First of all you need a concept, and a brand idea in mind before you even turn on your computer. You also need a good idea of your target market and what they would like to see in their supplier or vendor.

Using Word or Paintshop or something mock up a business card template from one of the built in ones or make it yourself. Using a template is an effective way of starting the process as it gives you the dimensions and a basic layout to work with. Although you have complete freedom to do what you like, it is advisable to stick to the standard business card size. This will make your card much more acceptable as it will fit into card wallets and Rolodexes. Two of the most used business card tools around.

Have a play around with the program and devise a logo or design for your company. If you want to cheat you can always buy one off the internet or use freely available pictures or clip art. You can always download one of these and modify it to suit your needs. It isn’t always worth the effort to spend hours trying to come up with your own design to begin with. You can always develop your brand as you go.

It is always a good idea to have an idea of how many cards you want in advance so you can buy enough art board to make them. The card is available in most office supply stores or hobby shops and shouldn’t be that expensive. If you use an online card supplier they may even have card templates that you can use.

Once you have completed your logo or image, add all the relevant information to the card. At the very least you’ll need to add company name, your name, phone number, office address, website and email. If you use social networking, and have the room, it might pay to add those details too. Play around with size and positioning until you are happy with the finished product. Your text will need to be small enough to fit it all on the card but big enough to be clearly legible.

Word and Photoshop templates allow you to duplicate your design across an A4 sheet. I assume other programs will offer the same facility. By doing this you can squeeze as many cards onto a single sheet of card as possible eliminating waste and needless expense.

Place the card carefully into the printer and align it correctly. Run a single sheet test print before doing anything else to make sure the alignment and print quality is what you wanted. If everything is okay set the print run for as many sheets as you like. If your design is double sided you will need to turn the sheets over once dry and repeat the process for the reverse side. Take extra care here in the alignment so nothing gets trimmed off when cutting.

Once all dry cut the cards out with a pair of very sharp scissors or guillotine. Trim of any excess fibres and you’re all done. Now you can print your own business cards as and when you need them!