Pimp my business card!

When it comes to business cards, there's nothing more effective than a well designed, creative and unique card and we're going to give you a few little hints about how to achieve this. This can be done after you receive your cards, as we're going to be talking about modifications that you can do at home to further improve the look of your cards. This is a really cheap and personal way of making your cards as individual as possible.

No matter what your trade, if you can think along creative lines there's always something you can do to your card to give it that individual touch. We suggest that you stop by your local arts and crafts shop as most of them sell great products that you'll be able to use. You can aim for simplicity by adding small stickers or you can really go for it and use decorative card cutters to shape the card to your style.

There are several directions you can take when tailoring your cards. For example, if you're an interior designer and you've ordered 100 cards with all of the important info on, you could separate your 100 into 4 piles of 25 and embellish each pile in a different way so each customer can be presented with a card that reflects their taste.

Here are a couple of our own designs that we'd like to share with you;

Here's a design we did with upholstery in mind. A small piece of ribbon and a matching bow stuck on to the card not only gives a nice texture but it also it looks professional, especially if you co-ordinate your text colours with your embellishments as we've done here.


Getting married and want your guests to receive something a little more special? Add some relevant stickers! Placement of extras can work extremely successfully as demonstrated here.


Cupcake anyone? Everyone likes cupcakes, and how better to advertise your cupcake making with a delicious looking card. We used a Martha Stewart edge punch for this lovely cakey effect!

When the artwork was uploaded, we intentionally added it with a gradient at the top so that when we used the cutter, the tips of our yummy cakes remained pink! There are a huge range of cutters to be found out there to embellish the edges or corners of your cards.

Why not add something by taking something away?

Hope you enjoyed this short post, and we would love to hear from anyone who enjoys modifying their business cards!

Thank you!

Nick

QR Codes, clever stuff!

Good afternoon!

You may have heard of QR codes as they've been around for a while. When they were first put into use, you could expect to see a QR code on a router label from a courier. But now, thanks to to the rapid way in which technology moves forward, QR codes are easy to generate and put to use yourself. The peeps here at Goodprint HQ have only recently noticed the full potiential of these codes as they're becoming more recognised in a business capacity. If you've not discovered them yet, then you might find this as interesting as we did.

Quick Response codes are 2 dimensional, square barcodes. They are designed to be scanned by intelligent QR code readers, which as suggested by the name, very rapidly scan the code and deliver to you the information that they hold. Sounds expensive doesn't it? Well if you've got a smartphone, then the chances are good that you can pick up a free app that will do the job.

Okay so there's the snazzy technical bit out of the way, and now for the really good bit. When we read about this technology initially, we didn't realise that the codes were easy to generate for your own use. When you read about barcodes and scanners, you might associate them with more industrial uses rather than ones that you can use to wow your friends, promote your business or use how you wish.

Here's a little guide that you might like to follow if you've got a few spare minutes to try this out. It's good fun and if you can think of interesting ways to use this great technology, then you'll enjoy it more.

1. Firstly, you're going to need a code scanner. This is a very easy step that you can complete by downloading 'I-nigma', one of the many QR reader apps for your smartphone. The reason we suggest this particular app is that it has a very large range of compatibility. Once you've downloaded the reader (it's free, by the way!) then you're ready to generate your QR code.

2. Visit a website which is capable of QR code generation. Some websites will allow you to download the QR code generator but to try them, you may just want to use one online. We've been using http://delivr.com/qr-code-generator which works excellently.

3. Alter the options listed there to suit your needs. If you wish for someone to scan your code and be taken straight to your website, then click the drop down and select an option. You can link to loads of things such as your phone number, your email address or your social networking site. We recommend using a URL to test with.

4. Select code size. Doesn't sound too important but logically, the larger the code, the more likely that the camera on your phone will be able to read it. We recently tested some QR codes here but they were too small to be seen with some of our older iPhones. However, retesting with the better camera of the iPhone 3GS was a success, so as they say, size IS important!

5. Check your information is correct and then click Generate QR code. Your code will appear on the right and you'll have the option to download a .png or .pdf. Alternatively, if you're just testing this code, then you can just scan the image on screen to save time.

6. Open your I-Nigma app, find 'scan code' and frame your QR code on screen. If everything has worked correctly, your code should take you to your URL, very quickly.

Here's one to take you to our Twitter page;

These are a great thing to include on your business card. We frequently see them on cards ordered here at Goodprint, so they're obviously working. Just make sure they're nice and big!

Just thought we'd share that with you! We'd love to know what you think, and even know if anyone has got any really unique ways of using it.

Have fun QR'ing!

Nick

All systems go!

Welcome to our blog!

If you don't already know, Goodprint are a web-based printing company situated in the heart of Breckland. Our HQ is in Thetford, Norfolk and we've been printing your business cards and stationery since 1984! You can find us online at www.goodprint.co.uk.

Goodprint have been on Twitter for some time now, and over that time we have learned that 140 characters isn't really enough space to post the things we think you'll like. After some thought and discussion, we decided that a blog would be a good idea and a great way to keep you guys out there inspired by the things that we see and do. If anybody chances upon something that you think we will be interested in, we'd love to hear from you. You can email me at Nick@goodprint.co.uk or hit us up on our Twitter page- you'll find us under 'Goodprint'.

'til the next time. Adios!

Nick