Few advertising options can beat the benefits of a business card. It is portable, durable and readily distributable. The cost of professionally designed cards is less than some other advertising methods, but it could be prohibitive to anyone on a tight budget. Fortunately, there are free alternatives online that entrepreneurs can use to create business cards of comparable quality to those printed professionally.
Instructions
Microsoft
1. Browse through the available business card designs on Microsoft's templates page (see Resources). Note that the business card templates are created in Publisher and various versions of MS Word.
2. Roll your cursor over the graphic of a template you like to display the "Download" button. Click the button to begin downloading the file to your system. Choose a location for the file in the "Save As" dialog box, then click "Save."
3. Go to the location where you have saved the file and double-click to open it. The template may have up to 10 cells for 10 business cards. Click on a cell to begin editing.
4. Insert your company logo. Click the default logo on the card and press the "Delete" button. Click the area where you want your logo to appear and click "Insert" on the ribbon. Highlight "Picture" and navigate to an image of your logo on your computer. Click "Insert." You can adjust the size of the logo after placing it on the card. Click on the logo and use the black handles around it to make it bigger or smaller.
5. Replace the placeholder text on the card with your information. For example, highlight "Company name" and type the name of your company.
6. Change other aspects of the card, such as the font style, size and color of the text. To enhance the appearance of your company name, for example, highlight it, select "Franklin Gothic Heavy" for font style, "12" for font size and blue for the color.
7. Highlight the card and click "Copy." Highlight each of the remaining cells, right-click and select "Paste."
8. Place a sheet of business card paper into the printer tray. Print the business cards when you are satisfied with the appearance. Separate the cards from the paper when the ink is dry.
HP
9. Visit HP's business card template page (see Resources). Search for a template that closely matches the type of card that you need. Click the "Enlarge image" link under each card graphic for a better view of the card.
10. Click "Download" under the template you want. A "Save As" dialog box appears. Pick a location for the file and click "Save."
11. Open the template. The file opens in the default word processing program on your computer, such as MS Word. Each template contains placeholder text, like "Company Name," "Name" and "Web site URL." Highlight this text and replace it with your company information.
12. Adjust background and graphics properties. Change other aspects of the card, such as color, to suit your taste. To change the background color, for instance, double-click on a blank spot on the card to produce the "Format Auto Shape" dialog box. Click the "Color" field and select a different color.
13. Print the cards onto business card paper when you are satisfied with their appearance. Detach the cards from the excess paper.
Avery
14. Proceed to Avery's business cards template page (see Resources). Browse through the templates to find a card that you like.
15. Select a card. Click the "Download Template" button on the following page. This produces a "Downloading" page as well as the "Save As" dialog box. Navigate to the location where you wish to save the file and click the "Save" button.
16. Go to the location where the file is saved. Double-click to open the template file. Avery templates can open in MS Word, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign.
17.Edit each card to your preferences. For instance, replace the placeholder text, such as "Company Name," with your business information and change the font. You also may replace the logo on the card with your official logo.
18. Insert a sheet of business card paper into the printer tray. Print the business cards.
