display. You have to place the logo design that you showcase on this card in the appropriate space with other elements so that it can be seen clearly. Good whitespace and spacing planning will give you the ability to determine which elements should be highlighted and which elements can be placed in the same position as other elements.
You have to remember that business cards are small media. Remember that the design card that you have planned out on the monitor screen must be visible when it is printed on this small medium later. Spacing that already looks large on the monitor may look very small; it can even be almost non-existent when it is printed out on the card later. Because of that, pay attention and plan out properly the use of spacing in your design to make the logo look good.
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7. Choose The Right Printing Materials
Your logo design can appear differently when printed with different media as well. The type of paper you use will determine the appearance of your designed logo on your business card when it is printed. Most people prefer to use glossy or waterproof paper to showcase their designs. But you can also use textured matte paper for a more luxurious and expensive look.
Either way, each medium you use has its advantages and disadvantages that you can choose according to the type of display you want. With the right materials (paper and ink), your logo design can appear more prominent, and your design card, in general, will appear more vibrant.
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8. Decide The Printing Technique
When hearing the word "printing," some people may immediately refer to an automatic and modern printing machine. This is not wrong because modern printing machines are now commonly used tools for printing business cards.
However, there are many other printing methods or techniques that you can try to produce a unique design look for your branding. Having a unique and prominent business card is something that many brands want to do to make them appear more memorable and easier to remember. If you want to produce a unique display, you can explore various business card printing methods in addition to using modern machines.
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For example, recently, the use of traditional printing machines has begun to trend again because the results have a unique character and a look that is second to none. There are many printing agencies and services that provide various business card printing options for you to try, and you can also consult with them to find out the advantages and disadvantages of each technique.
Some techniques, such as embossing and screen printing, can also produce a unique texture on your card, so it is perfect for making your design logo stand out, especially when someone is holding your card.
Even though you do have to spend more than using the usual printing technique, presenting character and authenticity in your business card is an additional approach that can make your branding more prominent than your competitors.
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9. Final Adjustment and Check
Finally, after you have done all the planning and preparation stages before printing, it's time for a final check to see if there are errors or other things that need to be adjusted again. You have to do this final check carefully, paying attention to all the elements in your design, not only in terms of the logo. See if there are spelling mistakes, inappropriate placement, colors that don't match, and many other things that you didn't realize before.
To simplify and also make this process more effective, you can also ask other people for help to ensure that there are no errors or errors that you missed. This stage is also one of the most crucial stages because printing errors will be very detrimental to you. Certainly, it will be a disaster if you have printed thousands of business cards to distribute, but suddenly there is a design flaw that needs to be fixed. Therefore, it's better to be safe and sorry.
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10. Printing Trials
A little extra precaution will not harm anybody. To avoid big losses, you can also do printing trials first before the final printing process begins. It will be very difficult to change the next technical adjustment once the final printing has started, so it would be better for you to do a printing trial to see if the materials and printing methods used are fulfilling your expectations or not.
First, print a small number of cards and distribute them to several people. Ask their opinion about the card, whether it is good in all aspects or not. If you are mainly concerned with the appearance of the logo design, you can also ask for opinions on whether the logo can be seen properly or not. If earlier we had done a final check to make sure there were no design errors, now we have to check on the 3D product from the printed business card with the design you have planned.
See if the material used displays your logo design well, whether the material used is matching with the image and branding of your company, and various other things. This process is also very necessary, especially if you use a unique printing method. For example, if you decide to add additional textures or details to your card design, At this stage of the printing trial, you can see if the details interact well and match your design.
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Final Words
The logo design on your business card should be beautiful and easy to recognize. With an attractive appearance, of course, people will recognize your brand and company better and also know you in general. Printing a business card may be a lengthy process and takes a lot of time. You have to plan it out by multiplying and checking all the elements so that the appearance of the printed card matches your expectations and plans. However, all the processes and tips that have been shared above are very necessary to do as they will help you to get impressive design results.
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