The Freelancer’s Basic Guide to Printing on the Cheap
I wrote this article a few years ago as part of a book proposal that never flew; I hated to see it sitting on my hard drive unused and unloved, so I breathed new life into an old article by updating it for 2007. [lf]
A potential client asks for your card. What do you do?
A. Pretend to search through your pockets and tell the client you must have forgotten them.
B. Pull out a jazzy four-color illustrated card that unfolds and displays a pop-up image of your smiling face. Hey, it cost a bundle, but it takes money to make money, right?
C. Hand the client a homemade business card — dot matrix print on perforated white cardboard. Clients like thrifty freelancers!
D. Hand the client a tasteful business card that looks pricier than it was.
If you chose anything but D, you’re either looking like a too-frugal freelancer or spending way more than you need to on printing overkill. They say that clothes make the man — but it’s printing that makes the professional. Luckily, printing doesn’t have to drain your savings to look good.
Do-It-Yourself
Let’s start with the very cheapest way to create a professional image: do-it-yourself. This method is especially useful for creating small quantities of business cards. The bonus is that you won’t have to toss out hundreds of pricy cards if you move or change your e-mail address.
You don’t need to venture any further than your office chair to start churning out cards. If you use the Microsoft Office package, for instance, you already have everything you need: Microsoft Office Publisher is a tool that comes with the package that’s specifically designed to help you create business documents like business cards. It has several pre-formatted templates to choose from.
Once you’ve designed your cards, go to an office supply store, such as Office Max or Staples, for off-the-shelf business card packs that contain medium-weight paper perforated into business card size. Your job: print and separate. The advantage of these packs (besides price) is convenience: You’ll have cards ready to hand out as fast as your printer can shoot them out. The disadvantage is the fuzzy perforated marks left on the sides after you’ve separated them, which scream “cheap!” You can eliminate some of the fuzz by smoothing the edges with your finger, but they’ll always look like cards you printed from home.
You can create a more professional image by printing the card templates with a laser printer onto quality card stock. Then, take the sheets to the printing department of your local print shop or office supply store. Using the store’s paper cutter (which you have to ask for — it’s kept behind the counter for safety reasons), cut out the business cards. Be sure to bring a few practice sheets, as the guidelines on the paper cutters never seem to match up with the blade. I used this method to create business cards for myself years ago, and no one could tell they were DIY specials.
If you want matching stationery, just arrange the information in a word processing program. You can either use this as a template and type your letter directly onto it, printing both the letterhead and letter as a single document, or print out a bunch of letterhead ahead of time and use it as you need it to print your letters.
Cheap doesn’t have to mean snoozeworthy. If you want to liven up your business cards and letterhead with a logo, you can find plenty of free and cheap clip art resources. With the help of a business card layout program, it’s easy to insert a piece of clip art that represents your specialty. The program will guide you through the process.
For the cheapest clip art, look no further than your computer. Microsoft Office and Windows come loaded with royalty-free images. Use the Insert menu and choose the Clip Art command from most programs to be directed to the cache of pictures stored on your computer.
The Internet has millions of pieces of clip art to choose from, and while some might be amateurish and cheesy, you can still find a large selection of business card-worthy, royalty-free pictures online. Some companies will allow you to purchase one or more images online: one noteworthy one is Art Today, which offers subscriptions ranging from one week to one year — but you can find plenty of sites that offer images for free.
One free site, iBAND, bills itself as a “clip art mega site,” with categories of art dedicated to everything from animals to sports. Cool Archive also has an immense collection of free clip art, and even the Avery paper company offers a small collection.
If you have a little money to invest to logo-fy your stationery but you don’t feel like shelling out for a printer or graphic designer, you can buy CD-ROMs loaded with digital images. You don’t have to look hard to find software full of clip art, photographs, images, illustrations, borders, headlines, fonts, and logos. For example, for $39.99, you can buy IMSI Desktop Publishing’s ClipArt&More 30 Million collection.
The same software programs that let you create letterhead and business cards will also let you create envelopes. But if the idea of watching envelope flaps get mutilated in your printer makes you want to chuck said printer out the window, try one of these simple, inexpensive ideas instead:
- Get cheap, attractive rubber stamps made at your local office supply store or online for under fifteen dollars. Some shops will create a stamp from your camera-ready copy so it will perfectly match the rest of your stationery.
- Buy printer-friendly address labels from office supply stores or online. Try OfficeMax or Staples — and you can even find cheap labels for sale on eBay.
Surfing for Savings
Forget about schlepping to the printer, creating a template for your business stationery, waiting for a proof, approving the proof, and finally returning to the printer to pick up and purchase your goodies. With the help of the Web, you can create, order, and receive the finished product without removing butt from chair.
Web-based printers can save you between 25 and 50 percent off prices at traditional print shops. Since these online companies eliminate much of the pre-press process, their costs are lower, which means your costs are lower. However, be sure to shop around to find the best price.
VistaPrint.com and iPrint are two popular online printers. They guide you step-by-step through designing business stationery, and they also offer a multitude of other office products, like rubber stamps, mailing labels, and even personalized Post-it Notes. VistaPrint offers some free products like business cards; in exchange, you receive products that have a small ad for VistaPrint on them.
Head for the Print Shop
If the do-it-yourself route is too time-consuming — or if you’re a technophobe who would rather hand-ink your business cards than format them on the computer — don’t be afraid to head to the print shop. Here are some tips to help you keep printing costs to a minimum:
- Proofread carefully. Mistakes are expensive to correct once the printer makes the plates (for those printers that use plates and are not digital).
- Don’t wait until you need to send something out to make a mad dash for the print shop. Rush printing jobs cost more, so allow plenty of time for the project.
- Don’t skimp on quantity. For example, you may be able to print 2,000 cards for only 25 percent more than it costs to print 1,000 cards. If you plan to stay in business, you’ll need those cards anyway!
- Use your printer’s house stock instead of ordering your own.
- More colors means more plates, more reinking of the press, and more moolah. You can get some great effects with black and one other color by using creative screening techniques.
- Some printers offer stock colors that cost nothing extra. Ask to see a selection of these colors.
- Stick with standard paper sizes that require no special set-up for the printing press. That means no 7 3/4 inch, octagonal brochures, sorry.
- Don’t use reverses or bleeds in your design.
- Use simple, line clip art instead of photos or complex illustrations.
- Go straight to the source: your printer. He or she can often suggest more ways to save money on your printing job.
Resources for Freelancers
Retail Paper Suppliers
You can order products through these companies via the Internet or contact them for a print catalog.
Internet-Based Printing Companies
There are way too many to come even close to listing them all here; do a Google search to find companies that aren’t included in this list.
StreetCards
This is where I got my funky business cards.
VistaPrint
Check out their site for their free products such as business cards and Post-It notes.
Clip Art
Search the web to find even more suppliers of clip art.
iBAND
“Mega site” of royalty-free images.
IMSI Desktop Publishing’s ClipArt&More 30 Million collection ($39.99)
Rubber Stamps
These companies let you design and order your stamp online. Staples and OfficeMax also let you order in their stores.
VistaPrint
Check out their free rubber stamps.
If you liked that post, you might also like:
- Getting Started as a Freelancer? Here’s What You’ll Need
- Tools That Should Be in Your Marketing Toolbox
- New Year, Fresh Start: How to Recalibrate Your Freelance Business in 2009
- New Year, Fresh Start: 9 Ways to Recalibrate Your Business in 2011
- You Ask, We Answer: What If My Only Clip Is in Print Format?
Dec 27, 2006 Advice, Cool products, Cool tools
I actually find a paper cutter to be a generally useful thing to have around. Useful for many purposes!
I just got some great Skype cards from Moo – they’re small, but not silly-small and you can take off the Skype logo/advertising and make them look more businesslike… Mine look great!
http://www.moo.com/skype/
Mel, I actually have a paper cutter myself! It has been handy. What do you use yours for besides the obvious? Can I use it to cut luncheon meat?
Diane, I never heard of Skype cards but those are really cute.
You should check out http://www.Bizcard.com. They offer a ton of free products and you can customize their logos to the way you want. They also don’t charge for uploading your own stuff.
I think making homemade cards are nicer than the one professionally made. The pro’s only give you a basic image on the card such as a smiley face, but making your own, you can basically do anything you want for it. But I think there are some sites that can make cards much better than homemade.
Oh wow I’ve pretty much used all the techniques you’ve described at some point or other in my business life. I especially remember with fondness the sinking feeling of handing over a card with the perfed edges to a major client and seeing them look at it in disdain. Yes I built the logo myself in MSWORD and yes, the printer was running out of ink.
Mine as well as many other budget graphic design firms can help you have a professional image for less than $200. I don’t think cliparts or clumsy designs are an option at such prices.
I already have a business card,that came from a walk in printer place, I am almost out of them,but dont have the $ right now to go get more!can I somehow take them and run it thru my printer on business stock paper and print them myself,I know this sounds cheap,but hey the economy is making us all have to do things we thought we would never have to do
Carol, sure! If you can get or borrow a paper cutter and make them look professional, why not? I used to do that when i was a freelance translator in the mind 1990s.