Okay, since I posted my ideas for a logo and got some great feedback from you guys to refine it, I thought I'd move on to a business card. Here is the design that I'm thinking of.

I am planning on printing them myself on HEAVY cardstock and hand cutting them so the oval design shouldn't be a problem. I enjoy doing things like this, so efficiency is not an issue. I realize that it will take me time to cut each one etc. and that's not a problem. I just wanted something unique that will stand out.

Thanks,
Angie

I didn't see your earlier post, but I love this.
I think that it's wonderful!!!
very eye-catching and well done.

I know that you said that you don't mind printing it yourself, but you should consider Vistaprint. the cardstock and printer ink can add up quickly.
you should be able to get 250 biz cards 'free' + $5 for the image upload and $5-6 for shipping, so $11 for 250 biz cards. I really think that it's a good investment - more time for cake!
(I ordered from them twice, and both times it worked out wonderfully)

I think these are great! I love the fact that you want to make them oval! A cool shaped card is definately going to get your bakery remembered more than "Joe Schmoe Bakery" in plain black print on a plain white business card!

That looks terrific! Doing it yourself is also a good idea as well, just keep those fingers nimble!!

Yeah, I'm going to have to disagree here. I really like the card, but I think that the whole 'cutting out an oval shape' thing will get old, really quickly. How many cards are you thinking of giving out? How many will you cut out at a time? Will you use scissors or a punch? If scissors, how will you keep the look consistent?

I'd say keep the design, but shop around for a printer who will do the printing and a die-cut for you. Home-done cards look home-done and say that you don't believe in your business enough to pay a hundred bucks to get proper cards made.

I absolutely agree with Tubbs. You should be giving out a MINIMUM of 10 cards a day ... preferably 20.

No matter how carefully you cut out those cards, they will look hand cut, aka homemade. You want them to look professional.

You dont' want the card you hand to someone to give the impression that you cant' even afford a nice card.

I DO like the oval idea, though .... very unique and will stand out in a crowd of biz cards!

Be sure the size fits inside the sleeve of a biz card holder, a wallet, a rolerdex, or anything else designed to hold biz cards. Some people make their biz cards a little "off-sized" because they've been told their card will stand out if it "sticks up" above the others. not true. If it doesnt' fit in my biz card binder, then it gets thrown away. And too many other folks agree with this philosophy.

I do agree with Tubbs and Indydebi too. I love the idea of the oval card, but it WILL get time consuming and an annoying chore after awhile, and not as professional looking. I would look into getting them done at a printers, someone who will die cut them. Since its a standard shape, you may be able to find a company who already has that shape, and the charge will be very minimal for them to use it. However, if you have to get the die custom made, it can be pricey. When I worked at the printing place, die cuts cost anywhere from $50 - $200+ (higher priced depending on unique shapes, such as like a dog paw print... I would *guess* that an oval would be on the lower end).

A standard business card is 3.5" x 2", so as Indydebi mentioned, make sure your card is no bigger or no smaller than that when cut. I agree about people throwing away cards if they don't fit properly.

I just love your design! So classy!

I do agree with the pps, though, that you should have it professionally printed. Why not copy the oval as an image and have it printed onto a white "standard" size rectangular businesss card?

It will look just like the image that you posted, the oval inside of a white rectangle. Doing it that way would be more affordable, while still looking professional and original and it will fit in standard size card holders.

I do also agree with others that odd-shaped cards might get tossed.

Good luck, it looks great!

I really like your design too....except - Your logo font is all curly and cute and your name, phone and town are plain, basic and kinda blah. Maybe you could find one that is a less straight.

I think you'd be smart to do a regular rectangle card with a white background (like the picture above). Get a bunch printed at Vista Print (they have great customer service and prices), then when you do a special event like a bridal show, use your printed cards and cut out your oval - very very very tedious, I think you'll quickly decide it's not worth it. If you get great feedback on the "oval" card and it seems to be generating a lot of business then it may be worth it to spend the $ on a special die so they are all pre-cut.

If you get all oval cards cut you probably won't be happy when you try to use a standard business card holder (like the ones that sit on the counter) because your cards will all fall sideways and they'll look sloppy.

[quote="KathyTW"]I really like your design too....except - Your logo font is all curly and cute and your name, phone and town are plain, basic and kinda blah. Maybe you could find one that is a less straight.quote]

I disagree with this part. I like the design very much and I particularly like the curly name with the other info in a plain font. I think it looks very stylish and professional at the same time. Not boring to me. JMO.

I used Vista Print ONE TIME and those ba$tards charged my debit card $14.95 per month for months before I finally got them to stop. It took a police report and the help of my bank to get it stopped. And my husband also used Vista Print and two different people charging his bank account from using their service and it took almost a year to get it resolved.

Be very careful using this company.

Both my husband and myselof and just about everyone we know use VP with no problems. My guess is that you had bad luck with something there or a glitch happened in the system.

You have to be careful as with any online company about what is checked and what isn't when you check out.

Vista Print (as well as others) have "partners" for things that if you aren't paying attention to when checking out can easily be clicked that sign you up for their services.

I have used Vista Print many time with out issue or additional monthly charges.

This reminds me... I have to go order more cards!

Last time I ordered from VP I ordered 5000 cards. I hand out dozens every day.

I don't think she meant she was cutting the cards into ovals... Did she?

I always use vistaprint with no problems. Try using the coupon code "vistaprint" (without quotes) at checkout. Every time I've used it, I got 50 percent off.

And what size font is that? I'm picturing this to be very fine print. Maybe bolden it too.

and the tech nerd weighs (ways? kevetches?) in....

well, you could always do a CD Business card....

that's right -- a CD the size of business card ---

just think of the possibilities -- complete gallerys, videos, etc.

http://www.cdfx.com/newsite/cdbusinesscards.php (just one example of a place that does them)

and if you'd rather burn them yourself...

one sample source of blank recordable ones

http://www.cdbusinesscards4less.com/pricing_cd_recordable_business_cards.htm

BUT...

in the realm of paper ones....

ditto to IndyDebi...clean, simple, direct and standard format --ok, vertical instead of horizontal would be OK

if heart-set on oval --- then do a BLACK background to fill out the corners of a standard rectangular biz card. the oval will pop. -- AVOID display fonts (fancy headline ones that really only work well at 48pt+)..

the smaller the font, the plainer it has to be -- yes Arial is BORING -- but it is legible all the way down to 4pt

I have seen those dye cutters for sale on ebay and amazon for the scrap booking people. Maybe you could check into getting one and cutting them that way - cleaner and always the same - I just know my hands would start to cramp/ache after a dozen or so . That way you could check the size (for wallets and date planners) and still have the unique size/shape. Oh and I love the whole look btw.