Our answers to your business card questions
The Business Card Shop: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take?
How long will it take to get my order?
Where do you ship to?
What kind of paper will my job be printed on?
What size will my finished business cards be?
Is there a discount if I re-order my job?
Will I receive a proof?
What if I want to change something on my order after I've placed it for approved the proof?
Is there an extra charge for bleeds?
How well will my job match what I see on my monitor?
What digital file formats do you accept?
What types of storage media do you accept?
How do I upload my digital files?
What is the difference between the RGB and CMYK colour space and why does it matter?
How can I know what a particular CMYK colour combination will look like?
Do I need to impose my business cards 8-up or 10-up if they will be printed more than 1 to a sheet?
How should I take pictures with my digital camera?
Where can I get more information on file preparation?
Do I get an invoice or receipt?
What is your policy on privacy and security?
OUR ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long does it take?
Production schedules vary depending on the job and whether designin
is needed. Custom designs vary considerably in time as we work closely with our clients until we reach the right design, with which the client is really happy with and the card successfully does its intended job. We supply as many free revisions as is needed until then. For supplied artwork, production schedule is 2-4 days, after we receive your electronic files. We can do express printing if needed and a corresponding "rush fee" will be applied (contact us for more details)
How long will it take to get my order?
Most jobs will be shipped within 5 business days after you approve your proof online. See below regarding shipping.
Where do you ship to?
We specialise in and can ship your business cards to any in the world. Shipping rates and durations vary greatly so we are unable to list rates here. Please contact us for your shipping quote.
What kind of paper will my job be printed on?
We never compromise on the quality of paper our business cards are printed on. Our standard paper is 250g and 300g, available with or without a thin plastic coating. Apart from the standard papers we use, we have a large range of other papers available; please contact us with your enquiry if you require these.
What size will my finished business cards be?
The standard size of our business cards is90mm x 54mm. We can also supply you with different shaped business cards which could give your card that extra impact needed.
Is there a discount if I re-order my job?
Yes, exact reprints will have a discount. However with the small outlay it is always the case with business cards to be “better safe than sorry”. Don’t get caught out with no business cards, and make sure you order an ample amount on your first order. This is always the cheapest way rather than ordering smaller amounts on a repeated basis.
Will I receive a proof?
Yes, proofs are supplied for your approval before printing. Proofs
are supplied in digital format. All proofs are in *.pdf format and
require adobe reader for viewing. Alternatively we are able to fax
your proofs (Australia only).
What if I want to change something on my order after I've placed it or
approved the proof?
If you are required to make changes to such things as quantity,
shipping method, or shipping address please contact us immediately
with your request. Bear in mind that some changes cannot be made
after certain stages in the production process - for instance, the
quantity cannot be changed once your job has been printed.
Is there an extra charge for bleeds?
No. Unlike many other companies, all our prices include full bleeds
(Ink going right to the edge of the card).
How well will my job match what I see on my monitor?
Most people are surprised at how well their job matches what they
see. But because of wide differences in monitor calibration and
the different technologies used, some printed colours may not exactly
match the colours on your specific monitor. See the information
regarding RGB and CMYK colour spaces below. See our
design tips for more.
What digital file formats do you accept?
We can take any Mac or PC version of Quark, Pagemaker, InDesign,
Corel draw, Illustrator, Photoshop, Freehand, Publisher, Word, PowerPoint,
Word, Powerpoint, or any file output as a PDF.
The most important point to remember is in order to print an clear
card close to how you have it designed is to supply us the card
in CMYK colour space (see below for an explanation) and also to
have the card in at least 300 DPI. Also if you use non-standard
text formats please include the used text when you upload or send
your files to us.
What
types of storage media do you accept?
We can also accept your files as CD or DVD, please contact us for
our mailing address.
How
do I upload my digital files?
Please contact us for more information about uploading digital files
to us.
What
is the difference between the RGB and CMYK colour space, why does
it matter?
RGB refers to the primary colours of light, Red, Green and Blue
that are used in monitors, television screens, digital cameras and
scanners. CMYK refers to the primary colours of pigment: Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow, and Black. These are the inks used on the press in "4-color
process printing", commonly referred to as "full colour printing".
The combination of RGB light creates white, while the combination
of CMYK inks creates black. Therefore, it is physically impossible
for the printing press to exactly reproduce colours as we see them
on our monitors.
Many programs have the capability to convert the layout/images from
the RGB colour space to the CMYK colour space. We request that you
convert your colours from RGB to CMYK if your tools allow you to.
By doing it yourself, you have maximum control over the results.
You may notice a shift in colour when converting from RGB to CMYK.
If you do not like the appearance in CMYK, we recommend that you make adjustments while working in CMYK (usually lightening). Generally, you should specify CMYK colour builds that look a little lighter than you want, since the dots of ink "fatten up" on press, giving you more pigment on paper than you see on your monitor. Be especially careful to keep backgrounds light if there is black or dark coloured text over it, so that the text remains readable. Please see our design tips for more.
How
can I know what a particular CMYK colour combination will look like?
To purchase a colour guide with over 3,000 process colours with
their CMYK screen percentages, please visit CreativePro here
or CDW here.
Do
I need to impose my business cards 8-up or 10-up if they will be
printed more than 1 to a sheet?
No, send us a single layout of your job unimposed, we will handle
any imposition needed on our end.
How
should I take pictures with my digital camera?
Digital cameras are wonderful tools that allow us to capture our
images in many different ways. The camera is designed to actually
take three pictures; one in red, one in green and the other in blue
(similar to the way a projection TV works). It then combines the
colours together and saves the image onto the picture card. It is
very important to make sure that the camera is set to the highest
quality setting possible. You want to create the best quality picture
that the camera can make. This will mean large file sizes and slow
downloads from the camera itself, but it will get you the best possible
results from your camera. Remember, images should be at 300dpi in
their final size in the layout! More often than not, we notice that
images that come from digital cameras print darker than expected
on the printing press. Check to see if you have a brightness option
in your image editing program to lighten the entire piece. If you
have the opportunity to change the colour space from RGB (red, green,
blue) to the printing press colours of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow,
black), then do so! It is always better to have you change the colour
space if you can, than for us to do it. Remember, not all colours
that you can see that are created by elements of light (RGB) can
be created by the elements of ink (CMYK) on press. If you do not
have this capability with your software, do not worry about it,
we will change it for you for free! Finally, we recommend that you
apply a little sharpening to the image. This will make the image
a little crisper and will print better on press
How can I tell what resolution the image from my digital camera
is?
Some digital cameras will let you know what the image resolution
is, while others will tell you what the pixel dimensions of your
image are. If you know what the pixel dimensions of your images
are either from the camera itself or through the image editing software,
you can do a little math to determine the resolution, and the size
you can print the image at for clear and crisp printing.
Simply write down the pixel dimensions of your image and divide
those numbers by 300 if the image does not include text and 400
if the image does include text. For example: An image without any
text has a pixel dimension of 600 x 900 pixels. Once each dimension
is divided by 300 the result is 2 x 3 inches. This means that you
can use this image at 2 x 3 inches or smaller in your layout for
quality printing results.
If your image editing software does not tell you what the pixel
dimensions are, but it does tell you what the resolution is, then
you know the maximum size you can use that image in your layout.
We recommend that images be at 300dpi in their final size in the
layout and 400dpi if the images include text. Please keep in mind
that resolution and physical dimensions are in direct proportion
to each other. If you have an image that is 2x2 at 300dpi and increase
its size in the layout to 4x4 the new resolution is now 150dpi.
So remember, when you bring an image in to your layout you can shrink
it down in size (because the resolution will increase) but you will
be limited as to how far you can increase it in size.
Where
can I get more information on file preparation?
Please do not hesitate to contact us. Our technicians are always
available to assist you during business hours and can give you any
necessary information on file preparation. Also please take the
time to read our design
tips.
Do
I get an invoice or receipt?
Yes. A paper invoice will accompany your order. The American Prices
listed on our web site are only an estimate. We are an Australian
based company and all our rates are based on the Australian Dollar
(AUD).
What
is your policy on privacy and security?
No information we collect for order processing or from inquiries
is shared with any other company or website. Your information is
only used to contact you when necessary. Credit Card information
is only used to bill you for products and services ordered.
Using paypal for online payments we are able to have secure server
technology. Your order is submitted and retrieved with a secure
connection and remains secure at all times.
Most experts consider that ordering securely on the internet is
as safe or safer than giving your information over the phone or
to stores. Visa has a Zero Liability policy and most other credit
card companies limit your liability to $50 or less in the case of
fraudulent use of your card