Microsoft Publisher comes as part of the Office suite of products but is little used except for a select few people. It is something of a niche product but is surprisingly useful in creating marketing material for the small business.
Business cards are an ideal way of introducing yourself and your business, then maintain the relationship after the transaction. It is a good way of staying relevant and contactable even when you’re not there. It introduces your company, but also reinforces it once an initial relationship has been struck. A card shaped reminder of who you are and what you do.
To make your own business card in Publisher, follow the guide below.
Open Publisher and in the New Publication pane select the Publications for Print option, then Business Cards. Browse the ready-made designs and select one that you like, or that you could modify into something you like.
In the Business Cards Options window, make the choices about using a logo or design element, whether you want it printed landscape or portrait. Some designs will look great one way and not so great the other. Try them out and see what they look like. It always helps to look at your business card from all angles, because that’s exactly what your customers might do.
Where it says Copies Per Sheet, select the number you want. The default is 10 per sheet to minimize waste. It may be an idea to change this to 1 until you have your design finalized to save ink, especially if it’s a full color design you’ve chosen.
Once on to the Publication Designs window, select Color Schemes and Font Schemes that you want to use. This may take a while as there are plenty to choose from. Adequate time should be taken here to ensure you get the end result you are after.
Once ready, click the dummy test in the card template to replace it with your own. Publisher automatically resizes it to fit into the space available but you can override it if you want. Some designs or effects will require oversize text so don’t be scared to tell Publisher what to do. To force text size, click on the Format menu, select AutoFit Text and click Do Not AutoFit. This will turn off the option and leave you to make your own decisions about how your text appears on the card.
That’s it for a single sided card. Save and print a single one and see how it comes out. If you like what you see, change the Copies Per Sheet option back to 10, add your Avery stock or whatever you use and print a batch. Once the ink is fully dried, use a pair of sharp scissor or a craft knife to separate them. Avery stock has the scoring already on the card, but it sometimes needs a little encouragement to come apart.
That is all there is to it. A few simple steps on how to make your own business card.
Filed under: Business Cards
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